Direct storage of recovery plan file on remote server for disaster recovery and storage management thereof

• US 6,266,784 B1
• Filed: 09/15/1998
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Van Hise, David Gregory, Hsiao, Yu-Mei Una, Plaza, Rosa Tesiler, Moxley, Donald Monson
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoleil, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): VO, TIM T
• Application Number:
  US09/153,595
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 714/6, 714/5, 714/7, 714/8, 714/11, 714/13, 714/15, 714/20, 714/19
• US Class Current: 714/6.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques

Abstract

Disclosed are a method, a storage management system, an article of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium, and a computer program product for saving a recovery plan file for a storage management server. The storage management system has a plurality of storage management servers at sites remote from one another coupled by a server-to-server infrastructure. A recovery plan file is saved for one of the storage management servers at one of the sites by establishing the server as a source for its recovery plan file. Another storage management server at a site remote from the source server site is established as a target for the recovery plan file. The source server transmits the source recovery plan file from the source server to the target server at the remote site over the server-to-server infrastructure. The source recovery plan file is managed at the target server according to defined criteria, for placement, backup, migration and expiration under the control of the source server.

Claims

1. In a storage management system having a plurality of storage management servers at sites remote from one another coupled by a server-to-server infrastructure, a method for saving a recovery plan file for one of said storage management servers comprising the steps of:

establishing one of said storage management servers at one of said sites as a source for said recovery plan file therefor, and establishing another of said storage management servers at a site remote from said source storage management server site as a target for said source recovery plan file;

generating said source recovery plan file; and

transferring said source recovery plan file from said source storage management server to said target storage management server at said remote site over said server-to-server infrastructure, thereby saving said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

2. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 1, comprising the additional step of managing said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server according to defined criteria.

3. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 1, wherein said establishing step comprises establishing a plurality of other of said storage management servers at sites remote from said source storage management server site as targets for said source recovery plan file, and wherein said transferring step comprises transferring said source recovery plan file to said plurality of target storage management servers at said remote sites over said server-to-server infrastructure.

4. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 1 for saving recovery plan files along a hierarchy of storage management servers, wherein said method comprises the additional steps of:

establishing said target storage management server as a hierarchical source for said source recovery plan file and another of said storage management servers at a site remote from said source storage management server site and from said target storage management server as a hierarchical target for said source recovery plan file; and

transmitting said source recovery plan file from said target storage management server to said hierarchical target storage management server at said remote site over said server-to-server infrastructure.

5. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 2, wherein said establishing step additionally comprises defining backup, migration and expiration of said source recovery plan file, thereby defining said criteria.

6. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 2, wherein said establishing step additionally comprises defining storage pool requirements for said source recovery plan file.

7. The method for saving a recovery plan file of claim 5, wherein said source recovery plan file is defined to expire under an expiration rule at said source storage management server, and wherein said managing step deletes said source recovery plan at said target storage management server under the control of said source storage management server.

8. A storage management system comprising:

a plurality of storage management servers at sites remote from one another;

a server-to-server infrastructure coupling said plurality of storage management servers to each other;

a source storage manager at one of said plurality of said storage management servers establishing said one storage management server as a source storage management server, generating a source recovery plan file, and operating said source storage management server to transfer said source recovery plan file to a target storage management server at a site remote from said source storage management server site over said server-to-server infrastructure, thereby saving said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

9. The storage management system of claim 8, additionally comprising an administrator terminal, defined as a client to each of said source storage management server and said target storage management server, said administrator terminal allowing an operator to select said storage management servers as said source and said target, respectively.

10. The storage management system of claim 8, wherein said target storage manager at said target storage management server additionally establishes said target storage management server as a hierarchical source for said source recovery plan file, and said storage management system additionally comprises a hierarchical target storage manager of a hierarchical target storage management server at a site remote from said source storage management server site and from said target storage management server site, and wherein said target storage manager operates said target storage management server to transmit said source recovery plan file from said target storage management server to said hierarchical target storage management server at said remote site over said server-to-server infrastructure.

11. The storage management system of claim 8, wherein said source storage manager at said source storage management server additionally operates said source storage management server to transfer said source recovery plan file to a plurality of target storage management servers at said remote sites over said server-to-server infrastructure.

12. The storage management system of claim 9, wherein said source recovery plan file is managed at said target storage management server according to defined criteria under the control of said source storage manager.

13. The storage management system of claim 12, wherein said source storage manager additionally defines backup, migration and expiration of said source recovery plan file, thereby defining criteria for management of said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

14. The storage management system of claim 12, wherein said source storage manager additionally defines storage pool requirements for said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

15. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for saving a recovery plan file for one of a plurality of storage management servers at sites remote from one another coupled by a server-to-server infrastructure, comprising:

computer readable program code which causes a computer processor of one of said storage management servers at one of said sites to establish said one storage management server as a source for said recovery plan file therefor, and identify at said source storage management server another of said storage management servers at a site remote from said source storage management server site as a target for said source recovery plan file;

computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to generate said source recovery plan file; and

computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to transfer said source recovery plan file from said source storage management server to said target storage management server at said remote site over said server-to-server infrastructure, thereby saving said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to define backup, migration and expiration of said source recovery plan file, thereby defining criteria for management of said source recovery plan file by said target storage manager.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to define storage pool requirements for said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to establish a plurality of other of said storage management servers at sites remote from said source storage management server site as targets for said source recovery plan file, and to transfer said source recovery plan file to said plurality of target storage management servers at said remote sites over said server-to-server infrastructure.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, additionally comprising computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to define said source recovery plan file as expiring under an expiration rule at said source storage management server, thereby defining criteria which expires said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server under the control of said source storage management server.

20. A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium usable with a programmable computer, said computer program product having computer readable program code embodied therein for saving a recovery plan file for one of a plurality of storage management servers at sites remote from one another coupled by a server-to-server infrastructure, comprising:

computer readable program code which causes a computer processor of one of said storage management servers at one of said sites to establish said one storage management server as a source for said recovery plan file therefor, and identify at said source storage management server another of said storage management servers at a site remote from said source storage management server site as a target for said source recovery plan file;

computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to generate said source recovery plan file; and

computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to transfer said source recovery plan file from said source storage management server to said target storage management server at said remote site over said server-to-server infrastructure, thereby saving said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to define backup, migration and expiration of said source recovery plan file, thereby defining criteria for management of said source recovery plan file by said target storage manager.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to define storage pool requirements for said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server.

23. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein said computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to establish said source and said target storage management servers additionally causes said computer processor to establish a plurality of other of said storage management servers at sites remote from said source storage management server site as targets for said source recovery plan file, and to transfer said source recovery plan file to said plurality of target storage management servers at said remote sites over said server-to-server infrastructure.

24. The computer program product of claim 21, additionally comprising computer readable program code which causes said computer processor to define said source recovery plan file as expiring under an expiration rule at said source storage management server, thereby defining criteria which expires said source recovery plan file at said target storage management server under the control of said source storage management server.