Hierarchical storage management

• US 20050246386A1
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: FCN, Incorportaed
• Original Assignee: FCN, Incorportaed
• Inventors: Sullivan, George, Abraha, Demsas
• Application Number:
  US11/062,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246386A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A method including reading a policy file for defining criteria to be used for migrating a file from a first storage to a second storage, scanning the first storage, determining whether there is adequate storage space in the second storage, analyzing the first storage based on the policy file to identify a file that is to be migrated, copying the file to the secondary storage, and writing a reparse point corresponding to the copied file in the first storage.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

reading a policy file for defining criteria to be used for migrating a file from a first storage to a second storage;

scanning the first storage;

determining whether there is adequate storage space in the second storage;

analyzing the first storage based on the policy file to identify a file that is to be migrated;

copying the file to the secondary storage; and

writing a reparse point corresponding to the copied file in the first storage.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

building a temporary list including the file that is to be migrated from the first storage to the second storage.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

compressing the file before said copying.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the policy file is user configurable.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the criteria are based on at least one of time file was created, time file was modified, time file was accessed, size of file, or type of file.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the policy file is automatically generated.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating an error if there is not adequate storage space in the second storage.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a request to retrieve a file from one of a first storage or a second storage;

determining whether the file resides in the first storage or the second storage based on the presence of a reparse point in the request, the presence of which indicating that the file resides in the second storage;

opening the reparse point;

extracting a corresponding path to the file in the second storage from the reparse point;

initiating a new request for the file based on the corresponding path; and

opening the file based on the new request.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein a hierarchical storage management filter determines whether the file resides in the first storage or the second storage.

10. A machine accessible medium containing program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a series of operations comprising:

reading a policy file for defining criteria to be used for migrating a file from a first storage to a second storage;

scanning the first storage;

determining whether there is adequate storage space in the second storage;

analyzing the first storage based on the policy file to identify a file that is to be migrated;

copying the file to the secondary storage; and

writing a reparse point corresponding to the copied file in the first storage.

11. The machine accessible medium according to claim 10, further containing program instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform further operations comprising:

building a temporary list including the file that is to be migrated from the first storage to the second storage.

12. The machine accessible medium according to claim 10, further containing program instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform further operations comprising:

compressing the file before said copying.

13. The machine accessible medium according to claim 10, wherein the policy file is user configurable.

14. The machine accessible medium according to claim 13, wherein the criteria are based on at least one of time file was created, time file was modified, time file was accessed, size of file, or type of file.

15. The machine accessible medium according to claim 10, wherein the policy file is automatically generated.

16. The machine accessible medium according to claim 10, further comprising:

generating an error if there is not adequate storage space in the second storage.

17. A machine accessible medium containing program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a series of operations comprising:

receiving a request to retrieve a file from one of a first storage or a second storage;

determining whether the file resides in the first storage or the second storage based on the presence of a reparse point in the request, the presence of which indicating that the file resides in the second storage;

opening the reparse point;

extracting a corresponding path to the file in the second storage from the reparse point;

initiating a new request for the file based on the corresponding path; and

opening the file based on the new request.

18. The machine accessible medium according to claim 17, wherein a hierarchical storage management filter determines whether the file resides in the first storage or the second storage.

19. A system comprising:

a network;

at least one client computer coupled to said network;

a storage management server including a hierarchical storage management software module coupled to said network;

a first storage server couple to said network;

a hierarchical storage management filter coupled to said first storage server;

a first storage coupled to said hierarchical storage management filter;

a second storage server coupled to said network, said second storage server including a hierarchical storage management agent; and

a second storage coupled to said second storage server.

20. The system according to claim 19, further comprising a third storage, said third storage including hierarchical storage management agent.

21. The system according to claim 19, further comprising an input/output manager module coupled to said hierarchical storage management filter.