Multiple concurrent restore using same user interface

• US 7,685,460 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Buchman, Matthew D., Simonich, Patrick M., Bingham, Scott Forrest, Singhal, Upanshu
• Primary Examiner(s): Iqbal; Nadeem
• Application Number:
  US11/536,164
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: 714/2
• US Class Current: 714/6.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques

Abstract

A method and system for performing multiple concurrent recovery operations using a single instance of a user interface. One exemplary method includes initiating a first recovery operation via a single user interface. The first recovery operation includes copying a first data object from a first backup storage location to a first recovery storage location. The exemplary method further includes initiating a second recovery operation via the single user interface without requiring a user to open a separate instance of the user interface. Similarly, the second recovery operation includes copying a second data object from a second backup storage location to a second recovery storage location. At least a portion of the second recovery operation occurs concurrently with at least a portion of the first recovery operation.

Claims

1. In a computer system, a method for performing recovery operations, the method comprising:

presenting a single user interface that displays a list of data objects that can be recovered;

initiating a first recovery operation via the single user interface, the first recovery operation comprising selecting a first data object from the list of data objects and copying the first data object from a first backup storage location to a first recovery storage location that corresponds to a first computing device, wherein the single user interface communicates the selection of the first data object to a background process that interacts with a recovery application to recover the first data object; and

initiating a second recovery operation via the single user interface without requiring a user to open a separate instance of the single user interface, the second recovery operation comprising selecting a second data object from the list of data objects and copying the second data object selected from the list of data objects from a second backup storage location to a second recovery storage location, at least a portion of the second recovery operation occurring concurrently with at least a portion of the first recovery operation, wherein the second recovery storage location corresponds to a second computing device, wherein the single user interface communicates the selection of the second data object to the background process that interacts with the recovery application to recover the second data object concurrently with the first data object.

2. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein initializing the first recovery operation further comprises:

receiving a first input from a user via the single user interface for identifying the first data object, the first backup storage location from which the first data object is read and the first recovery storage location to which the first data object is copied, and for initializing the first recovery operation; and

wherein initializing the second recovery operation further comprises;

receiving a second input from the user via the single user interface for identifying the second data object, the second backup storage location from which the second data object is read and the second recovery storage location to which the second data object is copied, and for initializing the second recovery operation.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the first backup storage location from which the first data object is read is distinct from the second backup storage location from which the second data object is read.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the first recovery storage location to which the first data object is copied is distinct from the second recovery storage location to which the second data object is copied.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first data object and the second data object are the same data object.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising initiating a third recovery operation via the single user interface without requiring a user to open a separate instance of the user interface, the third recovery operation comprising copying a third data object from a third backup storage location to a third recovery storage location, at least a portion of the third recovery operation occurring concurrently with at least a portion of at least one of the first or second recovery operations.

7. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein initializing the first recovery operation further comprises:

acquiring configuration information for the first recovery operation; and

sending a request containing at least a portion of the configuration information for the first recovery operation to the background process configured for managing one or more recovery operations; and

wherein initializing the second recovery operation further comprises;

acquiring configuration information for the second recovery operation; and

sending a request containing at least a portion of the configuration information for the second recovery operation to the background process.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the background process is a daemon program.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first computing device and the second computing device comprises a recovery storage database.

9. In a distributed computer system including at least one backup storage location, at least one server system and at least one recovery storage location, a computer program product configured to implement a method of performing recovery operations, the computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the server system to perform the following:

present a single user interface that displays a list of data objects for recovery;

initiate a first recovery operation via the single user interface, the first recovery operation comprising selecting a first data object from the list of data objects and copying a first data object from a first backup storage location to a first recovery storage location that corresponds to a first computing device, wherein the single user interface communicates the selection of the first data object to a background process that interacts with a recovery application to recover the first data object; and

initiate a second recovery operation via the single user interface without requiring a user to open a separate user interface, the second recovery operation comprising selecting a second data object from the list of data objects and copying the second data object from the first backup storage location to a second recovery storage location, at least a portion of the second recovery operation occurring concurrently with at least a portion of the first recovery operation, wherein the second recovery storage location corresponds to a second computing device, wherein the single user interface communicates the selection of the second data object to the background process that interacts with the recovery application to recover the second data object concurrently with the first data object.

10. The computer program product as recited in claim 9,

wherein the computer executable instructions that cause the server system to initiate the first recovery operation further comprise instructions to cause the server system to receive a first input from a user via the single user interface for identifying the first data object, the first backup storage location from which the first data object is read and the first recovery storage location to which the first data object is copied, and for initializing the first recovery operation;

and

wherein the computer executable instructions that cause the server system to initiate the second recovery operation further comprise instructions to cause the server system to receive a second input from the user via the single user interface for identifying the second data object, the second backup storage location from which the second data object is read and the second recovery storage location to which the second data object is copied, and for initializing the second recovery operation.

11. The computer program product as recited in claim 9, wherein the first data object and the second data object are the same data object.

12. The computer program product as recited in claim 9,

wherein the computer executable instructions that cause the server system to initiate the first recovery operation further comprise instructions to cause the server system to perform the following:

acquire configuration information for the first recovery operation; and

send a request containing at least a portion of the configuration information for the first recovery operation to the background process configured for managing one or more recovery operations; and

wherein the computer executable instructions that cause the server system to initiate the second recovery operation further comprise instructions to cause the server system to perform the following;

acquire configuration information for the second recovery operation; and

send a request containing at least a portion of the configuration information for the second recovery operation to the background process.

13. The computer program product as recited in claim 12, wherein the process is a daemon program.

14. A system for performing recovery operations comprising:

a storage device configured to maintain a backup copy of one or more data objects;

a recovery server comprising;

a recovery application configured to recover data objects from the storage device to multiple computing devices; and

a background process configured to manage multiple concurrent recovery operations; and

a management interface comprising;

a graphical user interface configured to allow a user to initiate the multiple concurrent recovery operations to the multiple computing devices without being required to open separate instances of the graphical user interface for each recovery operation for each computing device, wherein the graphical user interface presents a list of data objects for recovery; and

an interface module configured to communicate with the background process and configured to provide information to the graphical user interface regarding which data objects included in the list of data objects are concurrently selected for recovery and a concurrent status of the recovery operations for each of the selected data objects.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the background process is a daemon program.

16. The system as recited in claim 14, further comprising at least one recovery storage location in communication with the recovery server for storing copies of the recovered data objects.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the system is configured such that the multiple concurrent recovery operations are saved to two or more distinct recovery storage locations.

18. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the at least one recovery storage location is a client computer.

19. The system recited in claim 14, wherein the system is configured such that the multiple concurrent recovery operations are recovering two or more distinct data objects.