Assignment of data agent proxies for executing virtual-machine secondary copy operations including streaming backup jobs
First Claim
1. A method for generating an ordered priority list of a first set of virtual machines that are to be backed up in a storage management system, the method comprising:
- associating each virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines with one or more proxies from a set of candidate proxies in the storage management system,wherein the associating includes determining which one or more candidate proxies from the set of candidate proxies are eligible to back up a respective virtual machine;
ordering the first set of virtual machines into a priority list in an order of increasing number of associated eligible proxies for each respective virtual machine;
while executing a first backup job of the first set of virtual machines according to the order of the priority list, assigning a first eligible proxy to each respective virtual machine in the first set for backing up the respective virtual machine;
wherein a given proxy is one of;
(a) a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and (b) a virtual machine that executes on a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and further wherein the given proxy executes a respective data agent suitable to back up one or more virtual machines in the first set;
designating, by a storage manager component of the storage management system, a first data agent to act as coordinator of the first backup job,wherein the first backup job comprises secondary copy operations for the first set of virtual machines in the storage management system, andwherein the coordinator data agent executes on a first proxy from the set of candidate proxies; and
wherein the associating and the ordering are performed by the coordinator data agent.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A comprehensive approach to streaming backups for virtual machines (“VMs”) in a storage management system comprises improvements to the assignment of data agent proxies for VM secondary copy operations. New considerations in performing a VM streaming backup job include without limitation: determining and enforcing a system-wide per-proxy limit of concurrent data streams; generating an ordered priority list of the VMs to be backed up as a basis for choosing which proxies will back up the respective VM, though the illustrative system may not strictly adhere to the priority list based on further considerations; identifying a next available proxy based on data stream utilization at the proxy; and dynamically re-generating the priority list and re-evaluating considerations if some VMs become “stranded” due to a failure to be backed up. Secondary copy operations are distributed to proxies in ways that improve the chances of successfully completing VM streaming backups.
215 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for generating an ordered priority list of a first set of virtual machines that are to be backed up in a storage management system, the method comprising:
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associating each virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines with one or more proxies from a set of candidate proxies in the storage management system, wherein the associating includes determining which one or more candidate proxies from the set of candidate proxies are eligible to back up a respective virtual machine; ordering the first set of virtual machines into a priority list in an order of increasing number of associated eligible proxies for each respective virtual machine; while executing a first backup job of the first set of virtual machines according to the order of the priority list, assigning a first eligible proxy to each respective virtual machine in the first set for backing up the respective virtual machine; wherein a given proxy is one of;
(a) a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and (b) a virtual machine that executes on a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and further wherein the given proxy executes a respective data agent suitable to back up one or more virtual machines in the first set;designating, by a storage manager component of the storage management system, a first data agent to act as coordinator of the first backup job, wherein the first backup job comprises secondary copy operations for the first set of virtual machines in the storage management system, and wherein the coordinator data agent executes on a first proxy from the set of candidate proxies; and wherein the associating and the ordering are performed by the coordinator data agent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for generating an ordered priority list of a first set of virtual machines that are to be backed up in a storage management system, the method comprising:
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identifying which one or more proxies from a set of candidate proxies in the storage management system are eligible to back up each respective virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines, wherein a given proxy is one of;
(a) a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and (b) a virtual machine that executes on a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, andfurther wherein the given proxy executes a respective data agent suitable to back up one or more virtual machines in the first set; ordering the first set of virtual machines into a priority list in an order of increasing number of eligible proxies for each respective virtual machine; executing a first backup job of the first set of virtual machines according to the order of the priority list, wherein each respective virtual machine in the first set is assigned a first eligible proxy for performing secondary copy operations for the respective virtual machine in the backup job; and wherein the identifying and the ordering are performed by a data agent designated as a coordinator for the first backup job, and wherein the data agent executes on one of the candidate proxies from the set of candidate proxies in the storage management system, which is not an eligible proxy for any virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method for generating an ordered priority list of a first set of virtual machines that are to be backed up in a storage management system, the method comprising:
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identifying which one or more proxies from a set of candidate proxies in the storage management system are eligible to back up each respective virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines, wherein a given proxy is one of;
(a) a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, and (b) a virtual machine that executes on a physical computing device comprising one or more processors and computer-readable memory, andfurther wherein the given proxy executes a respective data agent suitable to back up one or more virtual machines in the first set; ordering the first set of virtual machines into a priority list in an order of increasing number of eligible proxies for each respective virtual machine; executing a first backup job of the first set of virtual machines according to the order of the priority list, wherein each respective virtual machine in the first set is assigned a first eligible proxy for performing secondary copy operations for the respective virtual machine in the backup job; and wherein the identifying and the ordering are performed by a data agent designated as a coordinator for the first backup job, and wherein the data agent executes on one of the candidate proxies from the set of candidate proxies in the storage management system, which is also an eligible proxy for at least one virtual machine in the first set of virtual machines. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification