System and method for virtual vaulting
First Claim
1. A tape library comprising:
- a front-end portion adapted for use with a data protection application, said front-end portion being visible to an end-user, the data protection application for importing and exporting tapes from said front-end portion;
a back-end portion for storing tapes exported by the front-end portion, said back-end portion being invisible to an end-user and the data protection application;
wherein tapes may be automatically exported from the front-end portion to the back-end portion, and may be automatically imported back into the front-end portion without manual intervention;
an agent for determining the availability of tapes and tape slots in the front-end and back-end portions and for managing the transfer of tapes between the front-end and back-end portions, the agent functionally disposed between the data protection application and the end-user and configured to intercept requests made by the data protection application for manual importing and exporting of tapes into and out-of the front-end portion; and
whereby if the agent intercepts a message from the data protection application requesting the end-user to manually import a tape to the front-end portion, the agent automatically determines whether the tape is in the back-end portion and, if so, the agent automatically transfers the tape form-the back-end portion to the front-end portion.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a tape library comprising both a small front-end portion and a larger back-end portion. The front-end portion is a visible virtual or physical tape library; and the back-end portion is a large invisible virtual or physical tape vault. The DPA is a typical DPA which only sees the front-end library. If desired, all messages regarding the importing and exporting of tapes are reviewed by an agent. The agent manages the automatic transfer of tapes between the front-end and the back-end, and notifies the user when a manual import or export is needed. This greatly reduces both the amount of hardware required to establish a virtual or physical tape library and also reduces the amount of labor required by a user to physically import and export tapes. If both the front-end library and, the back-end vault are virtual and reside on the same virtual tape library appliance, no data movement is necessary and the tapes can be moved merely by performing small software state changes. In this case, manual operation may be acceptable.
104 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A tape library comprising:
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a front-end portion adapted for use with a data protection application, said front-end portion being visible to an end-user, the data protection application for importing and exporting tapes from said front-end portion; a back-end portion for storing tapes exported by the front-end portion, said back-end portion being invisible to an end-user and the data protection application; wherein tapes may be automatically exported from the front-end portion to the back-end portion, and may be automatically imported back into the front-end portion without manual intervention; an agent for determining the availability of tapes and tape slots in the front-end and back-end portions and for managing the transfer of tapes between the front-end and back-end portions, the agent functionally disposed between the data protection application and the end-user and configured to intercept requests made by the data protection application for manual importing and exporting of tapes into and out-of the front-end portion; and whereby if the agent intercepts a message from the data protection application requesting the end-user to manually import a tape to the front-end portion, the agent automatically determines whether the tape is in the back-end portion and, if so, the agent automatically transfers the tape form-the back-end portion to the front-end portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for importing and exporting tapes between front and back portions of a tape library comprising:
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installing a data protection application on a tape library having front and back portions wherein the data protection application interacts only with the front portion; intercepting requests made by the data protection application for manual importing and exporting of tapes into and out-of the front portion; for import requests, determining whether a requested tape is in the back portion; for export requests, determining whether a requested tape can be stored in the back portion; exporting tapes requested by the data protection application for manual exportation automatically from the front portion to the back portion of the tape library wherein it is determined that the requested tape can be stored in the back portion; importing tapes requested by the data protection application for manual importation automatically from the back portion to the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape is in the back portion; notifying a user when a requested tape needs to be manually imported to the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape is not in the back portion; and notifying a user when a requested tape needs to be manually exported from the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape cannot be stored in the back portion.
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14. A method for importing a tape in a tape library having front and back portions comprising:
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installing a data protection application on a front portion of a tape library having front and back portions; intercepting requests by the data protection application for manual importation of tapes to the front portion; determining whether a requested tape is in the back portion; importing the requested tape automatically from the back portion to the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape is in the back portion; and notifying a user when a requested tape needs to be manually imported to the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape is not in the back portion.
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15. A method for exporting a tape in a tape library having front and back portions comprising:
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installing a data protection application on a front portion of a tape library having front and back portions; intercepting requests by the data protection application for manual exportation of tapes from the front portion; determining whether a requested tape can be stored in the back portion; exporting the requested tape automatically from the front portion to the back portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape can be stored in the back portion; and notifying a user when a requested tape needs to be manually exported from the front portion wherein it is determined that the requested tape cannot be stored in the back portion.
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Specification