EMC Invista

EMC Invista (was code named Storage Router) runs on an out-band dual node server cluster called a Control Path Cluster or CPC. As yet, Invista does not integrate with EMC Control Center (ECC) so virtual volumes and file spaces are created with Element Manager software using either a JAVA based GUI or by a CLI for scripting. This software runs on the CPCs but it requires agent software in the SAN switches to contain the virtualization instances and data access path definitions

Invista will provide logical volume transparency, volume creation, volume cloning, and dynamic volume extension if this is supported by the host operating system. For volume creation, host storage is mapped to storage volumes in Invista, which are then internally mapped to storage elements and these elements are mapped to physical storage arrays. The separation of volume and storage elements means that logical volume sizes are totally independent of the physical array sizes. The volume cloning function supports transparent data movement between volumes.

Invista requires agent software in SAN switches and can either use existing switches by adding an intelligent line card, or new switches with imbedded intelligence. The diagram below shows an Invista CPC communicating with two intelligent SAN directors. The other SAN switches are not capable of supporting an Invista agent, so they are used for fan-in from the servers. The key point is that all the SAN IO must pass through the Invista enabled directors. 'The SAN' is actually the combination of the fan-in SAN, the SAN directors and the Invista CPC.

Invista was released in June 2005 and so has limited functionality at the moment. Invista does not have a data migration product, though one may come along later. It can replicate data between similar EMC controllers, but will not yet replicate between unlike controllers or FC to SATA. It will control cross-town mirroring between two pairs of Invista CPCs, but will not mirror to different vendor's devices at present.

The diagram shows how Invista intercepts the metadata from an IO operation and uses that to tell the agent software in the switch how to set up a path for the data IO to the correct disk. Once the path is defined, the Invista CPC drops out of the process and the IO operations proceed as normal.

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