Accessing overlay media over a network connection

• US 9,858,149 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Xinglong, He, Kenan, Yang, Cong, Kun
• Primary Examiner(s): GREENE, JOSEPH L
• Application Number:
  US13/342,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,191 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1415 at system level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0623 in relation to content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

The subject disclosure is directed towards providing overlay media to a computing device over a network connection. An input/output (I/O) filter on the embedded device/system may communicate data with the overlay media via a storage service. The I/O filter driver may connect to the storage service using a universal identifier. When an application issues read operations and/or write operations directed to local storage media, the I/O filter driver redirects the read operations and/or the write operations to the storage service over the network connection.

Claims

1. In a computing environment, a computer implemented method for providing overlay media via a cloud computing service over a network connection, the method comprising:

intercepting input/output operations directed to a protected local storage volume; and

redirecting, via a filter, the input/output operations to the overlay media using the cloud computing service over the network connection, via a uniform resource locator and a common cloud identifier utilized to communicate data with the overlay media.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein intercepting the input/output operations further comprises intercepting a write operation for a file and storing data corresponding to the write operation on the overlay media.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising applying the write operation to a version of the file on a snapshot layer on the overlay media.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising committing the data to the protected local storage volume.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing the data in a version of the file in an overlay cache.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising transferring the data from the overlay cache to the overlay media in response to an event.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising applying the write operation to a cached version of the file.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein intercepting the input/output operations further comprises retrieving at least a portion of the data from the overlay cache.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein intercepting the input/output operations further comprises intercepting a read operation for a file and retrieving at least a portion of the file from the overlay media.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected local storage volume is in a first volume state at a first point-in-time, the method further comprising maintaining a snapshot layer on the overlay media that, in combination with a portion of the protected local storage volume, represents the protected local storage volume in a second volume state at a second point-in-time.

11. In a computing environment, a system for intercepting input/output operations directed to a protected local storage volume, the system comprising:

a computing device communicatively coupled to a cloud computing service server, the cloud computing service server comprising a cloud-based overlay media, the cloud computing service having a uniform resource locator associated therewith, the computing device comprising one or more processors, the protected local storage volume, and a filter driver, wherein, upon execution of the one or more processors, the filter driver is configured to;

maintain data corresponding to write operations on the cloud-based overlay media over a network connection;

using the uniform resource locator and a common cloud identifier utilized to communicate data with the cloud-based overlay media, retrieve data from the cloud-based overlay media corresponding to read operations for the protected local storage volume; and

store the data corresponding to the write operations on the protected local storage volume in response to a commit command.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the cloud-based overlay media comprises a snapshot layer, the cloud computing service server configured to apply the write operations to the snapshot layer on the cloud-based overlay media, and communicate the data corresponding to the read operations to the filter driver.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein, upon execution of the one or more processors, the filter driver is further configured to instruct the cloud computing service server to create, on the cloud-based overlay media, a snapshot layer corresponding to a volume located at least in part on the protected local storage volume.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein, upon execution of the one or more processors, the filter driver is further configured to maintain multiple snapshot layers corresponding to chronological points-in-time of the volume.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the computing device further comprises an overlay cache, wherein, upon execution of the one or more processors, the filter driver is further configured to:

maintain data corresponding to write operations on the overlay cache; and

transfer the data corresponding to the write operations from the overlay cache to the cloud-based overlay media in response to a pending computing device shutdown.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the computing device further comprises a local overlay media.

16. One or more computer memory devices having computer-executable instructions, which upon execution perform operations, the operations comprising:

intercepting write operations directed to an overlay-protected volume on local storage media;

accessing a network connection using a uniform resource locator associated with a cloud computing service that controls a cloud-based overlay media; and

instructing the cloud computing service to apply the write operations on the cloud-based overlay media, using the uniform resource locator and a common cloud identifier utilized to communicate data with the cloud-based overlay media.

17. The one or more computer memory devices of claim 16 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

in response to a commit command, requesting corresponding versions of files associated with the write operations from the cloud computing service; and

updating the local storage media to be point-in-time consistent.

18. The one or more computer memory devices of claim 16 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

instructing the cloud computing service to return data from a portion of the cloud-based overlay media.

19. The one or more computer memory devices of claim 16 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

transferring data associated with the write operations from the cloud-based overlay media to the overlay-protected volume during a system reboot.