EFFICIENT LIVE-MOUNT OF A BACKED UP VIRTUAL MACHINE IN A STORAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method for executing a backed up virtual machine on a host computing device without restoring an entire backup copy of the virtual machine, based on pre-staging certain backed up data blocks, the method comprising:
- prior to execution of the virtual machine,copying a first set of data blocks, by a media agent component of a storage management system, from a backup copy of data stored on a secondary storage device in communication with the media agent to a read-cache associated with the media agent,wherein the backup copy comprises at least one of a configuration file and a virtual disk associated with the virtual machine,wherein the first set of data blocks is based on a profile of the virtual machine, andwherein the media agent executes on a first computing device comprising one or more processors and corresponding computer memory;
launching execution of the virtual machine on a second computing device,based on the first set of data blocks, wherein the first set of data blocks is served by the media agent from the read-cache, andwherein the second computing device comprises one or more processors and corresponding computing memory;
during execution of the virtual machine on the second computing device,serving, by the media agent to the virtual machine, a read request for one or more data blocks that is issued by the virtual machine,wherein serving the read request comprises;
(i) copying the requested one or more data blocks from the backup copy to the read-cache if the requested one or more data blocks are not found in the read-cache, and(ii) transmitting the requested one or more data blocks from the read-cache to the virtual machine in response to the read request; and
wherein continuing execution of the virtual machine on the second computing device is based on the media agent serving further data blocks to the virtual machine, andwherein the further data blocks are copied from the backup copy to the read-cache without restoring the entire backup copy of the virtual machine.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods enable a virtual machine, including any applications executing thereon, to quickly start executing and servicing users based on pre-staged data blocks supplied from a backup copy in secondary storage. An enhanced media agent may pre-stage certain backed up data blocks which may be needed to launch the virtual machine, based on predictive analysis pertaining to the virtual machine'"'"'s operational profile. The enhanced media agent may also pre-stage backed up data blocks for a virtual-machine-file-relocation operation, based on the operation'"'"'s relocation scheme. Servicing read requests to the virtual machine may take priority over ongoing pre-staging of backed up data. Read requests may be tracked so that the media agent may properly maintain the contents of an associated read cache. Some embodiments of the illustrative storage management system may lack, or may simply not require, the relocation operation, and may operate in a “live mount” configuration.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for executing a backed up virtual machine on a host computing device without restoring an entire backup copy of the virtual machine, based on pre-staging certain backed up data blocks, the method comprising:
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prior to execution of the virtual machine, copying a first set of data blocks, by a media agent component of a storage management system, from a backup copy of data stored on a secondary storage device in communication with the media agent to a read-cache associated with the media agent, wherein the backup copy comprises at least one of a configuration file and a virtual disk associated with the virtual machine, wherein the first set of data blocks is based on a profile of the virtual machine, and wherein the media agent executes on a first computing device comprising one or more processors and corresponding computer memory; launching execution of the virtual machine on a second computing device, based on the first set of data blocks, wherein the first set of data blocks is served by the media agent from the read-cache, and wherein the second computing device comprises one or more processors and corresponding computing memory; during execution of the virtual machine on the second computing device, serving, by the media agent to the virtual machine, a read request for one or more data blocks that is issued by the virtual machine, wherein serving the read request comprises; (i) copying the requested one or more data blocks from the backup copy to the read-cache if the requested one or more data blocks are not found in the read-cache, and (ii) transmitting the requested one or more data blocks from the read-cache to the virtual machine in response to the read request; and wherein continuing execution of the virtual machine on the second computing device is based on the media agent serving further data blocks to the virtual machine, and wherein the further data blocks are copied from the backup copy to the read-cache without restoring the entire backup copy of the virtual machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for executing a backed up virtual machine on a computing device in a live-mount configuration, based on pre-staging certain backed up data blocks without restoring an entire backup copy of the virtual machine, the system comprising:
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a first computing device configured to execute the virtual machine based on a recovery point, wherein the first computing device comprises at least one processor and corresponding computer memory; a second computing device in communication with the first computing device, wherein the second computing device is configured to execute a media agent, and comprises a read-cache and a shared file system that is configured as the recovery point for the virtual machine, and wherein the second computing device comprises at least one processor and corresponding computer memory; a storage device in communication with the second computing device, wherein the storage device comprises a backup copy of data associated with the virtual machine, and wherein the backup copy comprises at least one of a configuration file and a virtual disk; wherein the media agent is configured to; determine, based on a profile of the virtual machine, a first set of data blocks to be copied from the backup copy, pre-stage the first set of data blocks by copying the first set of data blocks from the backup copy to the read-cache, and serve the pre-staged first set of data blocks to the first computing device via the recovery point when execution of the virtual machine is launched by the first computing device, thereby enabling the first computing device to launch execution of the virtual machine from the pre-staged first set of data blocks without the entire backup copy of data associated with the virtual machine being restored; and wherein the media agent is further configured to; serve to the first computing device further data blocks copied from the backup copy without the entire backup copy of data associated with the virtual machine being restored. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable medium, excluding transitory propagating signals, storing instructions that, when executed by at least one secondary storage computing device, cause the secondary storage computing device to perform operations comprising:
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receiving, by a media agent that executes on the secondary storage computing device, a profile of a virtual machine to be executed by a host computing device that is distinct from the secondary storage computing device,; determining, by the media agent, based on the profile of the virtual machine, a first set of data blocks to be copied from a backup copy of data associated with the virtual machine, wherein the backup copy is stored on a secondary storage device in communication with the media agent, and wherein the backup copy comprises at least one of a configuration file and a virtual disk associated with the virtual machine; copying the first set of data blocks, by the media agent from the backup copy to a read-cache associated with the media agent on the secondary storage computing device, serving the first set of data blocks to the host computing device, by the media agent from the read-cache without restoring the entire backup copy of the virtual machine, thereby enabling the host computing device to launch execution of the virtual machine based on the first set of data blocks; serving further data blocks to the host computing device, by the media agent, in response to read requests issued by the virtual machine, without restoring the entire backup copy of the virtual machine, thereby enabling continuing execution of the virtual machine on the host computing device; and wherein the profile of the virtual machine comprises at least one indication of a file associated with the virtual machine, which file is selected by a user via a file manager application, and wherein the backup copy also comprises a representation of the file selected by the user. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification