Creating secondary copies of data based on searches for content

• US 8,719,264 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Varadharajan, Prakash
• Primary Examiner(s): LIAO, JASON G
• Application Number:
  US13/076,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• 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 16/148 File search processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/185 Hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof details of archiving G06F16/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures

Abstract

A method and system for creating secondary copies of data whose contents satisfy searches within data stores is described. In some cases, the system searches for data within a data store, identifies a set of data that satisfies the search, copies the identified set of data, and transfers the copy to secondary or other storage. In some cases, the system utilizes search-based secondary copies of days during restoration processes in order to restore data similar to and/or associated with data requested to be restored.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions for execution by a processor, the instructions comprising:

a search component, wherein the search component is configured to search data within a data store of a storage cell to identify a set of data that satisfies first search criteria,

wherein the data store is a secondary or tertiary storage device of the storage cell that stores backup copies of production data generated by at least one client device,

wherein the secondary or tertiary storage device is remotely located from the at least one client device,

wherein the storage cell does not contain a primary storage device that stores the production data generated by the at least one client device, such that a search of the data store of the storage cell excludes a search of the primary storage device,

wherein the search component is configured to identify additional data that satisfies second search criteria and is associated with the set of data and that does not satisfy the first search criteria,

wherein the second criteria include a business entity relationship with the set of data and include information about subsidiary business entities with respect to one or more business entities identified in the set of data;

a copy component, wherein the copy component is configured to create a secondary copy of the identified set of data that satisfies the first search criteria and of the additional data,

wherein the secondary copy of the identified set of data is one of a backup copy, a snapshot copy, and an archive copy;

wherein the secondary copy of the identified set of data and of the additional data is created from the backup copies of production data stored on the secondary or tertiary storage device; and

a transfer component, wherein the transfer component is configured to store the secondary copy of the identified set of data and the additional data to the secondary or tertiary storage device.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the search component is configured to search for data that satisfies user selected criteria.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first search criteria includes at least one criterion associated with content within the data stored within the data store.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data store is contained on a certain secondary storage media, and the transfer component is configured to transfer the secondary copy to the certain secondary storage media.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise:

an index component, wherein the index component is configured to update an index having entries relating secondary copies of data with media locations for the secondary copies with an entry for the created secondary copy.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise:

a content component, wherein the content component is configured to determine content within the created secondary copy that is associated with other content within the data store; and

an identification component, wherein the identification component is configured to identify data stored in the data store that includes the other content;

wherein the copy component is configured to create a secondary copy of data that includes data that satisfies the first search criteria and the identified data that includes the other content.

7. A computer-implemented method for creating a copy of data stored in secondary or tertiary storage media, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, information associated with a search for data stored in the secondary or tertiary storage media and not in a primary storage device of the computing device,

wherein the secondary or tertiary storage media is remotely located from the computing device;

identifying data within the secondary or tertiary storage media that satisfies one or more criteria of the search;

determining additional criteria that is associated with and different than the one or more criteria of the search,

wherein the additional criteria is based on a business entity relationship between the additional criteria and the one or more search criteria;

identifying additional data that satisfies the determined additional criteria,

wherein the additional criteria include information about subsidiary business entities that are subsidiary with respect to one or more business entities identified in the set of data;

generating a copy of the data that satisfies the criteria of the search and of the additional data that satisfies the additional criteria, wherein the copy of the data that satisfies the criteria of the search and the additional data that satisfies the determined additional criteria is created from backup copies of production data stored on the secondary or tertiary storage media,

wherein the copy of the data and the additional data is formatted differently than an original copy of the production data from which the backup copies were created; and

transferring the generated copy of the data and the additional data to the secondary or tertiary storage media to make results of the search accessible in a shorter amount of time than separately performing the search for the one or more search criteria and the additional criteria.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving information associated with the search for data includes receiving information associated with a request for restoring data from a data archive that satisfies certain search criteria.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying data that satisfies the one or more criteria of the search includes identifying data located in at least two distinct secondary copies of data.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying data that satisfies the one or more criteria of the search includes identifying data located in at least two distinct secondary storage media.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein generating a copy of the data that satisfies the criteria of the search includes generating a backup copy of data for a primary data store.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein transferring the generated copy to the secondary storage media includes transferring the generated copy to secondary or tertiary storage media that contains at least a portion of the searched data.

13. A computer-implemented method of restoring information located in secondary or tertiary storage data stores, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, first search terms as part of a request to restore a first data set located in the secondary or tertiary storage data stores,

wherein the first data set includes portions of multiple backup copies of production data stored in the secondary or tertiary storage data stores that are located remotely from the computing device, wherein secondary and tertiary storage data stores are different than a primary storage device for the computing device;

automatically generating second search terms based on a business entity relationship with the first search terms;

identifying a second data set in the secondary or tertiary storage data stores based on the second search terms,

wherein the second search terms include information about subsidiary business entities that are subsidiary with respect to one or more business entities identified in the first set of data;

locating storage media containing the secondary or tertiary data stores and the first data set and the second data set within the secondary or tertiary data stores;

retrieving the first data set and the second data set from the located storage media containing the first data set and the second data set; and

storing the first data set and the second data set to a secondary storage device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein locating storage media containing the first data set and the second data set includes locating a secondary copy of results of the previous search for information.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the request to restore the first data set includes receiving a request to restore data produced in a specified time period;

and wherein at least a portion of data within the second data set is produced in a time period different than the specified time period.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the request to restore the first data set includes receiving a request to restore data produced at a specified location;

and wherein at least a portion of data within the second data set is produced at a location different than the specified location.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the request to restore the first data set includes receiving a request to restore data produced by a specified user;

and wherein at least a portion of data within the second data set is produced by a user different than the specified user.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the compliance-related request is associated with a legal discovery request for data whose contents satisfy certain criteria.

19. A computer-implemented method for generating a backup set of search query data, the method comprising:

running, with a computing device, a first query on the content of secondary copies of production data stored in multiple secondary storage devices that are different than a primary storage device of the computing device and that are located remotely from the computing device;

automatically running a second query on the content of the secondary copies based on a type of data defined by the first query and based on a business entity relationship with the first query;

extracting, from the multiple secondary storage devices, data whose content satisfies the first query and the second query,

wherein the second query includes information about subsidiary business entities that are subsidiary with respect to one or more business entities identified in the set of data;

making a copy of the extracted data whose content satisfies the first query and the second query; and

storing the copy of the extracted data whose content satisfies the first query and the second query to make the copy of the extracted data more quickly accessible than running the first query and the second query.