Creation of virtual machine placeholders in a data storage system
First Claim
1. A method of creating virtual machine placeholders in a networked data storage system comprising:
- receiving usage data about one or more virtual machines existing on one or more primary storage devices, the one or more primary storage devices comprising computer hardware;
creating a virtual machine placeholder for a first virtual machine of the one or more virtual machines existing on the one or more primary storage devices based at least in part on usage of the first virtual machine,the virtual machine placeholder is created at least in part during one or more backups that copy data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices to one or more secondary storage devices,the virtual machine placeholder is recognized as the first virtual machine by one or more virtualization applications, andwherein the virtual machine placeholder comprises information usable in restoring the first virtual machine from the one or more secondary storage devices to the one or more primary storage devices;
replacing the first virtual machine with the first virtual machine placeholder in the one or more primary storage devices; and
deleting at least a portion of the data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices during the one or more backups.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The data storage system according to certain aspects can manage the archiving of virtual machines to (and restoring of virtual machines from) secondary storage. The system may archive virtual machines (VMs) that are determined to have a low level of utilization. The system may create a virtual machine placeholder for an archived VM, which may be a “light” or minimal version of the VM that acts like the actual VM. By using a VM placeholder, a VM may appear to be active and selectable by the user. When the user selects the VM, the VM placeholder can interact with the user in similar manner as the VM. Accessing the VM placeholder may trigger restore of the archived VM from secondary storage. The restore of the archived VM may be “seamless” to the user since the VM remains available while it is being restored.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of creating virtual machine placeholders in a networked data storage system comprising:
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receiving usage data about one or more virtual machines existing on one or more primary storage devices, the one or more primary storage devices comprising computer hardware; creating a virtual machine placeholder for a first virtual machine of the one or more virtual machines existing on the one or more primary storage devices based at least in part on usage of the first virtual machine, the virtual machine placeholder is created at least in part during one or more backups that copy data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices to one or more secondary storage devices, the virtual machine placeholder is recognized as the first virtual machine by one or more virtualization applications, and wherein the virtual machine placeholder comprises information usable in restoring the first virtual machine from the one or more secondary storage devices to the one or more primary storage devices; replacing the first virtual machine with the first virtual machine placeholder in the one or more primary storage devices; and deleting at least a portion of the data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices during the one or more backups. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A data storage system that creates virtual machine placeholders comprising:
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a storage manager executing on computer hardware comprising one or more computing devices, the storage manager receives usage data about of one or more virtual machines existing on one or more primary storage devices comprising computer hardware; the storage manager directs creation of a virtual machine placeholder for a first virtual machine of the one or more virtual machines existing on the one or more primary storage devices at least in part on usage of the first virtual machine; the virtual machine placeholder is created at least in part during one or more backups that copy data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices to one or more secondary storage devices, the virtual machine placeholder is recognized as the first virtual machine by one or more virtualization applications, and the virtual machine placeholder comprises information usable in restoring the first virtual machine from the one or more secondary storage devices to the one or more primary storage devices; the storage manager directs replacement of the first virtual machine with the first virtual machine placeholder in the one or more primary storage devices; and the storage manager directs deletion of at least a portion of the data associated with the first virtual machine from the one or more primary storage devices during the one or more backups. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification