SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO IDENTIFY UNPROTECTED VIRTUAL MACHINES

• US 20180067955A1
• Filed: 08/07/2017
• Published: 03/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: PAWAR, Rahul S., KOTTOMTHARAYIL, Rajiv, GOKHALE, Parag, DESHPANDE, Sumer Dilip, DORNEMANN, Henry Wallace
• Granted Patent: US 10,733,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines
• 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 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484

Abstract

Virtualization sprawl can lead to virtual machines with no designated periodic backup. If the data associated with these unprotected virtual machines is not backed up, it cannot be restored if needed, leading to system failures. A data storage system identifies and protects the unprotected virtual machines. For instance, the system compares a list of virtual machines with a list of computing devices having a designated backup policy in the data storage system and determines which of the virtual machines are unprotected. The system further automatically categorizes the unprotected virtual machines, identifies those unprotected virtual machines that remain uncategorized, and applies a default backup policy to the uncategorized and unprotected virtual machines to provide protected virtual machines.

Claims

1. A method to identify virtual machine backup policies in a data management system, the method comprising:

monitoring a first plurality of client devices that are physical machines that generate primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices;

monitoring a second plurality of client devices that are virtual machines that generate primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices;

directing one or more media agents to perform at least one data protection operation that copies the primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices to create secondary data stored on one or more secondary storage devices, the at least one data protection operation converts the primary data from a native format to secondary data in a backup format wherein the backup formal is different than the native format;

determining which of the first and second plurality of client devices are virtual machines, by automatically requesting with one or more computer processors a first list of virtual machines in a data management system from virtual machine management software;

receiving the first list of the virtual machines in the data management system in response to the request;

automatically retrieving with one or more computer processors a second list of virtual machines in the data management system, each virtual machine on the second list associated with at least one backup policy;

automatically comparing with one or more computer processors the first list with the second list; and

automatically identifying with one or more computer processors a least one unprotected virtual machine that is not associated with the at least one backup policy based at least in part on the comparison of the first list with the second list;

automatically querying the at least one unprotected virtual machine to obtain information about the at least one unprotected virtual machine;

comparing the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine with backup criteria, said backup criteria comprising at least one of;

a department to which the unprotected virtual machine is assigned, and a type of virtual machine manager associated with the unprotected virtual machine;

when the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine matches the backup criteria, automatically applying the at least one backup policy to the unprotected virtual machine and directing the one or media agents during the at least one data protection operation to copy the primary data generated by the unprotected virtual machine in the native format to the one or more secondary storage devices in the backup format; and

when the at least one unprotected virtual machine does not match the criteria, automatically applying a default backup policy to the unprotected virtual machine and directing the one or media agents during the at least one data protection operation to copy the primary data generated by the unprotected virtual machine in the native format to the one or more secondary storage devices in the backup format.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically assigning the at least one backup policy to the unprotected the virtual machine and storing the assignment.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a storage manager queries the virtual machine management software for the first list of the virtual machines in the data management system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first list of virtual machines in the data management system is stored in a database associated with the virtual machine management software.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second list of virtual machines is stored in a management database associated with the storage manager.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the unprotected virtual machines are not associated with a backup storage policy.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a notification of the unprotected virtual machines to a system administrator through a graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing an indication of the unprotected virtual machines.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the indication is stored in a management database associated with the storage manager.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the virtual machine management software retrieves the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine.

11. A data management system for making secondary copies of primary data, the data management system comprising:

one or more media agents that monitor a first plurality of client devices that are physical machines that generate primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices, the one or more media agents further monitor a second plurality of client devices that are virtual machines that generate primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices;

a storage manager comprising computer hardware including one or more computer processors, the storage manager configured to;

direct the one or more media agents to perform at least one data protection operation that copies the primary data stored on one or more primary storage devices to create secondary data stored on one or more secondary storage devices, the at least one data protection operation converts the primary data from a native format to secondary data in a backup format wherein the backup format is different than the native format;

determine which of the first and second plurality of client devices are virtual machines, by automatically requesting with one or more computer processors a first list of virtual machines in a data management system from virtual machine management software;

receive the first list of the virtual machines in the data management system in response to the request;

automatically retrieve a second list of virtual machines, each virtual machine on the second list associated with a at least one backup policy;

automatically compare the first list with the second list; and

automatically identify at least one unprotected virtual machines machine that is not associated with the at least one backup policy based at least in part on the comparison of the first list with the second list;

automatically query the at least one unprotected virtual machine to obtain information about the at least one unprotected virtual machine;

compare the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine with backup criteria, said backup criteria comprising at least one of;

a department to which the unprotected virtual machine is assigned, and a type of virtual machine manager associated with the unprotected virtual machine;

when the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine matches the backup criteria, automatically apply the at least one backup policy to the unprotected virtual machine and directing the one or media agents during the at least one data protection operation to copy the primary data generated by the unprotected virtual machine in the native format to the one or more secondary storage devices in the backup format; and

when the at least one unprotected virtual machine does not match the criteria, automatically apply a default backup policy to the unprotected virtual machine and directing the one or media agents during the at least one data protection operation to copy the primary data generated by the unprotected virtual machine in the native format to the one or more secondary storage devices in the backup format.

12. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the storage manager automatically assigns the at least one backup policy to the unprotected the virtual machine and storing the assignment.

13. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the storage manager queries the virtual machine management software for the first list of the virtual machines in the data management system.

14. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the first list of virtual machines in the data management system is stored in a database associated with the virtual machine management software.

15. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the second list of virtual machines is stored in a management database associated with the storage manager.

16. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the unprotected virtual machines are not associated with a backup storage policy.

17. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the storage manager provides a notification of the unprotected virtual machines to a system administrator through a graphical user interface.

18. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the storage manager stores an indication of the unprotected virtual machines.

19. The data management system of claim 18 wherein the indication is stored in a management database associated with the storage manager.

20. The data management system of claim 11 wherein the virtual machine management software retrieves the information associated with the at least one unprotected virtual machine.