Use of auxiliary data protection software in failover operations

• US 9,483,362 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2014
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Gokhale, Parag, Kottomtharayil, Rajiv, Karandikar, Amey Vijaykumar, Vijayan, Manoj Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Kamini
• Application Number:
  US14/272,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20140337662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4.11
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/006 Identification G06F11/2289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1662 the resynchronized component or unit being a persistent storage device re-synchronization of failed mirror storage G06F11/2082; rebuild or reconstruction of parity RAID storage G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2092 Techniques of failing over between control units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

According to certain aspects, an information management cell can include at least one secondary storage computing device configured to conduct primary data generated by at least one client computing device to a secondary storage device(s) as part of secondary copy operations, wherein the secondary storage computing device normally operates to conduct primary data to the secondary storage device(s) for storage as a secondary copy in a first secondary copy file format, at the direction of a main storage manager; and can include a failover storage manager configured to activate in response to loss of connectivity between the cell and the main storage manager, and instruct a secondary copy application to perform a secondary copy operation in which the primary data generated by the at least one client computing device is stored as a secondary copy in a second secondary copy file format different than the first secondary copy file format.

Claims

1. An information management cell configured to perform secondary copy operations, comprising:

at least one client computing device comprising one or more applications installed thereon configured to generate primary data for storage in one or more primary storage devices residing in a primary storage subsystem in the information management cell, the client computing device further configured to execute first secondary copy software installed thereon to process a first set of the primary data as part of a first secondary copy operation, at the direction of a main storage manager that is geographically remote from the information management cell;

at least one secondary storage computing device comprising computer hardware configured, at the direction of the main storage manager, to copy the first set of the primary data processed by the first secondary copy software to one or more secondary storage devices for storage as a first secondary copy in a first secondary copy file format; and

a failover storage manager installed on a computing device within the information management cell and configured to;

activate in response to loss of connectivity between the information management cell and the main storage manager; and

instruct second secondary copy software installed on at least one computing device within the information management cell to perform a second secondary copy operation in which a second set of the primary data generated by the client computing device is stored as a second secondary copy in a second secondary copy file format different than the first secondary copy file format;

the client computing device further configured to execute the first secondary copy software installed thereon to, subsequent to reestablishment of the connectivity between the information management cell and the main storage manager, and at the direction of the main storage manager, process a third set of the primary data as part of a third secondary copy operation,

the computer hardware of the secondary storage computing device further configured to, at the direction of the main storage manager, copy the third set of the primary data processed by the first secondary copy software to the one or more secondary storage devices for storage as a third secondary copy in the first secondary copy file format.

2. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the failover storage manager executes on the at least one secondary storage computing device.

3. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the second secondary copy software is installed on the at least one client computing device.

4. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the first secondary copy software comprises at least one data agent installed on the client computing device which converts the primary data into the first secondary copy file format.

5. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the second secondary copy software is installed on the at least one client computing device prior to activation of the failover storage manager.

6. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is stored in the one or more secondary storage devices.

7. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is stored in the one or more primary storage devices.

8. The information management cell of claim 1, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is a point-in-time image of the primary data generated by the at least one client computing device.

9. A method of operating an information management cell to perform secondary copy operations, comprising:

detecting loss of connectivity between a main storage manager and an information management cell geographically remote from the main storage manager, wherein the information management cell comprises;

at least one client computing device comprising one or more applications installed thereon configured to generate primary data for storage in one or more primary storage devices residing in a primary storage subsystem in the information management cell, the client computing device further configured to execute first secondary copy software installed thereon to process a first set of the primary data as part of a first secondary copy operation, at the direction of the main storage manager; and

at least one secondary storage computing device comprising computer hardware configured, at the direction of the main storage manager, to copy the first set of the primary data processed by the first secondary copy software to one or more secondary storage devices for storage as a first secondary copy in a first secondary copy file format; and

in response to detecting the loss of connectivity between the information management cell and the main storage manager, activating a failover storage manager installed on a computing device within the information management cell; and

instructing, by the failover storage manager, second secondary copy software installed on at least one computing device within the information management cell to perform a second secondary copy operation in which a second set of the primary data generated by the client computing device is stored as a second secondary copy in a second secondary copy file format different than the first secondary copy file format;

in response to reestablishment of the connectivity between the information management cell and the main storage manager, processing a third set of the primary data with the client computing device as part of a third secondary copy operation; and

copying the third set of the primary data processed by the first secondary copy software to the one or more secondary storage devices for storage as a third secondary copy in the first secondary copy file format.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the failover storage manager executes on the at least one secondary storage computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the second secondary copy software is installed on the at least one client computing device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first secondary copy software comprises at least one data agent installed on the client computing device which converts the primary data into the first secondary copy file format.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the second secondary copy software is installed on the at least one client computing device prior to activation of the failover storage manager.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is stored in the one or more secondary storage devices.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is stored in the one or more primary storage devices.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the second secondary copy stored in the second secondary copy file format is a point-in-time image of the primary data generated by the at least one computing device.