Unified snapshot storage management, using an enhanced storage manager and enhanced media agents

• US 9,648,105 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2014
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Nallathambi, Vimal Kumar, Vijayan, Manoj Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Stevens, Robert
• Application Number:
  US14/542,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20160142483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 707639
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/28 Databases characterised by their database models, e.g. relational or object models
• 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 3/0662 Virtualisation aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

An illustrative approach to managing snapshots streamlines how and when snapshots are generated in a storage management system, such that fewer snapshots may be generated without diminishing the scope of data protection. A novel unified-snapshot storage policy may govern snapshots for any number of subclients. A unified-snapshot job based on the unified-snapshot storage policy enables the illustrative storage management system to automatically discover relevant components and generate at most one snapshot per target logical unit number (“LUN”) in a storage array. Each snapshot may comprise the data of any number of subclients and/or clients in the storage management system. Accordingly, one unified-snapshot job may yield a minimum but sufficient number of snapshots comprising data of all subclients associated with the governing unified-snapshot storage policy. An enhanced storage manager may manage the unified-snapshot jobs. One or more enhanced media agents and/or data agents may participate in the unified-snapshot jobs and in subsequent cataloguing of the snapshots.

Claims

1. A storage management system for unified snapshot management, the storage management system comprising:

a storage manager comprising a storage policy;

a first client computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the first client computing device comprises a first executable component and an associated first data agent;

a second client computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the second client computing device comprises a second executable component and an associated second data agent;

a storage array in communication with at least the first and second client computing devices, wherein the storage array hosts at least one logical unit number that comprises primary data generated by the first and second executable components;

a first subclient that represents a first part of primary data generated by the first executable component, wherein the storage manager comprises an association between the first subclient and the storage policy;

a second subclient that represents a second part of primary data generated by the second executable component, wherein the storage manager comprises an association between the second subclient and the storage policy; and

a snapshot of a logical unit number resulting from a unified-snapshot job managed by the storage manager based on the storage policy, wherein at most one snapshot of the logical unit number results from the unified-snapshot job regardless of the number of executable components that store respective primary data to the logical unit number.

2. The storage management system of claim 1 wherein the first executable component is at least one of an application, an operating system, a file system, and a virtual machine, and wherein the second executable component is at least one of an application, an operating system, a file system, and a virtual machine.

3. The storage management system of claim 1 further comprising:

a secondary storage computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the secondary storage computing device comprises a media agent that is configured to discover (i) one or more logical unit numbers that comprise data of the first subclient and (ii) one or more logical unit numbers that comprise data of the second subclient.

4. The storage management system of claim 1 further comprising:

a secondary storage computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the secondary storage computing device comprises a media agent that is configured to instruct the storage array to generate and store a snapshot of one or more logical unit numbers that comprise at least one of (i) data of the first subclient and (ii) data of the second subclient.

5. The storage management system of claim 1 further comprising:

a secondary storage computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the secondary storage computing device comprises a media agent that is configured to receive responsive reporting from the storage array in regard to the at most one snapshot taken for the one or more logical unit numbers.

6. The storage management system of claim 1 further comprising:

a secondary storage computing device in communication with the storage manager, wherein the secondary storage computing device comprises a media agent that is configured to register (a) a first association between the first subclient and a first snapshot, and (b) a second association between the second subclient and the first snapshot.

7. The storage management system of claim 1 wherein the logical unit number designates a portion of storage in the storage array.

8. The storage management system of claim 1 wherein the logical unit number designates a logical unit of storage in the storage array.

9. A method for using an enhanced media agent for snapshot management in a storage management system that comprises one or more snapshot-capable storage arrays hosting a plurality of logical unit numbers, the method comprising:

discovering, by a media agent component of the storage management system, a first logical unit number that comprises (i) data of a first subclient of a first client and (ii) data of a second subclient of a second client which is distinct from the first client,

wherein each subclient of a client represents a logical grouping of part of the client'"'"'s primary data, and

wherein each client generates primary data that is stored to one or more logical unit numbers hosted by one or more storage arrays in the storage management system;

instructing, by the media agent, a first storage array that hosts the discovered first logical unit number to generate and store a first snapshot of the first logical unit number;

registering, by the media agent;

(a) a first association between the first subclient and the first snapshot, and (b) a second association between the second subclient and the first snapshot; and

wherein the unified-snapshot job generates at most one snapshot for the first logical unit number, regardless of the number of clients that store primary data to the first logical unit number.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving, by the media agent, responsive reporting from the first storage array in regard to the first snapshot.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

cataloguing the first snapshot generated in the unified-snapshot job relative to the first subclient and the second subclient, based on the respective registered association, wherein the cataloguing is performed at least in part by the media agent.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

cataloguing the first snapshot generated in the unified-snapshot job relative to the first subclient and the second subclient, based on the respective registered association, wherein the cataloguing is performed at least in part by the media agent; and

storing, by the media agent, a secondary copy of the first subclient'"'"'s data in the first snapshot, generated based on the catalogued first snapshot, to a secondary storage device associated with the media agent.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

cataloguing the first snapshot relative to the first subclient, based on the respective registered association, wherein the cataloguing is performed at least in part by the media agent in conjunction with a first data agent associated with the first client; and

cataloguing the first snapshot relative to the second subclient, based on the respective registered association, wherein the cataloguing is performed at least in part by the media agent in conjunction with a second data agent associated with the second client.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the unified-snapshot job unifies the data of the first subclient in the first logical unit number and the data of the second subclient in the first logical unit number into at most one snapshot of the first logical unit number regardless of the number of clients that store respective primary data to the first logical unit number.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein the unified-snapshot job, which is based on a storage policy, unifies the data of the first subclient in the first logical unit number and the data of the second subclient in the first logical unit number into at most one snapshot of the first logical unit number regardless of the number of clients that store respective primary data to the first logical unit number.

16. A method for using an enhanced storage manager for snapshot management in a storage management system that comprises one or more snapshot-capable storage arrays hosting a plurality of logical unit numbers, the method comprising:

configuring a storage policy, by the storage manager, wherein the storage manager manages the storage management system;

associating, by the storage manager, one or more subclients with the storage policy,

wherein each subclient of a client represents a logical grouping of part of the client'"'"'s primary data, and

wherein each client generates primary data that is stored to one or more logical unit numbers in the plurality of logical unit numbers;

discovering, by the storage manager, a plurality of subclients that are associated with the storage policy, wherein the plurality of subclients comprises a first subclient of a first client and a second subclient of a second client which is distinct from the first client, and wherein a first logical unit number comprises (i) data of the first subclient and (ii) data of the second subclient;

registering, by the storage manager;

(a) a first association between the first subclient and a first snapshot of the first logical unit number, and (b) a second association between the second subclient and the first snapshot, wherein the first snapshot was generated and stored by a storage array in a unified-snapshot job; and

wherein the unified-snapshot job generates at most one snapshot for a logical unit number, regardless of the number of clients that store primary data to the respective logical unit number.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the storage manager manages the unified-snapshot job, based on the storage policy.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the first snapshot was generated based on the discovering operation performed by the storage manager.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the first logical unit number designates a portion of storage in the storage array.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the first logical unit number designates a logical unit of storage in the storage array.