System and method for identifying third party copy devices
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- identifying a plurality of third-party copy devices, wherein each of the third-party copy devices is configured to respond to an extended copy command by copying data from one storage device to another storage device, wherein the identifying comprises issuing a command to probe information to each of the third-party copy devices;
receiving a first extended copy command, wherein the first extended copy command specifies a source storage device from which first data will be transferred and a destination storage device to which the first data will be transferred as part of a data protection operation;
identifying a third-party copy device coupled to the source storage device and the destination storage device, wherein the third-party copy device is one of the plurality of third party copy devices; and
determining a performance characteristic of at least one of;
(1) the third-party copy device, and (2) a connection between the third-party copy device and the source storage device.
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Abstract
Systems, methods, apparatus and software can be implemented to discover third-party copy devices in a distributed computing environment, determine which of the third-party copy devices is best suited for a particular data moving application, and thereby better utilize network and computing system resources. Moreover, environment changes (e.g., device failure, network traffic changes, new device addition) can be dynamically incorporated into the information used for third-party copy device discovery and selection. These systems, methods, apparatus and software help to reduce human errors which can cause failures in critical data protection operations.
26 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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identifying a plurality of third-party copy devices, wherein each of the third-party copy devices is configured to respond to an extended copy command by copying data from one storage device to another storage device, wherein the identifying comprises issuing a command to probe information to each of the third-party copy devices; receiving a first extended copy command, wherein the first extended copy command specifies a source storage device from which first data will be transferred and a destination storage device to which the first data will be transferred as part of a data protection operation; identifying a third-party copy device coupled to the source storage device and the destination storage device, wherein the third-party copy device is one of the plurality of third party copy devices; and determining a performance characteristic of at least one of;
(1) the third-party copy device, and (2) a connection between the third-party copy device and the source storage device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system comprising:
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a memory; a processor coupled to the memory; and a third-party copy device selection module, wherein at least a portion of the third-party copy device selection module is encoded as instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and wherein the third-party copy device selection module is configured to; identify a plurality of third-party copy devices, wherein each of the third-party copy devices is configured to respond to an extended copy command by copying data from one storage device to another storage device, wherein identifying the third-party copy devices comprises issuing a command to probe information to each of the third-party copy devices; receive a first extended copy command, wherein the first extended copy command specifies a source storage device from which first data can be transferred and a destination storage device to which the first data will be transferred as part of a data protection operation; identify a third-party copy device coupled to the source storage device and the destination device, wherein the third-party copy device is one of the plurality of third party copy devices; and determine a performance characteristic of at least one of;
(1) the third-party copy device, (2) a connection between the third-party copy device and the source storage device, and (3) a connection between the third-party copy device and the destination storage device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer readable medium persistently storing program instructions executable on a processor, the computer readable medium being at least one of an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, and a optical storage medium, wherein the program instructions are operable to implement each of:
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identifying a plurality of third-party copy devices, wherein each of the third-party copy devices is configured to respond to an extended copy command by copying data from one storage device to another storage device, and wherein the identifying comprises issuing a command to probe information to each of the third-party copy devices; receiving a first extended copy command, wherein the first extended copy command specifies a source storage device from which first data will be transferred and a destination storage device to which the first data will be transferred as part of a data protection operation; identifying a third-party copy device coupled to the source storage device and the destination device, wherein the third-party copy device is one of the plurality of third party copy devices; determining a performance characteristic of at least one of;
(1) the third-party copy device, and (2) a connection between the third-party copy device and the source storage device. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An apparatus comprising:
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a means for identifying a plurality of means for performing third-party copy operations, wherein each of the means for performing third-party copy operations is configured to respond to an extended copy command by copying data from one storage device to another storage device, wherein identifying the plurality of means for performing third-party copy operations comprises issuing a command to probe information to each of the means for performing third-party copy operations; a means for receiving a first extended copy command, wherein the first extended copy command specifies a means for storing source data from which first data will be transferred and a means for storing destination data to which the first data will be transferred as part of a data protection operation; a means for identifying a means for performing third-party copy operations, wherein the means for performing third-party copy operations is coupled to the means for storing source data and the means for storing destination data; a means for determining a performance characteristic of at least one of;
(1) the means for performing third-party copy operations, and (2) a connection between the means for performing third-party copy operations and the means for storing source data;a display means for presenting an indication of the means for performing third-party copy operations and the performance characteristic to a user. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification