Accessing Overlay Media Over a Network Connection

• US 20130173744A1
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Published: 07/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Xinglong, He, Kenan, Yang, Cong, Kun
• Granted Patent: US 9,858,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1415 at system level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0623 in relation to content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

The subject disclosure is directed towards providing overlay media to a computing device over a network connection. An input/output (I/O) filter on the embedded device/system may communicate data with the overlay media via a storage service. The I/O filter driver may connect to the storage service using a universal identifier. When an application issues read operations and/or write operations directed to local storage media, the I/O filter driver redirects the read operations and/or the write operations to the storage service over the network connection.

Claims

1. In a computing environment, a method performed at least in part on at least one processor, comprising, providing overlay media via a storage service over a network connection, including, communicating with the storage service using an identifier, processing input/output operations directed to overlay-protected storage media, and redirecting the input/output operations to the storage service over the network connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the input/output operations further comprises intercepting a write operation for a file and storing data corresponding to the write operation on the overlay media.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising applying the write operation to a version of the file on a snapshot layer on the overlay media.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising committing the data to a local storage media.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing the data in a version of the file in overlay cache.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising transferring the data from the overlay cache to the overlay media in response to an event.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising applying the write operation to a cached version of the file.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein processing the input/output operations further comprises retrieving at least a portion of the data from the overlay cache.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the input/output operations further comprises intercepting a read operation for a file and retrieving at least a portion of the file from the overlay media.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining one or more snapshot layers on the overlay media that, in combination with a portion of a volume on local storage media, represents the volume at a later point-in-time.

11. In a computing environment, a system, comprising, a filter driver configured to intercept input/output operations directed to a overlay-protected storage media, wherein the filter driver is further configured to maintain data corresponding to write operations on an overlay media over a network connection, to retrieve data from the overlay media corresponding to read operations for the local storage media, and to store the data corresponding to the write operations on the local storage media in response to a commit command.

12. The system of claim 11 further comprises a storage service configured to apply the write operations to a snapshot layer on the overlay media and communicate the data corresponding to the read operations to the filter driver.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the storage service comprises at least one of a cloud computing service and a local area network service.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the filter driver is further configured to create, on the overlay media, a snapshot layer corresponding to a volume that is located at least in part on the overlay-protected storage media.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the filter driver is further configured to maintain multiple snapshot layers corresponding to chronological points-in-times of the volume.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the filter driver is further configured to transfer the data corresponding to the write operations from the overlay cache to the overlay media in response to a pending system shutdown.

17. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions, which when executed perform steps, comprising:

intercepting write operations directed to an overlay-protected volume on local storage media;

accessing a network connection, using an identifier associated with a portion of an overlay media, to a storage service that controls the overlay media; and

instructing the storage service to apply the write operations on the overlay media.

18. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 17 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

In response to a commit command, requesting corresponding versions of files associated with the write operations from the storage service and updating the local storage media to be point-in-time consistent.

19. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 17 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

instructing the storage service to return data from the portion of the overlay media associated with the identifier.

20. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 17 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

transferring data associated with the write operations from the overlay media to the overlay-protected volume during a system reboot.