FILE MANAGER INTEGRATION WITH VIRTUALIZATION IN AN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH AN ENHANCED STORAGE MANAGER, INCLUDING USER CONTROL AND STORAGE MANAGEMENT OF VIRTUAL MACHINES

• US 20150074060A1
• Filed: 06/17/2014
• Published: 03/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: VARADHARAJAN, Prakash, DORNEMANN, Henry Wallace, POLIMERA, Rajesh, KANDASAMY, Anand
• Granted Patent: US 9,939,981 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/649
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1453 using de-duplication of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• 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 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• 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 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A storage manager that interoperates with a file manager application that integrates with virtualization substantially enables end-user control and storage management of virtual machines (VMs). The storage manager may manage information management operations relative to virtual machines based on and/or in response to messages and/or instructions received from the file manager application. The storage manager may further report results to the file manager application for presentation to the user. The file manager application, which may operate as a plug-in for a legacy file manager executing on a user'"'"'s client computing device, may comprise: displaying the VMs associated with the user, including their respective properties; enabling viewing/browsing of information about storage management operations for a VM such as backups and/or archiving, including files associated with the VM and searching and filtering criteria; control features that enable the user to control existing VMs, such as shut down, restart/activate/power-on, suspend, and/or re-configure, and also perform storage management of a VM and/or its associated files, such as create snapshot, back up, archive, restore VM from secondary storage, restore and overwrite VM, restore file(s)/folder(s) to user'"'"'s client computing device, restore file(s)/folder(s) to a production VM in primary storage, etc.; control features that enable the user to provision additional VMs, such as create a new VM, create a clone VM, configure a VM, etc.

Claims

1. A method associated with a storage manager that manages an information management system, the method comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that an information management operation has been initiated by the user relative to a virtual machine,

wherein the information management operation comprises at least one of a backup of the virtual machine, an archiving of the virtual machine, and a restoring of the virtual machine,

managing the information management operation, by the storage manager,

wherein the managing comprises (i) instructing a media agent in the information management system to perform the storage management operation, and (ii) receiving metadata about the information management operation from the media agent;

reporting, by the storage manager, one or more results of the storage management operation to the file manager application; and

updating, by the storage manager, an associated management database, the updating comprising the metadata received by the storage manager.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

updating, by the storage manager, the associated management database, the updating comprising metadata received from the file manager application,

wherein the metadata comprises information about one or more user-initiated management operations for a virtual machine in the information management system, and

wherein the one or more user-initiated management operations comprise at least one of shutting down a virtual machine, restarting a virtual machine, activating a virtual machine, re-configuring a virtual machine.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the backup operation relative to the virtual machine comprises at least one of:

(a) a snapshot of the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system,

(b) a backup copy of a file associated with the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system, and

(c) a backup copy of a folder associated with the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the archiving operation relative to the virtual machine comprises at least one of:

(a) an archive copy of the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system,

(b) an archive copy of a file associated with the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system, and

(c) an archive copy of a folder associated with the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the restoring operation relative to the virtual machine comprises at least one of:

(a) restoring a copy of the virtual machine from a secondary storage device in the information management system to a primary storage device,

(b) restoring a copy of a file associated with the virtual machine from a secondary storage device in the information management system to a primary storage device, and

(c) restoring a copy of a folder associated with the virtual machine from a secondary storage device in the information management system to a primary storage device.

6. A method associated with a storage manager component of an information management system, the method comprising:

receiving, by the storage manager, from a media agent component of the information management system, metadata about a virtual machine in the information management system,

wherein the metadata is based on one or more information management operations executed at least in part by the media agent relative to the virtual machine, and

wherein the or more information management operations comprise at least one of a backup of the virtual machine, an archiving of the virtual machine, and a restoring of the virtual machine; and

updating, by the storage manager, an associated management database, the updating comprising the metadata received by the storage manager.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

updating, by the storage manager, the associated management database, the updating comprising metadata received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device in the information management system,

wherein the metadata comprises information about user-initiated management operations for a virtual machine in the information management system.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to a request received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user,

querying, by the storage manager, at least one of the associated management database and the media agent for information about one or more virtual machines in the information management system that are associated with the user; and

reporting one or more results of the querying operation to the file manager application.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that a virtual machine is to be created as initiated by the user, executing one or more administrative operations, by the storage manager in conjunction with a host computing device in the information management system, to create the virtual machine on the host computing device; and

reporting one or more results of the one or more administrative operations to the file manager application.

10. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that a virtual machine is to be re-configured as initiated by the user, executing one or more administrative operations, by the storage manager in conjunction with a host computing device in the information management system that hosts the virtual machine, to re-configure the virtual machine according to the one or more messages; and

reporting one or more results of the one or more administrative operations to the file manager application.

11. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that an information management operation has been initiated by the user relative to a virtual machine,

managing the information management operation, by the storage manager,

wherein the managing comprises (i) instructing a media agent in the information management system to perform the information management operation, and (ii) receiving metadata about the information management operation from the media agent; and

reporting one or more results of the information management operation to the file manager application.

12. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that an information management operation has been initiated by the user relative to a virtual machine,

managing the information management operation, by the storage manager, wherein the managing comprises (i) instructing a data agent in the information management system to perform the information management operation, and (ii) receiving metadata about the information management operation from at least one of the data agent and a media agent; and

reporting one or more results of the information management operation to the file manager application.

13. A method associated with a storage manager component of an information management system, the method comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from a file manager application executing on a client computing device associated with a user, wherein the one or more messages indicate that a virtual machine is to be created as initiated by the user,

executing one or more administrative operations, by the storage manager in conjunction with a host computing device in the information management system, to create the virtual machine on the host computing device;

reporting one or more results of the one or more administrative operations to the file manager application; and

updating an associated management database, by the storage manager, the updating comprising an association between the virtual machine and the host computing device.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

in response to one or more messages received from the file manager application, wherein the one or more messages indicate that the virtual machine is to be re-configured as initiated by the user, executing one or more administrative operations, by the storage manager in conjunction with the host computing device that hosts the virtual machine, to re-configure the virtual machine according to the one or more messages; and

reporting one or more results of the one or more administrative operations to the file manager application.