Systems and methods for providing a unified view of primary and secondary storage resources

• US 10,282,113 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Prahlad, Anand, Kavuri, Srinivas, Madeira, Andre Duque, Lunde, Norman R., Bunte, Alan G., May, Andreas, Schwartz, Jeremy Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Portola, Gary J
• Application Number:
  US15/196,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20180004436A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 709214, 709224, 710 15, 710 16, 710 17, 710 18, 710 19, 711114, 711148, 711154, 711162, 711170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/185 Hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof details of archiving G06F16/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0649 Lifecycle management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 : Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 : Plurality of storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 : Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0686 : Libraries, e.g. tape libraries, jukebox
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 : Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 : Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 : Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 : Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 : Archiving or backup

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for data storage. A hierarchical storage management architecture is presented to facilitate data management. The disclosed system provides methods for evaluating the state of stored data relative to enterprise needs by using weighted parameters that may be user defined. Also disclosed are systems and methods evaluating costing and risk management associated with stored data.

Claims

1. A method of providing a unified view of primary and secondary storage resources comprising:

monitoring primary data operations generated by one or more applications executing on one or more client computing devices in a primary storage system, the primary data operations storing primary data in one or more primary storage devices in at least a first format that is a native format associated with the applications that generated the primary data;

performing, with one or more media agents comprising computer hardware, secondary data operations that copy the primary data to create a secondary copy on one or more secondary storage devices, the secondary copy stored in a secondary format that is different than the native format;

generating one or more primary weighting factors associated with the usage of the one or more primary storage devices;

generating one or more secondary weighting factors associated with the usage of the one or more secondary storage devices;

determining a data protection service level based at least in part on the one or more primary weighting factors and based at least in part on the one or more secondary weighting factors; and

displaying in a user interface a unified view including both primary storage information and secondary storage information, the user interface configured to display at least the data protection service level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data protection service level comprises a short-term data protection service level and a long-term data protection service level.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the user interface receives input from a user that adjusts one or more storage parameters associated with the short-term data protection service level and the long-term data protection service level.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more primary weighting factors comprise the availability of the one or more primary storage devices.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the wherein the one or more secondary weighting factors comprise the age of the secondary copy on the one or more secondary storage devices.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more secondary weighting factors comprise the number of secondary copies on the one or more secondary storage devices.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein a first media agent is associated with a first storage manager of a first data storage cell and a second media agent is associated with a second storage manager of a second data storage cell.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface data displays SRM operations and HSM operations.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the plurality of secondary weighting factors in a storage policy, the storage policy comprising a data structure that further comprises a set of preferences for performing one or more secondary storage operations.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing an auto-discovery routine configured to automatically evaluating one or more storage policies to determine the one or more primary and secondary weighting factors.

11. A system of providing a unified view of primary and secondary storage resources comprising:

at least one storage manager that monitors primary data operations generated by one or more applications executing on one or more client computing devices in a primary storage system, the primary data operations storing primary data in one or more primary storage devices in at least a first format that is a native format associated with the applications that generated the primary data;

one or more media agents comprising computer hardware that perform secondary data operations that copy the primary data to create a secondary copy on one or more secondary storage devices, the secondary copy stored in a secondary format that is different than the native format;

wherein the storage manager generates one or more primary weighting factors associated with the usage of the one or more primary storage devices and one or more secondary weighting factors associated with the usage of the one or more secondary storage devices;

wherein the storage manager determines a data protection service level based at least in part on the one or more primary weighting factors and based at least in part on the one or more secondary weighting factors; and

wherein the storage manager generates a user interface with a unified view including both primary storage information and secondary storage information, the user interface configured to display at least the data protection service level.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the data protection service level comprises a short-term data protection service level and a long-term data protection service level.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the user interface receives input from a user that adjusts one or more storage parameters associated with the short-term data protection service level and the long-term data protection service level.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more primary weighting factors comprise the availability of the one or more primary storage devices.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the wherein the one or more secondary weighting factors comprise the age of the secondary copy on the one or more secondary storage devices.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more secondary weighting factors comprise the number of secondary copies on the one or more secondary storage devices.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein a first media agent is associated with a first storage manager of a first data storage cell and a second media agent is associated with a second storage manager of a second data storage cell.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the user interface data displays SRM operations and HSM operations.

19. The system of claim 11 further comprising storing the plurality of secondary weighting factors in a storage policy, the storage policy comprising a data structure that further comprises a set of preferences for performing one or more secondary storage operations.

20. The system of claim 11 further comprising automatically evaluating one or more storage policies to determine the one or more primary and secondary weighting factors.