Disaster recovery for virtual machines across primary and secondary sites

• US 9,020,895 B1
• Filed: 12/22/2011
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Inventors: Rajashekar, Rajesh, Barve, Anagha, Karinta, Vineeth, Bhalodia, Atul
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALLEN, NICHOLAS E
• Application Number:
  US13/335,427
• Time in Patent Office: 1,223 Days
• Field of Search: 707/639
• US Class Current: 707/639
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/128 Details of file system snapshots on the file-level, e.g. snapshot creation, administration, deletion use of snapshots for error detection or correction G06F11/14, G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2308 Concurrency control transaction processing G06F9/466

Abstract

A processing system stores a backup of virtual machine data on a storage device in a primary network storage system. A virtual machine running on a primary host machine, which is coupled to the primary network storage system, generates the virtual machine data. A replication software module replicates the backup of the virtual machine data from the primary network storage system to a secondary network storage system. In the event of a failure on the first network storage system, disaster recovery services module restores the virtual machine data from the secondary network storage system to cause the virtual machine to run on a secondary host machine coupled to the secondary network storage system, wherein the disaster recovery services module is coupled to the primary host machine and the secondary host machine over a network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

indicating, from a disaster recovery services module to a first data protection module via a network, that a snapshot of a virtual machine should be stored in a primary network storage system, wherein a primary host machine comprises the first data protection module, wherein the primary host machine is coupled with the primary network storage system, wherein the virtual machine is executing on the primary host machine;

storing, by the primary host machine, the snapshot of the virtual machine on one or more storage devices in the primary network storage system, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine represents a state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot;

replicating the snapshot of the virtual machine from the primary network storage system to a secondary network storage system;

detecting, by the disaster recovery services module, a failure of at least one of the primary host machine or the primary network storage system;

in response to detecting the failure of at least one of the primary host machine and the primary network storage system,

determining, by the disaster recovery services module, a secondary host machine, wherein the secondary host machine is coupled with the secondary network storage system, wherein the secondary host machine comprises a second data protection module; and

indicating, from the disaster recovery services module to the second data protection module via the network, that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine; and

restoring, by the second data protection module, the virtual machine to the secondary host machine based, at least in part, on the snapshot of the virtual machine replicated to the secondary network storage system, wherein restoring the virtual machine to the secondary host machine begins execution of the virtual machine on the secondary host machine at the state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine comprises a persistent point-in-time image of the virtual machine.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said replicating the snapshot of the virtual machine from the primary network storage system to the secondary network storage system comprises mirroring the persistent point-in-time image to one or more storage devices in the secondary network storage system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing metadata associated with the snapshot of the virtual machine on one or more storage devices in the primary network storage system, the metadata comprising a host name of the primary host machine.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

replicating the metadata from the primary network storage system to the secondary network storage system.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining a host name of the secondary host machine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said restoring the virtual machine to the secondary host machine comprises:

replacing the host name of the primary host machine in the metadata with the host name of the secondary host machine.

8. A system comprising:

a device comprising a disaster recovery services module and a first processor, the disaster recovery services module comprising a first machine readable storage medium having program code stored therein that is executable by the first processor to cause the device to,

indicate, to a first data protection module via a network, that a snapshot of a virtual machine should be stored in a primary network storage system;

detect a failure of at least one of a primary host machine or the primary network storage system; and

in response to detection of a failure of at least one of the primary host machine or the primary network storage system, indicate, to a second data protection module via the network, that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine;

the primary host machine coupled with the primary network storage system, the primary host machine comprising the first data protection module and a second processor, the primary host machine configured to execute the virtual machine,

wherein the first data protection module comprises a second machine readable storage medium having program code stored therein that is executable by the second processor to cause the primary host machine to,

store the snapshot of the virtual machine to the primary network storage system, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine represents a state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot;

the primary network storage system comprising a first set of one or more storage devices, the primary network storage system configured to replicate the snapshot of the virtual machine from the primary network storage system to a secondary network storage system;

the secondary network storage system comprising a second set of one or more storage devices; and

the secondary host machine coupled with the secondary network storage system, the secondary host machine comprising the second data protection module and a third processor, the secondary host machine configured to execute the virtual machine,

wherein the second data protection module comprises a third machine readable storage medium having program code stored therein that is executable by the third processor to cause the secondary host machine to,

restore the virtual machine to the secondary host machine based, at least in part, on the snapshot of the virtual machine replicated to the secondary network storage system, wherein restoration of the virtual machine to the secondary host machine begins execution of the virtual machine on the secondary host machine at a state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine comprises a persistent point-in-time image of the virtual machine.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the primary network storage system being configured to replicate the snapshot of the virtual machine from the primary network storage system to the secondary network storage system comprises the primary network storage system being configured to mirror the persistent point-in-time image to the secondary network storage system.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the program code executable by the second processor further comprises program code executable by the second processor to cause the primary data host machine to:

store metadata associated with the snapshot of the virtual machine to the primary network storage system, the metadata comprising a host name of the primary host machine.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the primary network storage system is further configured to:

replicate the metadata from the primary network storage system to the secondary network storage system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein when the program code being executable by the third processor to cause the secondary host machine to restore the virtual machine to the secondary host machine comprises program code executable by the third processor to cause the secondary host machine to:

determine a hostname associated with the secondary host machine; and

replace the host name of the primary host machine in the metadata with the host name of the secondary host machine.

20. The system of claim 8,

wherein the program code being executable by the first processor further comprises program code executable by the first processor to cause the device to indicate, to the first data protection module via a network, that the snapshot of the virtual machine should be replicated to the secondary network storage system;

wherein the program code being executable by the second processor further comprises program code executable to cause the primary host machine to indicate, to the primary network storage system, that the snapshot of the virtual machine should be replicated to the secondary network storage system in response to reception of the indication, from the device, that the snapshot of the virtual machine should be replicated to the secondary network storage system.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein when the program code being executable by the first processor to cause the device to indicate that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine comprises program code executable by the first processor to cause the device to replace the host name of the primary host machine in the metadata with the determined host name of the secondary host machine.

14. A device comprising:

a processor; and

a machine readable storage medium having program code stored therein that is executable by the processor to cause the device to,

indicate, via a network, to a first data protection module on a primary host machine, that a snapshot of a virtual machine should be stored in a primary network storage system coupled with the primary host machine, wherein the virtual machine is executing on the primary host machine at the time of said indication, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine represents a state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot;

detect a failure of at least one of the primary host machine or the primary network storage system; and

in response to detection of a failure of at least one of the primary host machine or the primary network storage system,

determine a secondary host machine, wherein the secondary host machine is configured to execute the virtual machine; and

indicate, via the network, to a second data protection module, that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine based, at least in part, on a backup of the snapshot of the virtual machine stored in a secondary network storage system, wherein restoring the virtual machine to the secondary host machine results begins execution of the virtual machine on the secondary host machine at the state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the snapshot of the virtual machine comprises a persistent point-in-time image of the virtual machine.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the program code further comprises program code executable by the processor to cause the device to indicate, to the first data protection module via the network, that the snapshot of the virtual machine should be replicated to the secondary network storage system.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the program code further comprises program code executable by the processor to cause the device to determine a host name of the secondary host machine in response to determination of the secondary host machine.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the program code being executable by the processor to cause the device to indicate, to the second data protection module via the network that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine comprises program code executable by the processor to cause the device to:

indicate that the host name of the primary host machine in backup metadata associated with the snapshot of the virtual machine should be replaced with the host name of the secondary host machine.

22. The device of claim 17, wherein the program code being executable by the processor to cause the device to indicate, to the second data protection module via the network that the virtual machine should be restored to the secondary host machine comprises program code executable by the processor to cause the device to replace the host name of the primary host machine in backup metadata associated with the snapshot of the virtual machine with the host name of the secondary host machine.

19. A method comprising:

initiating, via a network, by a disaster recovery services module executing on a device, storage of a snapshot of a virtual machine in a primary network storage system, the virtual machine running on a primary host machine coupled with the primary network storage system;

initiating, via the network, by the disaster recovery services module, replication of the snapshot of the virtual machine from the primary network storage system to a secondary network storage system, the secondary network storage system coupled with a secondary host machine; and

in response to detecting a failure of at least one of the primary host machine or the primary network storage system, initiating, via the network by the disaster recovery services module, restoration of the virtual machine to the secondary host machine based, at least in part on, the replicated snapshot of the virtual machine in the secondary network storage system, wherein said restoration of the virtual machine begins execution of the virtual machine on the secondary host machine at the state of the virtual machine at the time of the snapshot.