INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HETEROGENEOUS DATA SOURCES

• US 20100332990A1
• Filed: 03/30/2010
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: LU, JUN, PAWAR, RAHUL S., PRAHLAD, ANAND, KOTTOMTHARAYIL, RAJIV, GOKHALE, PARAG
• Granted Patent: US 8,589,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/735
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Systems and methods integrate disparate backup devices with a unified interface. In certain examples, a management console manages data from various backup devices, while retaining such data in its native format. The management console can display a hierarchical view the client devices and/or their data and can further provide utilities for processing the various data formats. A data structure including fields for storing both metadata common to the client device data and value-added metadata can be used to mine or process the data of the disparate client devices. The unified single platform and interface reduces the need for multiple data management products and/or customized data utilities for each individual client device and provides a single pane of glass view into data management operations. Integrating the various types of storage formats and media allows a user to retain existing storage infrastructures and further facilitates scaling to meet long-term management needs.

Claims

1. A method for administering a storage network comprising heterogeneous client devices, the method comprising:

displaying with a management console information regarding backup data stored in a plurality of heterogeneous client devices, wherein the backup data of each client device is stored in a different backup format, and wherein the management console integrates a plurality of utilities for performing a plurality of data management operations on the backup data of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices, wherein the management console further provides a single interface for the plurality of utilities;

selecting a first data management operation of the plurality of data management operations to be performed by at least one of the plurality of utilities in response to user input;

selecting backup data from at least one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices in response to user input; and

performing the first data management operation on the selected backup data of the at least one client device in response to said selecting the first data management operation and said selecting the backup data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the user input via the single interface.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a graphical representation of each of the heterogeneous client devices.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphical representation reflects the physical configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphical representation reflects the logical configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting comprises accessing a data structure storing metadata obtained from each of the heterogeneous client devices.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising obtaining the metadata from each of the heterogeneous client devices by accessing logs of each of the heterogeneous client devices.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the data structure comprises at least one Extensible Markup Language (XML) file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said information comprises a cost per unit storage analysis of each of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of heterogeneous client devices further stores non-backup data and wherein said displaying additionally comprises displaying in the single interface information regarding the non-backup data.

11. A system for administering a storage network comprising heterogeneous client devices, the system comprising:

a plurality of data connectors in communication with a plurality of heterogeneous client devices, each of the plurality of data connectors being configured to obtain data from a respective one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices; and

a management console executing on a computing device in network communication with the plurality of data connectors, the management console being configured to,

provide a plurality of utilities for performing a plurality of data management operations on the data obtained by the plurality of data connectors,

display via a unified interface on-screen graphics indicative of each of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices and the plurality of utilities,

receive a selection of a first data management operation of the plurality of data management operations to be performed by at least one of the plurality of utilities on the data of at least one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices, and

perform the first data management operation on the selected data of the at least one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the on-screen graphics comprise icons representing data formats of the data on the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the on-screen graphics are arranged to reflect the physical configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the on-screen graphics are arranged to reflect the logical configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the first data management operation comprises an archive operation.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the first data management operation comprises a restore operation.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the on-screen graphics are arranged to reflect a cost per unit of storage for each of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

18. A system for administering a storage network comprising heterogeneous client devices, the system comprising:

means for obtaining data from a plurality of heterogeneous client devices storing data in a plurality of different data formats;

means for providing a plurality of utilities for performing a plurality of data management operations on the data obtained by said obtaining means;

means for displaying via a unified interface on-screen graphics indicative of each of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices and the plurality of utilities;

means for receiving a selection of a first data management operation of the plurality of data management operations to be performed by at least one of the plurality of utilities on the data of at least one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices; and

means for performing the first data management operation on the selected data of the at least one of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising means for storing metadata regarding the data of the heterogeneous client devices in fields common to the plurality of different data formats.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for generating additional metadata derived from said data and stored in said storing means for each of the heterogeneous client devices.