Systems and methods for establishing a cloud bridge between virtual storage resources

• US 9,210,100 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Van Der Linden, Rob, Halls, David, Waterhouse, Simon, Benoit, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Ilwoo
• Application Number:
  US14/059,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20140052864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

Methods and systems for establishing a cloud bridge between two virtual storage resources and for transmitting data from one first virtual storage resource to the other virtual storage resource. The system can include a first virtual storage resource or cloud, and a storage delivery management service that executes on a computer and within the first virtual storage resource. The storage delivery management service can receive user credentials of a user that identify a storage adapter. Upon receiving the user credentials, the storage delivery management service can invoke the storage adapter which executes an interface that identifies a second virtual storage resource and includes an interface translation file. The storage delivery management service accesses the second virtual storage resource and establishes a cloud bridge with the second virtual storage resource using information obtained from the second virtual storage resource and information translated by the storage adapter using the interface translation file.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a cloud bridge between a first virtual storage resource and a second virtual storage resource for transmitting data from one of the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource to another of the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource, the method comprising:

invoking, by a storage delivery management service, a storage adapter for a first virtual storage resource, the storage adapter associated with a user credential, wherein the storage delivery management service is executing on a computer within the first virtual storage resource and the first virtual storage resource is provisioned on at least one storage system comprising one or more hardware devices;

enumerating, by the storage delivery management service, a list of virtual storage resources associated with the user credential, wherein the list includes a second virtual storage resource provisioned on at least one storage system comprising one or more hardware devices;

executing, via an interface for the storage adapter, an instruction to identify the second virtual storage resource in the enumerated list, the interface comprising an interface translation file mapping each of a plurality of proprietary vendor-specific formats for representing properties and descriptive data of respective vendor'"'"'s storage resources to a standardized format for representing properties and descriptive data of storage resources; and

establishing, by the storage delivery management service, a cloud bridge between the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource using management information stored in a proprietary vendor-specific format for the second virtual storage resource, the management information translated to the standardized format by the storage adapter using the interface translation file.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving, by the storage delivery management service, data comprising the user credential.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein invoking the storage adapter is responsive to receiving the data comprising the user credential.

4. The method of claim 2, the data comprising the user credential further comprising identification of the storage adapter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the enumerated list is a list of virtual storage resources that are associated with the storage adapter.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising enumerating the list of virtual storage resources associated with the storage adapter responsive to invoking the storage adapter.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising enumerating a list of access ports in the second virtual storage resource responsive to invoking the storage adapter.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising:

selecting an access port from the list of access ports; and

issuing a connection request to the selected access port, the connection request translated by the storage adapter using the interface translation file.

9. The method of claim 7, comprising:

selecting an access port from the list of access ports;

establishing a connection to the selected access port of the second virtual storage resource; and

accessing data stored in the second virtual storage resource via the access port.

10. The method of claim 1, the interface translation file comprising at least one markup tag.

12. The system of claim 1, the storage delivery management service configured to receive, by the storage delivery management service, data comprising the user credential.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the storage delivery management service invokes the storage adapter responsive to receiving the data comprising the user credential.

14. The system of claim 12, the data comprising the user credential further comprising identification of the storage adapter.

11. A system for establishing a cloud bridge between a first virtual storage resource and a second virtual storage resource for transmitting data from one of the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource to another of the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource, the system comprising:

a storage delivery management service executing on a computer within a first virtual storage resource provisioned on at least one storage system comprising one or more hardware devices, the storage delivery management service configured to;

invoke a storage adapter for the first virtual storage resource, the storage adapter associated with a user credential;

enumerate a list of virtual storage resources associated with the user credential, wherein the list includes a second virtual storage resource provisioned on at least one storage system comprising one or more hardware devices;

execute, via an interface for the first storage adapter, an instruction to identify the second virtual storage resource in the enumerated list, the interface comprising an interface translation file mapping each of a plurality of proprietary vendor-specific formats for representing properties and descriptive data of respective vendor'"'"'s storage resources to a standardized format for representing properties and descriptive data of storage resources; and

establish a cloud bridge between the first virtual storage resource and the second virtual storage resource using management information stored in a proprietary vendor-specific format for the second virtual storage resource, the management information translated to the standardized format by the first storage adapter using the interface translation file.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the enumerated list is a list of virtual storage resources that are associated with the storage adapter.

16. The system of claim 15, the storage delivery management service configured to enumerate the list of virtual storage resources associated with the storage adapter responsive to invoking the storage adapter.

17. The system of claim 11, the storage delivery management service configured to enumerate a list of access ports in the second virtual storage resource responsive to invoking the storage adapter.

18. The system of claim 17, the storage delivery management service configured to:

select an access port from the list of access ports; and

issue a connection request to the selected access port, the connection request translated by the storage adapter using the interface translation file.

19. The system of claim 17, the storage delivery management service configured to:

select an access port from the list of access ports;

establish a connection to the selected access port of the second virtual storage resource; and

access data stored in the second virtual storage resource via the access port.

20. The system of claim 11, the interface translation file comprising at least one markup tag.