METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EXPANDING STORAGE CAPACITY OF A DRIVE USING CLOUD STORAGE SYSTEMS

• US 20160063026A1
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mokhtarzada Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Mokhtarzada Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: MOKHTARZADA, Danyal Haroon, MOKHTARZADA, Zekeria Tariq, STOUT, Ryan William
• Granted Patent: US 9,646,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/113 Details of archiving lifecycle management in storage systems G06F3/0649; backup systems G06F11/1446
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/119 Details of migration of file systems migration mechanisms in storage systems G06F3/0647
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/122 using management policies backup systems G06F11/1446; file migration policies for HSM systems G06F16/185
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1824 implemented using Network-attached Storage [NAS] architecture distributed or networked storage systems G06F3/067; protocols for distributed storage of data in a network H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1844 Management specifically adapted to replicated file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27

Abstract

A storage drive and associated system and method for storing data locally at the storage drive and/or at cloud storage may buffer, in a local storage buffer, data to be stored at the cloud and upload the data to the cloud storage from the local storage buffer. Upon receipt of an acknowledgement, from the cloud storage, that the data was successfully uploaded, the storage drive may delete the data from the local storage buffer. The storage drive may provide a ghost file representation of the uploaded data through the storage drive, through which the data uploaded to the cloud storage may be accessed. The storage drive may access multiple cloud storage accounts, each corresponding to a file folder on the storage drive, allowing the user to easily access different cloud storage accounts. The storage drive may recover data that was deleted from either local persistent storage or the cloud storage.

Claims

1. A storage drive for storing data, from a data source, using local persistent storage of the storage drive and/or cloud storage, the storage drive comprising:

a physical memory configured to store data in the local persistent storage

a physical processor programmed by computer program instructions that, when executed by the physical processor, programs the storage drive to;

cause a first file folder, a second file folder, and a third file folder to be created at the storage drive such that (i) the first file folder corresponds to data stored at both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage, (ii) the second file folder corresponds to data stored at the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage, and (iii) the third file folder corresponds to data stored at the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage;

obtain, from the data source, data to be stored;

obtain storage information that indicates that the obtained data should be stored using (i) both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage, (ii) the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage, or (iii) the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage; and

cause, based on the storage information, the obtained data to be stored using the local persistent storage, the cloud storage, or both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage such that (i) the obtained data is stored in association with the first file folder responsive to storage of the obtained data using both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage, (ii) the obtained data is stored in association with the second file folder responsive to storage of the obtained data using the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage, and (iii) the obtained data is stored in association with the third file folder responsive to storage of the obtained data using the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage.

3. The storage drive of claim 1, wherein the storage information is obtained via a user interface of a user electronic device, through which the storage drive displays the first file folder, the second file folder, and the third file folder, and wherein the storage information comprises an indication that a user interface input occurred with respect to the first file folder, the second file folder, and/or the third file folder.

4. The storage drive of claim 3, wherein the user interface input comprises a drag and drop input.

5. The storage drive of claim 3, wherein the storage information indicates that the obtained data should be stored using the local persistent storage and the cloud storage, the physical processor further programmed to:

cause the obtained data to be stored in the local persistent storage and the cloud storage; and

cause an actual file representation that represents the obtained data to be included in the first file folder.

6. The storage drive of claim 5, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the actual file representation has been moved from the first file folder to the second file folder;

cause the obtained data to be removed from the local persistent storage;

cause the actual file representation to be removed from the first file folder; and

cause a ghost file representation of the obtained data to be included in the second file folder.

7. The storage drive of claim 5, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the actual file representation has been moved from the first file folder to the third file folder;

cause the obtained data to be removed from the cloud storage;

cause the actual file representation to be removed from the first file folder; and

cause the actual file representation to be included in the third file folder.

8. The storage drive of claim 3, wherein the storage information indicates that the obtained data should be stored using the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage, the physical processor further programmed to:

cause the obtained data to be stored in the cloud storage; and

cause a ghost file representation that represents the obtained data to be included in the second file folder.

9. The storage drive of claim 8, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the ghost file representation has been moved from the second file folder to the first file folder;

cause the obtained data to be downloaded from the cloud storage to the local persistent storage; and

cause an actual file representation of the obtained data to be included in the first file folder.

10. The storage drive of claim 8, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the ghost file representation has been moved from the second file folder to the third file folder;

cause the obtained data to be downloaded from the cloud storage to the local persistent storage;

cause the obtained data to be removed from the cloud storage;

cause the ghost file representation to be removed from the second file folder; and

cause an actual file representation of the obtained data to be included in the third file folder.

11. The storage drive of claim 3, wherein the storage information indicates that the obtained data should be stored using the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage, the physical processor further programmed to:

cause the obtained data to be stored in the local persistent storage; and

cause an actual file representation of the obtained data to be included in the third file folder.

12. The storage drive of claim 11, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the actual file representation has been moved from the third file folder to the first file folder;

cause the actual file representation to be removed from the third file folder;

cause the actual file representation to be included in the first file folder; and

cause the obtained data to be uploaded to the cloud storage.

13. The storage drive of claim 11, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive second storage information that indicates that the actual file representation has been moved from the third file folder to the second file folder;

cause the actual file representation to be removed from the third file folder;

cause the obtained data to be uploaded to the cloud storage; and

cause a ghost file representation that represents the obtained data to be included in the second file folder.

14. The storage drive of claim 1, wherein the physical processor is further programmed to:

receive deletion information that indicates the obtained data should be deleted; and

cause the obtained data to be recoverably deleted from the local persistent storage, the cloud storage, or both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage, wherein the deleted data is recoverable for a predetermined period of time.

15. The storage drive of claim 14, wherein to cause the obtained data to be recoverably deleted, the storage drive is further programmed to:

copy the obtained data to a recovery area from which the obtained data is recovered; and

delete the obtained data from the local persistent storage and/or cause the obtained data to be deleted from the cloud storage, depending on whether the obtained data is stored at the local persistent storage and/or the cloud storage, prior to expiration of the predetermined period of time.

16. The storage drive of claim 15, wherein to cause the obtained data to be recoverably deleted, the storage drive is further programmed to:

determine whether the predetermined period of time has expired; and

delete the obtained data from the recovery area upon expiration of the predetermined period of time.

17. The storage drive of claim 14, wherein to cause the obtained data to be recoverably deleted, the storage drive is further programmed to:

delete the obtained data from the persistent storage and/or cause the obtained data to be deleted from the cloud storage, depending on whether the obtained data is stored at the local persistent storage or the cloud storage, upon expiration of the predetermined period of time.

18. The storage drive of claim 14, wherein the storage drive is further programmed to:

receive a request to recover the deleted data;

determine whether the deleted data is recoverable; and

responsive to a determination that the deleted data is recoverable;

(i) cause the obtained data to be recovered, and (ii) provide the actual file representation through the first file folder or the third file folder, or provide the ghost file representation through the second file folder, depending on whether the obtained data is stored at the local persistent storage and/or the cloud storage.

19. The storage drive of claim 1, wherein the storage drive is further programmed to:

generate a fourth file folder that corresponds to a second cloud storage different than the cloud storage;

receive second data to be stored from the obtained data source;

cause the second data to be uploaded to the second cloud storage;

determine whether a second acknowledgement indicating that the second data has been successfully uploaded to the second cloud storage is received from the second cloud storage; and

responsive to a determination that the second acknowledgement is received, provide a second ghost file representation of the second data uploaded to the second cloud storage to the user electronic device via the third file folder.

20. The storage drive of claim 1, further comprising:

an input device from which the storage information is obtained without the use of a connected user electronic device; and

an output device configured to display a progress of storage of the obtained data.

2. (canceled)

21. A storage drive for storing data, from a data source, using local persistent storage of the storage drive and/or cloud storage, the storage drive comprising:

a physical memory configured to store data in the local persistent storage

a physical processor programmed by computer program instructions that, when executed by the physical processor, programs the storage drive to;

obtain, from the data source, data to be stored;

responsive to obtaining the data from the data source, cause the obtained data to be stored in the cloud storage;

determine whether an acknowledgement indicating that the obtained data has been successfully stored in the cloud storage is received from the cloud storage;

responsive to the determination that the acknowledgement is received, cause the obtained data to be removed from the local persistent storage; and

responsive to obtaining the data from the data source, cause a ghost file representation of the obtained data to be stored in the local persistent storage in lieu of storing the obtained data in the local persistent storage.

22. The storage drive of claim 21, wherein the storage information is programmed to:

obtain storage information that indicates that the obtained data should be stored using the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage,

wherein the storage of the obtained data in the cloud storage and the storage of the ghost file representation are further responsive to the storage information indicating that the obtained data should be stored using the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage.

23. The storage drive of claim 21, wherein the storage drive is programmed to cause a first file folder to be created, the first file folder corresponding to data stored at the cloud storage but not the local persistent storage.

24. The storage drive of claim 23, wherein the storage drive is programmed to cause a second file folder to be created, the second file folder corresponding to one of:

(i) data stored at both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage;

or (ii) data stored at the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage.

25. The storage drive of claim 24, wherein the storage drive is programmed to cause a third file folder to be created, the third file folder corresponding to a different one of:

(i) data stored at both the local persistent storage and the cloud storage;

or (ii) data stored at the local persistent storage but not the cloud storage.

26. The storage drive of claim 21, wherein the storage drive is programmed such that storage of data in the cloud storage and/or storage of one or more corresponding ghost file representations are performed by the storage drive as a default measure.

27. The storage drive of claim 26, wherein the storage of the obtained data in the cloud storage and the storage of the ghost file representation are based on the default measure.

28. The storage drive of claim 21, wherein the storage of the ghost file representation in the local persistent storage is further responsive to a determination that the acknowledgement is received.

30. The storage drive of claim 28, wherein the storage of the ghost file representation and the removal of the obtained data from the local persistent storage are based on a default measure programmed into the storage drive that automatically causes storage of one or more corresponding ghost file representations and removal of cloud-uploaded data to which the one or more ghost file representations correspond upon receipt of acknowledgement indicating that the cloud-uploaded data has successfully been uploaded to the cloud storage.

29. (canceled)