CROSS-SYSTEM STORAGE MANAGEMENT FOR TRANSFERRING DATA ACROSS AUTONOMOUS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

• US 20150256617A1
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Klose, Michael Frank, Nara, Prasad
• Granted Patent: US 9,648,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/119 Details of migration of file systems migration mechanisms in storage systems G06F3/0647
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• 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 67/1097 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 are disclosed for cross-system storage management for transferring data across autonomous information management systems. Data may be transferred from one information management system to another information management system without interfering with or overriding each system'"'"'s autonomy. For example, a secondary copy of production data (e.g., backed up data) is transferred from a first information management system that originated the data to a component of another “foreign” information management system. A first storage manager that manages the first information management system also manages the cross-system data transfer operation to a “foreign” client computing device, which remains under autonomous management as a component of the foreign information management system.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first storage manager configured to manage a first information management system,

wherein the first information management system comprises a secondary storage device comprising a secondary copy of data, and

wherein the secondary copy of data originated in the first information management system, and

wherein the first storage manager comprises a module for managing a data transfer of the secondary copy of data to a component of a second information management system;

a client computing device,

wherein the client computing device is configured to, based on the execution of a first software instance of an information management software, receive the data transfer of the secondary copy of data from a component of the first information management system, and

wherein the client computing device is further configured to, based on the execution of a second software instance of the storage management software, be managed as a component of the second information management system; and

a second storage manager configured to manage the second information management system,

wherein the second storage manager is further configured to;

(i) transmit to the first storage manager information about the client computing device, wherein the information is sufficient to enable the first storage manager to manage the data transfer to the client computing device, and the information is also insufficient to enable the first storage manager to manage the client computing device as a component of the first information management system, and

(ii) instruct the client computing device to execute the first software instance for communicating with one or more components of the first storage management system, and

(iii) autonomously manage the client computing device as a component of the second information management system, whether or not the client computing device is communicatively coupled to one or more of the first storage manager and a component of the first information management system; and

wherein the first storage manager is further configured to, based on the module and the received information about the client computing device, instruct a component of the first information management system to transfer the secondary copy of data in the first information management system to the client computing device in the second information management system.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the received information about the client computing device in the second information management system comprises a host identifier and a client identifier.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the received information about the client computing device in the second information management system comprises a host identifier and a client identifier, and lacks an information management policy in respect to the client computing device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the client is a component of the second information management system and is not a component of the second information management system.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first storage manager is further configured to request the second storage manager to instruct the client computing device execute the first software instance.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the first storage manager is further configured to perform at least one of (i) activate and (ii) instruct the activation of a communication path for the data transfer, wherein the communication path is configured between the client computing device in the second information management system and the component of the first information management system.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first storage manager is further configured to, after the data transfer is completed, communicatively decouple the client computing device and the component of the first information management system that performed the data transfer.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the second storage manager is further configured to, after the data transfer is completed, instruct the client computing device to stop executing the first software instance.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the client computing device, whether or not it is communicatively coupled to a component of the first information management system, is configured to be managed as a component of the second information management system by the second storage manager, and

wherein the client computing device is further configured to at least one of (i) reject and (ii) disregard information management commands from the first storage manager.

10. A method comprising:

executing, by a client computing device, a first software instance of an information management software;

executing, by the client computing device, a second software instance of the information management software,

wherein the client computing device operates, based on executing the second software instance, as a component of a second information management that is managed by a second storage manager;

managing, by a first storage manager that manages a first information management system, a data transfer of a secondary copy of data from a component of the first information management system to the client computing device in the second information management system,

wherein the data transfer is based at least in part on the first software instance executing on the client computing device; and

wherein, whether or not the first software instance is executing on the client computing device, the client computing device is not managed by the first storage manager as a component of the first information management system.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the data transfer is a restore operation managed by the first storage manager.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the data transfer is a restore operation managed by the first storage manager, and

wherein metadata resulting from the restore operation is generated in the first information management system.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the data transfer is further based on information about the client computing device received by the first storage manager from the second storage manager, and

wherein the information is insufficient for the first storage manager to manage the client computing device as a component of the first information management system.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the first software instance executes on the client computing device based on one or more instructions received by the client computing device from the second storage manager.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

stopping, by the client computing device, the execution of the first software instance, based on one or more instructions received by the client computing device from the second storage manager.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the first software instance executes on the client computing device based on one or more instructions transmitted by the first storage manager.

17. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

stopping, by the client computing device, the execution of the first software instance, based on one or more instructions transmitted by the first storage manager.

18. A method comprising:

in a second information management system managed by a second storage manager, managing, by the second storage manager, a client computing device as a component of the second information management system, wherein the managing is based at least in part on a second software instance of an information management software that executes on the client computing device;

instructing, by the second storage manager, the client computing device to execute a first software instance of the information management software for establishing a communication path between the client computing device and a component of a first information management system;

transmitting, by the second storage manager, information about the client computing device to a first storage manager that autonomously manages the first information management system,

wherein the information is sufficient for a cross-system data transfer from the first information management system to the client computing device in the second information management system, and

wherein the information is also insufficient for the first storage manager to manage the client computing device as a component of the first information management system;

receiving, by the client computing device, via the communication path, the cross-system data transfer from the component of the first information management system,

wherein, while receiving, the client computing device remains under autonomous management by the second storage manager as a component of the second information management system.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first software instance of the information management software and the second software instance of the information management software are based on shared binaries stored on the client computing device.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

managing, by the first storage manager, the cross-system data transfer from the component of the first information management system to the client computing device in the second information management system, based at least in part on the information about the client computing device received from the second storage manager.