VOLUME OR VIRTUAL MACHINE LEVEL BACKUP AND GENERATING PLACEHOLDERS FOR VIRTUAL MACHINE FILES
First Claim
1. A method of removing files associated with a virtual machine, the method comprising:
- creating a backup copy of data associated with a virtual machine (VM) on one or more secondary storage devices, wherein the data associated with the VM resides on a primary storage device and comprises a plurality of files associated with the VM, and wherein the backup copy comprises corresponding secondary copies of the plurality of files;
analyzing, using computer hardware, metadata associated with the secondary copies of the plurality of files associated with the VM to determine which of the plurality files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device; and
in response determining that one or more files of the plurality of files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device,for respective file of the one or more files;
determining, using computer hardware, whether the respective file has been changed since a first time at which the backup copy of the data associated with the VM was created;
in response to determining that the respective file has not changed since the first time, removing the respective file; and
adding a file placeholder for the removed file on the primary storage device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to certain aspects, a method can include creating a backup copy of data associated with a virtual machine (VM) on one or more secondary storage devices, wherein the backup copy includes corresponding secondary copies of a plurality of files associated with the VM; analyzing metadata associated with the secondary copies to determine which of the plurality files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device; in response determining that one or more files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device, for respective file of the one or more files: determining whether the respective file has been changed since a first time at which the backup copy of the data associated with the VM was created; in response to determining that the respective file has not changed since the first time, removing the respective file; and adding a file placeholder for the removed file.
159 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of removing files associated with a virtual machine, the method comprising:
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creating a backup copy of data associated with a virtual machine (VM) on one or more secondary storage devices, wherein the data associated with the VM resides on a primary storage device and comprises a plurality of files associated with the VM, and wherein the backup copy comprises corresponding secondary copies of the plurality of files; analyzing, using computer hardware, metadata associated with the secondary copies of the plurality of files associated with the VM to determine which of the plurality files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device; and in response determining that one or more files of the plurality of files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device, for respective file of the one or more files; determining, using computer hardware, whether the respective file has been changed since a first time at which the backup copy of the data associated with the VM was created; in response to determining that the respective file has not changed since the first time, removing the respective file; and adding a file placeholder for the removed file on the primary storage device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An information management system configured to remove files associated with a virtual machine, the system comprising:
one or more computing devices comprising computer hardware, wherein the one or more computing devices; create a backup copy of data associated with a virtual machine (VM) on one or more secondary storage devices, wherein the data associated with the VM resides on a primary storage device and comprises a plurality of files associated with the VM, and wherein the backup copy comprises corresponding secondary copies of the plurality of files; analyze metadata associated with the secondary copies of the plurality of files associated with the VM to determine which of the plurality files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device; and in response determining that one or more files of the plurality of files are eligible to be removed from the primary storage device, for respective file of the one or more files; determine whether the respective file has been changed since a first time at which the backup copy of the data associated with the VM was created; in response to determining that the respective file has not changed since the first time, remove the respective file; and add a file placeholder for the removed file on the primary storage device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification