BACKUP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND BACKUP MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20150134717A1
• Filed: 11/07/2014
• Published: 05/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: NAGANUMA, Yuki, TAGUCHI, Yuichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,864,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

The backup management system includes a storage device that retains a location management table that stores therein at least one of position specifying information uniquely specifying a location provided by a computer resource in each cloud service and an area specifying information specifying a predetermined area including the location provided without uniquely specifying the location provided, and a processing device configured to perform a process of receiving a designation related to a computer resource as a backup target and a backup requirement, from a user of the cloud service, and a process of specifying as a backup destination a computer resource that has a position relation with the computer resource as the backup target satisfying the backup requirement, based on a designation from the user and at least one of the position specifying information and the area specifying information.

Claims

1. A backup management system comprising:

a storage device that retains a location management table that stores therein at least one of position specifying information uniquely specifying a location provided by a computer resource in each cloud service and an area specifying information specifying a predetermined area including the location provided without uniquely specifying the location provided; and

a processing device configured to perform

a process of receiving through a communication device or an input device a designation related to a computer resource as a backup target and a backup requirement, from a user of the cloud service, and

a process of specifying as a backup destination a computer resource that has a position relation with the computer resource as the backup target satisfying the backup requirement, based on a designation from the user and at least one of the position specifying information and the area specifying information of the each computer resource stored in the location management table.

2. The backup management system according to claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to

when a plurality of computer resources that have the position relation satisfying the backup requirement are specified in the process of specifying the backup destination,

evaluate each of the plurality of the specified computer resources based on a predetermined criteria of at least one of information retained in the storage device in advance, information received from the communication device or the input device, and information obtained from any one of the above processes, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result in the evaluation.

3. The backup management system according to claim 2, wherein the processing device is configured to

when there is a plurality of computer resources with the same evaluation result in the evaluation,

further correct the evaluation result of the computer resource storing the position specifying information in the location management table to be higher than the evaluation result of the computer resource not storing the position specifying information, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result after the correction in the evaluation.

4. The backup management system according to claim 2 wherein

the storage device further retains, for the each cloud service, a cost information table storing therein information on usage cost incurred for a usage of the each cloud service and a communication cost when performing data communication between the each cloud service, and

the processing device is configured to evaluate, in the evaluation, each of the plurality of the specified computer resources based on a predetermined criteria of at least any one of information on the usage cost in the cost information table and the communication cost incurred for communicating with the computer resource as the backup target, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result in the evaluation.

5. The backup management system according to claim 4 wherein

the storage device further retains for the each cloud service an evaluation parameter in relation to one or more predetermined items and updates the evaluation parameter according to an update instruction from an external device, and

the processing device is configured to evaluate, in the evaluation, each of the plurality of the specified computer resources based on a predetermined criteria of an evaluation parameter of the item designated by the user and the cost information corresponding thereto, among the predetermined item, the usage cost and the communication cost, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result in the evaluation.

6. The backup management system according to claim 2 wherein

the storage device further retains a communication quality information table storing therein quality information on a communication line used for data communication between the cloud services, and

the processing device, in relation to the plurality of the specified computer resources, is configured to read from the communication quality information table the quality information on the communication line between the computer resource of the backup target, evaluate, in the evaluation, based on a predetermined criteria of a backup time based on the corresponding quality information, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result in the evaluation.

7. The backup management system according to claim 6, wherein

the storage device further retains for the each cloud service an evaluation parameter in relation to one or more predetermined items and updates the evaluation parameter according to an update instruction from an external device, and

the processing device is configured to evaluate, in the evaluation, each of the plurality of the specified computer resources based on a predetermined criteria of a backup time based on the quality information and the evaluation parameter of the corresponding item designated by the user among the predetermined items, and specify as the backup destination a computer resource having a highest result in the evaluation.

8. The backup management system according to claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to

receive through the communication device or the input device a location designation condition that specifies the location provided by the computer resource in a granularity different from that of the position specifying information and the area specifying information, as the backup requirement, and

check with the location designation condition the position specifying information or the area specifying information of the computer resource specified as the backup destination in the backup destination specifying process, and specify the corresponding computer resource as the backup destination when the check result satisfies the location designation condition.

9. The backup management system according to claim 1 wherein the processing device is configured to further perform

a backup process by transferring data from the backup target computer resource to the computer resource of the specified backup destination, and

a process of outputting through the output device or the communication device each information of the backup destination and the backup target, and a progress information on the backup process.

10. The backup management system according to claim 9 wherein the cloud service that provides the computer resource of the backup target has an interface that outputs user data that the user uses in the cloud service, with a user identifier as an input, and

the storage device retains in the location management table a position specifying information or an area specifying information corresponding to a location where the user data is stored, as the position specifying information or the area specifying information of the computer resource in the cloud service, and

the processing device is configured to extract the user data stored in a location indicated by the corresponding position specifying information or the area specifying information, using the user identifier as an input from the interface of the backup target computer resource, and transfer the extracted user data to the computer resource of the backup destination.

11. A backup management method including a computer having a storage device that retains a location management table that stores therein at least one of position specifying information uniquely specifying a location provided by a computer resource in each cloud service and an area specifying information specifying a predetermined area including the location provided without uniquely specifying the location provided, comprising:

a process of receiving through a communication device or an input device a designation related to a computer resource as a backup target and a backup requirement, from a user of the cloud service, and

a process of specifying as a backup destination a computer resource that has a position relation with the computer resource as the backup target satisfying the backup requirement, based on a designation from the user and at least one of the position specifying information and the area specifying information of the each computer resource stored in the location management table.