Information management by a media agent in the absence of communications with a storage manager

• US 9,563,518 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2014
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Klose, Michael Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Uddin, Mohammed R
• Application Number:
  US14/271,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286537A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 707/640, 707/652, 707/617, 707/668, 707/999.204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/201 between storage system components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/113 Details of archiving lifecycle management in storage systems G06F3/0649; backup systems G06F11/1446
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/164 File meta data generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 Database-specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/06 Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers , e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration

Abstract

A media agent is configured to perform substantially autonomously to initiate, continue, and manage information management operations such as a backup job of a certain client'"'"'s primary data, manage the operations, and generate and store resultant system-level metadata from the operations, etc. The media agent is configured to do this even when out of communication with the storage manager that manages the information management system. When communications are restored, the media agent reports the relevant metadata to the storage manager. The storage manager comprises corresponding enhancements, including specialized logic for identifying the media agent as an intelligent media agent capable of some autonomous functionality, for transmitting management parameters thereto, and for seamlessly integrating the received metadata into the storage manager'"'"'s associated management infrastructure such as a management database.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying, by a storage manager that manages an information management system without assistance from other storage managers,

a secondary storage computing device, which is a component of the information management system, and which receives and stores management parameters from the storage manager when in communication with the storage manager,

as being a component that comprises executable logic for autonomously managing information management jobs in the information management system, on behalf of the storage manager and while out of communication with the storage manager,

wherein the identifying is performed while the storage manager is in communication with the secondary storage computing device and in anticipation of being out of communication with the secondary storage computing device, and

wherein the identifying is based at least in part on a management database associated with the storage manager;

based on the identifying, transmitting, by the storage manager to the identified secondary storage computing device one or more management parameters for autonomously managing the information management jobs while the secondary storage computing device is to be out of communication with the storage manager;

after communication with the secondary storage computing device resume,

receiving, by the storage manager, from the secondary storage computing device, metadata generated by the secondary storage computing device while out of communication with the storage manager, wherein the metadata is based at least in part on the secondary storage computing device having autonomously managed the information management jobs while out of communication with the storage manager; and

integrating the received metadata, by the storage manager, into the associated management database,

resulting in information management status becoming available to the storage manager for at least some information management operations that occurred at the secondary storage computing device while the storage manager was out of communication with the secondary storage computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more management parameters for autonomously managing the information management jobs are transmitted by the storage manager in response to a request received from the secondary storage computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitting of the one or more management parameters for autonomously managing the information management jobs is initiated by the storage manager.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

initiating and managing, by the secondary storage computing device while out of communication with the storage manager, based on executing the executable logic, and further based on at least part of the one or more management parameters for autonomously managing the information management jobs, an information management job relative to a portion of primary data generated by a client computing device,

wherein the client computing device is also out of communication with the storage manager during the information management job being performed, and further wherein the client computing device is also a component of the information management system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the integrating by the storage manager further comprises integrating into the management database an association between the information management jobs and the secondary storage computing device that autonomously managed them while out of communication with the storage manager.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the integrating by the storage manager further comprises integrating into the management database an association between the information management jobs and a media agent that executes on the secondary storage computing device,

wherein the media agent comprises the executable logic for autonomously managing, while out of communication with the storage manager, the information management jobs on behalf of the storage manager.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the received metadata identifies the client computing device and the portion of primary data subjected to the information management job.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the received metadata is in reference to an information management job that (i) began while the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were in communication with each other, and (ii) continued and was completed after the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were no longer in communication with each other without the secondary storage computing device requiring further instructions from the storage manager or from another storage manager.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, by the storage manager, which one or more client and subclient components of the information management system to subject to the information management jobs that are to be autonomously managed by the secondary storage computing device while out of communication with the storage manager, and according to the one or more management parameters for autonomously managing the information management jobs.

10. A computer-readable medium, excluding transitory propagating signals, storing instructions that, when executed by at least one storage manager that manages an information management system based at least in part on an associated management database, cause the storage manager to perform operations comprising:

while the storage manager is in communication with a secondary storage computing device that receives and stores management parameters from the storage manager as a component of the information management system and in anticipation of the storage manager being out of communication with the secondary storage computing device,

determining, by the storage manager, that the secondary storage computing device comprises executable logic for autonomously managing information management jobs in the information management system, on behalf of the storage manager while out of communication with the storage manager;

based on the determining, transmitting to the secondary storage computing device, one or more management parameters to be used by the executable logic for autonomously managing the information management jobs while out of communication with the storage manager; and

after communications with the secondary storage computing device resume,

receiving, by the storage manager, from the secondary storage computing device, metadata generated by the secondary storage computing device while out of communication with the storage manager, wherein the metadata is based at least in part on the secondary storage computing device having autonomously managed the information management jobs; and

integrating the received metadata, by the storage manager, into the associated management database,

thereby incorporating information about information management operations that occurred at the secondary storage computing device while the secondary storage computing device was out of communication with the storage manager.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the transmitting of the one or more management parameters to be used by the executable logic for autonomously managing the information management jobs is in response to a request from the secondary storage computing device.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the transmitting of the one or more management parameters to be used by the executable logic for autonomously managing the information management jobs is initiated by the storage manager.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the integrating by the storage manager further comprises integrating into the associated management database an association between an information management job and the secondary storage computing device.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the integrating by the storage manager further comprises integrating into the associated management database an association between an information management job and a media agent that executes on the secondary storage computing device,

wherein the media agent comprises the executable logic for autonomously managing information management jobs in the information management system, on behalf of the storage manager and while out of communication with the storage manager.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the received metadata identifies a client computing device and a portion of primary data managed under an information management job.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the received metadata is in reference to an information management job that (i) began while the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were in communication with each other, and (ii) continued and was completed after the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were no longer in communication with each other without the secondary storage computing device requiring further instructions from the storage manager or from another storage manager.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the determining is based at least in part on an indication in the associated management database that an intelligent media agent is configured to execute on the secondary storage computing device,

wherein the intelligent media agent comprises the executable logic for autonomously managing information management jobs in the information management system, on behalf of the storage manager while out of communication with the storage manager.

18. An information management system comprising:

a secondary storage computing device comprising at least one processor and corresponding computer memory;

a secondary storage device in communication with the secondary storage computing device; and

a storage manager that executes on a computing device comprising at least one processor and corresponding computer memory,

wherein the secondary storage computing device is configured to receive and store management parameters from the storage manager when in communication with the storage manager, and

wherein the storage manager is configured to;

manage the information management system without assistance from other storage managers, and based at least in part on an associated management database,

while in communication with the secondary storage computing device and in anticipation of being out of communication with the secondary storage computing device, identify a media agent that executes on the secondary storage computing device as a component of the information management system that is capable of autonomously managing one or more information management jobs while the secondary storage computing device is out of communication with the storage manager and without requiring further instructions from the storage manager or from any other storage manager,

generate one or more management parameters to be used by the media agent to autonomously manage the one or more information management jobs while the secondary storage computing device is out of communication with the storage manager,

transmit to the secondary storage computing device the one or more management parameters to be used by the media agent to autonomously manage the one or more information management jobs,

after communications with the secondary storage computing device resume,

receive from the secondary storage computing device, metadata based on the one or more information management jobs autonomously managed by the media agent while the secondary storage computing device was out of communication with the storage manager, and

integrate the received metadata into the associated management database,

thereby incorporating information about information management operations that occurred at the secondary storage computing device while the secondary storage computing device was out of communication with the storage manager.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the received metadata is in reference to an information management job that (i) began while the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were in communication with each other, and (ii) continued and was completed after the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were no longer in communication with each other without the media agent requiring further instructions from the storage manager or from another storage manager.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the received metadata is in reference to an information management job that began after the storage manager and the secondary storage computing device were no longer in communication with each other without the media agent requiring further instructions from the storage manager or from another storage manager to autonomously manage the information management job.