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

• US 20150074536A1
• Filed: 06/17/2014
• Published: 03/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: VARADHARAJAN, Prakash, DORNEMANN, Henry Wallace, POLIMERA, Rajesh, KANDASAMY, Anand
• Application Number:
  US14/307,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20150074536A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/734
• 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 middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• 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 file manager application that integrates with virtualization substantially enables end-user control and storage management of virtual machines (VMs). 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 an information management system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a client computing device, which is a component of the information management system, a first command from a user to open a file manager application on the client computing device;

displaying, by the client computing device executing the file manager application, a user interface for a set of virtual machines in the information management system, wherein each of the virtual machines in the set is associated with the user;

receiving, by the client computing device a second command from the user to select a virtual machine from the displayed set;

retrieving, by the client computing device, from a secondary storage computing device via a storage manager, metadata that was previously collected by the secondary storage computing device while performing at least one storage management operation relative to the selected virtual machine; and

displaying, by the client computing device via the user interface, at least some of the retrieved metadata for the selected virtual machine.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one storage management operation was executed in response to a third command from the user received by the client computing device via the user interface;

and

wherein a representation of the selected virtual machine, based on one or more operational parameters of the storage management operation, is stored on a secondary storage device in the information management system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one storage management operation comprised at least one of a backup, an archiving, and a snapshot of the selected virtual machine;

and

wherein a corresponding representation of the selected virtual machine, based on one or more operational parameters of the storage management operation, is stored on a secondary storage device in the information management system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the at least one storage management operation generated a representation of the selected virtual machine, based on one or more operational parameters of the one storage management operation, wherein the representation of the selected virtual machine is stored on a secondary storage device in the information management system;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, by the client computing device via the user interface, a third command from the user to restore the selected virtual machine;

restoring the selected virtual machine, based on the representation stored in the secondary storage device, to a host computing device in the information management system, wherein the restoring operation is performed at least in part by the storage manager; and

executing the virtual machine, by the host computing device, after the restore operation is completed.

5. An information management system comprising:

a client computing device configured to execute a file manager application that is directed at managing at least one virtual machine associated with a user of the information management system;

a secondary storage computing device comprising an index, wherein the index comprises metadata that was previously collected from at least one of a backup of the virtual machine and an archiving of the virtual machine; and

wherein the client computing device, when executing the file manager application, is further configured to, in response to a first command received from the user;

(i) retrieve at least some of the metadata from the index on the secondary storage computing device, and

(ii) display at least some of the retrieved metadata to the user via a user interface presented by the file manager application.

6. The information management system of claim 5 further comprising:

a storage manager in communication with the client computing device and with the secondary storage computing device; and

wherein the client computing device is configured to retrieve the at least some of the metadata via the storage manager.

7. The information management system of claim 5 further comprising:

a host computing device for hosting one or more virtual machines associated with the user;

a storage manager in communication with the client computing device and with the host computing device;

wherein the client computing device, when executing the file manager application, is further configured to, in conjunction with the storage manager, control a selected virtual machine in the information management system, in response to a second command received from the user; and

wherein the control operation comprises at least one of;

(a) shut down the selected virtual machine on the host computing device,

(b) restart the selected virtual machine on the host computing device,

(c) activate the selected virtual machine on the host computing device, and

(d) re-configure the selected virtual machine on the host computing device.

8. The information management system of claim 5 further comprising:

a host computing device for hosting one or more virtual machines associated with the user;

a storage manager in communication with the client computing device and with the host computing device and with the secondary storage computing device;

wherein the client computing device, when executing the file manager application, is further configured to, in conjunction with the storage manager, perform a storage management operation relative to a selected virtual machine in the information management system, in response to a second command received from the user.

9. The information management system of claim 8 wherein the storage management operation relative to the selected 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 of the virtual machine created and stored in a secondary storage device in the information management system,

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

(d) the virtual machine restored from a secondary storage device in the information management system to the host computing device,

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

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

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

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

(i) a file associated with the virtual machine restored from a secondary storage device to a storage device associated with the host computing device, and

(j) a folder associated with the virtual machine restored from a secondary storage device to a storage device associated with the host computing device.

10. A method associated with an information management system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a client computing device, which is a component of the information management system, a first command from a user to open a file manager application on the client computing device;

displaying, by the client computing device executing the file manager application, a user interface for receiving commands from the user;

receiving, by the client computing device via the user interface a second command from the user to create a new virtual machine in the information management system, wherein the command comprises one or more user-supplied parameters for the new virtual machine, wherein the user-supplied parameters indicate a host computing device in the information management that is to host the new virtual machine;

transmitting, by the client computing device to a storage manager in the information management system, one or more messages comprising a request to create the new virtual machine according to the one or more user-supplied parameters;

receiving, by the client computing device from the storage manager, one or more messages comprising a confirmation that the new virtual machine has been created in the information management system, hosted by the host computing device, according to the one or more user-supplied parameters; and

displaying, by the client computing device via the user interface, an indication that the virtual machine was successfully created.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

in response to receiving the confirmation that the new virtual machine has been created, transmitting, by the client computing device to the storage manager, a request for the storage manager to store an association between the user and the new virtual machine.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving, by the client computing device via the user interface a third command from the user to configure the new virtual machine in the information management system, wherein the command comprises additional user-supplied parameters for the new virtual machine;

transmitting, by the client computing device to the host computing device via the storage manager, the additional user-supplied parameters for the new virtual machine;

receiving, by the client computing device from the host computing device via the storage manager, one or more messages comprising a confirmation that the new virtual machine has been configured according to the additional user-supplied parameters; and

displaying, by the client computing device via the user interface, an indication that the virtual machine is associated with one or more of the additional user-supplied parameters.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving, by the client computing device via the user interface a third command from the user to activate the new virtual machine in the information management system;

transmitting, by the client computing device to the host computing device via the storage manager, the activation request for the new virtual machine;

receiving, by the client computing device from the host computing device via the storage manager, one or more messages comprising a confirmation that the new virtual machine has been activated according to the third command; and

displaying, by the client computing device via the user interface, an indication that the virtual machine has been activated according to the third command.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving, by the client computing device via the user interface a fourth command from the user to shut down the new virtual machine;

transmitting, by the client computing device to the host computing device via the storage manager, the shut-down request for the new virtual machine;

receiving, by the client computing device from the host computing device via the storage manager, one or more messages comprising a confirmation that the new virtual machine has been shut down according to the fourth command; and

displaying, by the client computing device via the user interface, an indication that the virtual machine has been shut down according to the fourth command.