System and method for blind media support

• US 7,162,496 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Kottomtharayil, Rajiv, Amarendran, Arun Prasad, Ilkal, Zahid
• Primary Examiner(s): LEROUX, ETIENNE PIERRE
• Application Number:
  US10/663,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20040225634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/10, 707/104.1, 705/28, 345/533
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0686 Libraries, e.g. tape libraries, jukebox
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method for operating a storage library. The system comprises a management server, a media agent connected to the management server, a library connected to the media agent and a database connected to the management server. The management server controls the media agent to monitor for the addition or removal of a piece of media in the library. When the media agent determines that the piece of media has been added to the library or removed from the library, the media agent causes the library to read a media label stored as data on the piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the piece of media. When a backup or restore is performed, the system checks the media label to ensure that the correct media is being used. Inventory procedures are disclosed. Media labels are stored in a database along with an indication of the corresponding slot where the media is stored, a time when the label was put on the medium, and a confidence parameter indicating how confident the system is that the particular medium is stored in the respective slot.

Claims

1. A system for operating a storage device, the system comprising:

a management server;

a media agent connected to the management server;

a storage device connected to the media agent; and

a database connected to the management server;

wherein

the management server controls the media agent to monitor for the addition or removal of a piece of media in the storage device, and wherein the management server is further configured to determine if the piece of media is either bar coded or non-bar coded; and

when a non-bar coded piece of media has been added to the storage device or removed from the storage device, the media agent causes the storage device to read a media label stored as data in the non-bar coded piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the non-bar coded piece of media,

wherein the storage device returns the piece of media to a slot in the storage device, and wherein the management server stores the identifier in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the management server updates a slot table in the database with a confidence parameter indicating a confidence level of the piece of media stored in the slot.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the storage device does not have a bar code reader.

4. A system for operating a storage device, the system comprising:

a management server;

a media agent connected to the management server;

a storage device connected to the media agent; and

a database connected to the management server;

wherein

the management server controls the media agent to monitor for the addition of a piece of media in the storage device, wherein the management server is configured to determine whether or not the piece of media is bar coded; and

when a non-bar coded piece of media has been added to the storage device, the media agent causes the storage device to write a media label stored as data in the non-bar coded piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the non-bar coded piece of media,

wherein the storage device returns the piece of media to a slot in the storage device, and wherein the management server stores the identifier in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

5. A system for backing up data in a storage device, the system comprising:

a management server;

a media agent connected to the management server;

a storage device connected to the media agent; and

a database connected to the management server;

wherein

the storage device loads a piece of media;

the management server is configured to determine if the piece of media is either a bar coded medium or a non-bar coded medium;

the storage device stores a media label as data on the piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the piece of media;

the media agent transfers backup data to the piece of media;

the storage device returns the piece of media to a slot in the storage device; and

the management server stores the identifier in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the management server updates a slot table in the database with a time that the media label was stored.

7. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein if the piece of media has been used, the storage device looks for an unused piece of media.

8. A system for transferring data between a data source and a desired piece of media, the system comprising:

a management server;

a data source connected to the management server;

a media agent connected to the management server;

a storage device connected to the media agent; and

a database connected to the management server;

wherein

the storage device loads a test piece of media;

the management server determines whether the test piece of media is either a bar coded medium or a non-bar coded medium;

the storage device reads a media label stored as data on the test piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the test piece of media;

the media agent transfers data between the data source and the test piece of media when the media label corresponds to the desired piece of media;

the storage device returns the test piece of media to a slot in the storage device; and

the management server stores the identifier in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein when the test piece of media does not correspond to the desired piece of media, the storage device searches for the desired piece of media.

10. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein when the test piece of media does not correspond to the desired piece of media, the system indicates that the desired piece of media has been exported from the storage device.

11. A storage device system comprising:

a management server;

a media agent connected to the management server;

a storage device connected to the media agent; and

a database connected to the management server;

wherein

the storage device includes a plurality of pieces of media, each piece of media including a respective media label stored as data in the respective piece of media, each media label including a respective identifier identifying the respective piece of media, and wherein the management server is configured to determine whether a first piece of media is either a bar coded medium or a non-bar coded medium when loaded by the storage device,

wherein the storage device returns the first piece of media to a slot in the storage device, and wherein the management server stores the identifier of the first piece of media in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

12. A method of performing an inventory of media stored in a storage device system, the storage device system including a management server, a media agent connected to the management server, a storage device connected to the media agent, and a database connected to the management server, the method comprising:

loading a piece of the media stored in a slot of the storage device into a drive;

determining whether or not the piece of media is bar coded;

reading a media label stored as data in a non-bar coded piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the non-bar coded piece of media; and

storing the identifier in the database in association with an indication of the slot.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising repeating the loading, determining, reading, and storing steps for all slots in the storage device.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising storing in the database a confidence parameter in association with the identifier, the confidence parameter indicating that the storage device system is confident that the piece of media corresponding to the identifier is stored in the slot indicated in the database.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising storing in the database a time, in association with the identifier, when the inventory was performed.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising modifying the confidence parameter to indicate that the storage device system is not confident that the piece of media corresponding to the identifier is stored in the slot indicated in the database when the storage device determines that any piece of media has been added to or removed from the storage device.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising searching for a desired piece of media based on the respective times stored in the database.

18. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising repeating the loading, determining, reading, and storing steps for all slots in the storage device for which a respective confidence parameter in the database indicates a confidence level of not-known.

19. A computer readable storage medium including computer executable code for enabling a system to transfer data between a data source and a desired piece of media, the system comprising a management server, a data source connected to the management server, a media agent connected to the management server, a storage device connected to the media agent, and a database connected to the management server, the computer readable storage medium including data for:

controlling the storage device to load a test piece of media stored in a slot of the storage device;

determining whether or not the piece of media is bar coded;

controlling the storage device to read a media label stored as data in a non-bar coded test piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the non-bar coded test piece of media;

controlling the media agent to transfer data between the data source and the non-bar coded test piece of media when the media label corresponds to the desired piece of media; and

storing the identifier of the piece of media in a database in association with an indication of the slot.