Creating customized bootable image for client computing device from backup copy

• US 10,649,863 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2019
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Kumarasamy, Paramasivam, Mitkar, Amit, Degaonkar, Sumedh Pramod
• Primary Examiner(s): Lyons, Andrew M.
• Application Number:
  US16/416,093
• Publication Number:
  US 20190340085A1
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• Field of Search: 717174, 715E11118, 714E11118, 714E11119, 714E11121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1441 Resetting or repowering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 Database-specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4406 Loading of operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

According to certain aspects, a method of creating customized bootable images for client computing devices in an information management system can include: creating a backup copy of each of a plurality of client computing devices, including a first client computing device; subsequent to receiving a request to restore the first client computing device to the state at a first time, creating a customized bootable image that is configured to directly restore the first client computing device to the state at the first time, wherein the customized bootable image includes system state specific to the first client computing device at the first time and one or more drivers associated with hardware existing at time of restore on a computing device to be rebooted; and rebooting the computing device to the state of the first client computing device at the first time from the customized bootable image.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of creating a customized bootable image for a computing device in an information management system based on an earlier image of the computing device, the method comprising:

using one or more computing devices comprising one or more hardware processors;

creating a first image of a first computing device, wherein the first image comprises a non-default system state of the first computing device at a first time, including;

a kernel of the first computing device, one or more first drivers, and one or more internal settings of the first computing device;

creating a generic bootable image that includes a default kernel and one or more default drivers;

in response to a request to restore a target computing device to the non-default system state, creating a customized bootable image specific to the target computing device, based on the first image and the generic bootable image,

wherein the customized bootable image comprises the kernel from the non-default system state of the first computing device,

wherein the customized bootable image excludes any default drivers from the generic bootable image that are unsuitable for hardware at the target computing device,

wherein the customized bootable image includes first drivers from the first image that are suitable for hardware at the target computing device, and

wherein the customized bootable image is configured to directly restore the target computing device to the non-default system state; and

rebooting the target computing device to the non-default system state by loading the customized bootable image, wherein the rebooting comprises booting the target computing device from the kernel of the first computing device without booting from the default kernel of the generic bootable image and further without modifying drivers included in the customized bootable image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the target computing device is the first computing device, and wherein the rebooting restores the first computing device to the non-default system state at the first time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the target computing device is distinct from the first computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first image of the first computing device is created from a backup copy of the first computing device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the backup copy comprises a clone of at least one nonvolatile storage device of the first computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first image of the first computing device is one of a plurality of images of the first computing device, each image associated with different non-default system states of the first computing device at different times.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the request to restore the target computing device indicates the first time, and wherein the method further comprises selecting the first image of the first computing device associated with the first time from the plurality of images of the first computing device for creating the customized bootable image.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the request to restore the target computing device indicates a second time distinct from the first time, and wherein the method further comprises selecting the first image of the first computing device associated with the first time from the plurality of images of the first computing device for creating the customized bootable image, based on the first time being closest to the second time among the plurality of images of the first computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first image further comprises user data obtained from a backup copy of the first computing device.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for creating a customized bootable image for a first computing device in an information management system based on an earlier image of the first computing device, wherein when executed by a second computing device comprising one or more hardware processors, the instructions cause the second computing device to:

create a first image of the first computing device, wherein the first image comprises a non-default system state of the first computing device at a first time, including;

a kernel of the first computing device, one or more first drivers, and one or more internal settings of the first computing device;

create a generic bootable image that includes a default kernel and one or more default drivers;

in response to a request to restore a target computing device to the non-default system state, create a customized bootable image specific to the target computing device, based on the first image and the generic bootable image,

wherein the customized bootable image comprises the kernel from the non-default system state of the first computing device,

wherein the second computing device excludes from the customized bootable image any default drivers from the generic bootable image that are unsuitable for hardware at the target computing device,

wherein the second computing device includes in the customized bootable image first drivers from the first image that are suitable for hardware at the target computing device, and

wherein the customized bootable image is configured to directly restore the target computing device to the non-default system state; and

reboot the target computing device to the non-default system state by loading the customized bootable image, wherein the reboot comprises booting the target computing device from the kernel of the first computing device without booting from the default kernel of the generic bootable image and further without modifying drivers included in the customized bootable image.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the target computing device is the first computing device, and wherein the reboot restores the first computing device to the non-default system state at the first time.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the target computing device is distinct from the first computing device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first image of the first computing device is created from a backup copy of the first computing device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first image of the first computing device is one of a plurality of images of the first computing device, each image associated with different non-default system states of the first computing device at different times;

and

wherein the instructions further cause the second computing device to;

based on the request to restore the target computing device indicating the first time, select the first image of the first computing device associated with the first time from the plurality of images of the first computing device for creating the customized bootable image, and

based on the request to restore the target computing device indicating a second time distinct from the first time, determine that the first time is closest to the second time among the plurality of images of the first computing device and select the first image of the first computing device associated with the first time from the plurality of images of the first computing device for creating the customized bootable image.

15. A system for creating a customized bootable image for a first computing device based on an earlier image of the first computing device, the system comprising one or more hardware processors configured to:

create a first image of the first computing device, wherein the first image comprises a non-default system state of the first computing device at a first time, including;

a kernel of the first computing device, one or more first drivers, and one or more internal settings of the first computing device;

create a generic bootable image that includes a default kernel and one or more default drivers;

in response to a request to restore a target computing device to the non-default system state, create a customized bootable image specific to the target computing device, based on the first image and the generic bootable image,

wherein the customized bootable image comprises the kernel from the non-default system state of the first computing device,

wherein the customized bootable image excludes any default drivers from the generic bootable image that are unsuitable for hardware at the target computing device,

wherein the customized bootable image includes first drivers from the first image that are suitable for hardware at the target computing device, and

wherein the customized bootable image is configured to directly restore the target computing device to the non-default system state; and

reboot the target computing device to the non-default system state by loading the customized bootable image, wherein the reboot comprises booting from the kernel of the first computing device without booting from the default kernel of the generic bootable image and further without modifying drivers included in the customized bootable image during the reboot.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first image further comprises one or more virtual machine managers.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the generic bootable image is a template for creating the customized bootable image.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein a DVD comprises the generic bootable image.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the first image of the first computing device is based on a backup copy of the first computing device.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the first image of the first computing device is based on a backup copy of the first computing device, and wherein the backup copy comprises a clone of at least one nonvolatile data storage device of the first computing device.