U.S. patent application number 15/299281 was filed with the patent office on 2017-07-06 for user interface for identifying a location of a failed secondary storage device.
The applicant listed for this patent is Commvault Systems, Inc.. Invention is credited to Ramachandra Reddy ANKIREDDYPALLE, Deepak Raghunath ATTARDE, Jaidev Oppath KOCHUNNI, Manoj Kumar VIJAYAN.
Application Number | 20170192868 15/299281 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59226343 |
Filed Date | 2017-07-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170192868 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VIJAYAN; Manoj Kumar ; et
al. |
July 6, 2017 |
USER INTERFACE FOR IDENTIFYING A LOCATION OF A FAILED SECONDARY
STORAGE DEVICE
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided herein for automatically
configuring newly installed secondary storage computing devices and
managing secondary storage computing devices when one or more
become unavailable. For example, a storage manager can then detect
the computing resources available to the newly installed secondary
storage computing device, assign a role to the newly installed
secondary storage computing device based on the detected computing
resources, configure the newly installed secondary storage
computing device with deduplication and storage policies used by
the other secondary storage computing devices, re-partition
secondary storage devices to allocate memory for the newly
installed secondary storage computing device, and instruct other
secondary storage computing devices to replicate their managed data
such that the newly installed secondary storage computing device
has access to the replicated data.
Inventors: |
VIJAYAN; Manoj Kumar;
(Marlboro, NJ) ; KOCHUNNI; Jaidev Oppath;
(Eatontown, NJ) ; ATTARDE; Deepak Raghunath;
(Marlboro, NJ) ; ANKIREDDYPALLE; Ramachandra Reddy;
(Eatontown, NJ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Commvault Systems, Inc. |
Tinton Falls |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59226343 |
Appl. No.: |
15/299281 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62273286 |
Dec 30, 2015 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/065 20130101;
G06F 3/0683 20130101; G06F 11/1662 20130101; G06F 3/0647 20130101;
G06F 2201/805 20130101; G06F 3/0659 20130101; G06F 3/0641 20130101;
G06F 11/3006 20130101; G06F 16/178 20190101; G06F 11/2097 20130101;
G06F 2201/815 20130101; G06F 3/067 20130101; G06F 11/3034 20130101;
G06F 11/2094 20130101; G06F 2201/82 20130101; G06F 16/27 20190101;
G06F 2201/84 20130101; G06F 3/0619 20130101; G06F 11/1453 20130101;
G06F 11/1451 20130101; G06F 11/3452 20130101; H04L 67/1097
20130101; G06F 3/0632 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 11/20 20060101
G06F011/20; G06F 3/06 20060101 G06F003/06 |
Claims
1. A networked information management system configured to identify
disk failures, the networked information management system
comprising: a first secondary storage device comprising a disk; a
first data storage computer comprising first computer hardware,
wherein the first data storage computer is configured to: transmit
a write request to the first secondary storage device, wherein the
write request comprises a request to write first data to the disk
of the first secondary storage device, transmit a read request to
the first secondary storage device, wherein the read request
comprises a request to read the first data from the disk of the
first secondary storage device, determine that the disk of the
first secondary storage device is failing based on results received
from the first secondary storage device in response to the read
request, wherein the results comprise a unique identifier of the
disk of the first secondary storage device; and a storage manager
comprising second computer hardware configured to: receive, from
the first data storage computer, an indication that the disk of the
first secondary storage device is failing and the unique
identifier, identify a location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device based on the unique identifier, generate user
interface data that causes a user device to display a user
interface, wherein the user interface data comprises a graphical
representation of locations of the disk of the first secondary
storage device and other disks of the first secondary storage
device, and wherein the user interface data comprises a
notification identifying the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device in the graphical representation, and
transmit the user interface data to the user device.
2. The networked information management system of claim 1, wherein
the location of the disk of the first secondary storage device
comprises an indication of a bay and a slot in the bay in which the
disk of the first secondary storage device is located.
3. The networked information management system of claim 1, wherein
the notification comprises at least one of a marking identifying
the location of the disk of the first secondary storage device or
text identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device.
4. The networked information management system of claim 1, further
comprising a management database configured to store the unique
identifier of the disk of the first secondary storage device and a
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device.
5. The networked information management system of claim 4, wherein
the storage manager is further configured to query the management
database using the unique identifier received from the first data
storage computer to identify the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device.
6. The networked information management system of claim 1, wherein
the user interface data further comprises text that instructs a
user to replace the disk of the first secondary storage device.
7. The networked information management system of claim 1, wherein
the first data storage computer is further configured to
periodically check a status of the first secondary storage
device.
8. The networked information management system of claim 1, wherein
the unique identifier comprises a serial number of the disk of the
first secondary storage device.
9. A computer-implemented method for identifying disk failures, the
computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, from a first
data storage computer, an indication that a disk of a first
secondary storage device is failing and a unique identifier of the
disk of the first secondary storage device; identifying a location
of the disk of the first secondary storage device based on the
unique identifier; generating user interface data that causes a
user device to display a user interface, wherein the user interface
data comprises a graphical representation of locations of the disk
of the first secondary storage device and other disks of the first
secondary storage device, and wherein the user interface data
comprises a notification identifying the location of the disk of
the first secondary storage device in the graphical representation;
and transmitting the user interface data to the user device.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device
comprises an indication of a bay and a slot in the bay in which the
disk of the first secondary storage device is located.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the
notification comprises at least one of a marking identifying the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device or text
identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein a
management database is configured to store the unique identifier of
the disk of the first secondary storage device and a location of
the disk of the first secondary storage device.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein
identifying a location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device further comprises querying the management database using the
unique identifier received from the first data storage computer to
identify the location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the user
interface data further comprises text that instructs a user to
replace the disk of the first secondary storage device.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving an indication that the disk of the first secondary
storage device is replaced with a second disk; and instructing the
first secondary storage device to perform a repair operation on the
second disk in response to receiving the indication that the disk
of the first secondary storage device is replaced with the second
disk.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving an indication that the disk of the first secondary
storage device is replaced with a second disk; and modifying the
user interface data to remove the notification identifying the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device in the
graphical representation in response to receiving the indication
that the disk of the first secondary storage device is replaced
with the second disk.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein receiving
an indication that a disk of a first secondary storage device is
failing further comprises receiving the indication that the disk of
the first secondary storage device is failing as a result of a
periodic check of a status of the disk of the first secondary
storage device by the first data storage computer.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the unique
identifier comprises a serial number of the disk of the first
secondary storage device.
19. A networked information management system configured to
identify disk failures, the networked information management system
comprising: a first secondary storage device comprising a disk; a
first data storage computer comprising first computer hardware,
wherein the first data storage computer is configured to receive an
indication that the disk of the first secondary storage device is
failing as a result of a periodic status check performed by the
disk of the first secondary storage device; and a storage manager
comprising second computer hardware configured to: receive, from
the first data storage computer, the indication that the disk of
the first secondary storage device is failing and a unique
identifier associated with the disk of the first secondary storage
device, identify a location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device based on the unique identifier, generate user
interface data that causes a user device to display a user
interface, wherein the user interface data comprises a graphical
representation of locations of the disk of the first secondary
storage device and other disks of the first secondary storage
device, and wherein the user interface data comprises a
notification identifying the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device in the graphical representation, and
transmit the user interface data to the user device.
20. The networked information management system of claim 19,
wherein the notification comprises at least one of a marking
identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device or text identifying the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 62/273,286, filed Dec. 30, 2015, and
entitled "REDUNDANT AND ROBUST DISTRIBUTED DEDUPLICATION DATA
STORAGE SYSTEM" (attorney docket no. COMMV.279PR; applicant docket
no. 100.489.US1.135). Any and all applications, if any, for which a
foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application
Data Sheet of the present application are hereby incorporated by
reference under 37 CFR 1.57.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document and/or the patent disclosure as it appears in
the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file and/or
records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Businesses recognize the commercial value of their data and
seek reliable, cost-effective ways to protect the information
stored on their computer networks while minimizing impact on
productivity. A company might back up critical computing systems
such as databases, file servers, web servers, virtual machines, and
so on as part of a daily, weekly, or monthly maintenance schedule.
The company may similarly protect computing systems used by its
employees, such as those used by an accounting department,
marketing department, engineering department, and so forth. Given
the rapidly expanding volume of data under management, companies
also continue to seek innovative techniques for managing data
growth, for example by migrating data to lower-cost storage over
time, reducing redundant data, pruning lower priority data, etc.
Enterprises also increasingly view their stored data as a valuable
asset and look for solutions that not only protect and manage, but
also leverage their data. For instance, data analysis capabilities,
information management, improved data presentation and access
features, and the like, are in increasing demand.
[0004] In response to these challenges, one technique developed by
storage system providers is data deduplication. Deduplication
typically involves eliminating or reducing the amount of redundant
data stored and communicated within a storage system, improving
storage utilization. For example, data can be divided into units of
a chosen granularity (e.g., files or data blocks). As new data
enters the system, the data units can be checked to see if they
already exist in the storage system. If the data unit already
exists, instead of storing and/or communicating a duplicate copy,
the storage system stores and/or communicates a reference to the
existing data unit.
SUMMARY
[0005] Generally, storage systems have a finite amount of
processing power and memory. Even with the implementation of
deduplication techniques to reduce the amount of stored data,
administrators may find that additional computing resources are
necessary such that the storage system can continue to process read
and write requests at a desired latency level. Typically,
administrators can physically add hardware to the storage systems,
such as by adding new secondary storage computing devices that
process read and write requests to secondary storage, including
using deduplication information where available.
[0006] However, each time hardware is added, the hardware must be
loaded with the appropriate software, configured with the
deduplication and storage policies of the other components of the
storage system, assigned a role (e.g., a control node to manage
deduplication information or a secondary node to process read and
write requests) based on the computing capabilities of the
hardware, re-partition secondary storage devices so that memory is
allocated for the new hardware, re-partition deduplication
databases so that memory is allocated for deduplication information
associated with the new hardware, configure how the other
components should interact with the new hardware when processing
read and/or write requests, and/or the like. Furthermore, hardware
can fail. When hardware fails, data has to be re-routed in an
appropriate manner, deduplication information may need to be
rebuilt, and/or the like. Thus, adding hardware or configuring the
storage system when hardware fails can be burdensome.
[0007] Accordingly, systems and methods are provided herein for
automatically configuring newly installed secondary storage
computing devices and managing secondary storage computing devices
when one or more become unavailable. For example, an administrator
can load software onto a newly installed secondary storage
computing device such that the newly installed secondary storage
computing device is compatible with the other components of a
scalable information management system. A storage manager can then
detect the computing resources available to the newly installed
secondary storage computing device, assign a role to the newly
installed secondary storage computing device based on the detected
computing resources, configure the newly installed secondary
storage computing device with deduplication and storage policies
used by the other secondary storage computing devices, re-partition
secondary storage devices to allocate memory for the newly
installed secondary storage computing device, and instruct other
secondary storage computing devices to replicate their managed data
such that the newly installed secondary storage computing device
has access to the replicated data. In this way, the storage manager
can automatically configure the newly installed secondary storage
computing device without any input from the administrator.
[0008] Furthermore, if a secondary storage computing device becomes
unavailable, the storage manager can re-route read and/or write
requests to another secondary storage computing device that acts as
the now unavailable secondary storage computing device. This may be
possible because the data of the now unavailable secondary storage
computing device was replicated and the replicated data can be
accessed by the other secondary storage computing device to process
the read and/or write requests.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
information management system.
[0010] FIG. 1B is a detailed view of a primary storage device, a
secondary storage device, and some examples of primary data and
secondary copy data.
[0011] FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary information
management system including a storage manager, one or more data
agents, and one or more media agents.
[0012] FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating a scalable
information management system.
[0013] FIG. 1E illustrates certain secondary copy operations
according to an exemplary storage policy.
[0014] FIGS. 1F-1H are block diagrams illustrating suitable data
structures that may be employed by the information management
system.
[0015] FIG. 2A illustrates a system and technique for synchronizing
primary data to a destination such as a failover site using
secondary copy data.
[0016] FIG. 2B illustrates an information management system
architecture incorporating use of a network file system (NFS)
protocol for communicating between the primary and secondary
storage subsystems.
[0017] FIG. 2C is a block diagram of an example of a highly
scalable managed data pool architecture.
[0018] FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a scalable
information management system.
[0019] FIG. 3B is a flow diagram depicting the operations of a
control media agent and a secondary media agent in the scalable
information management system of FIG. 3A.
[0020] FIG. 4A is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a first
control media agent in the scalable information management system
of FIG. 3A.
[0021] FIG. 4B is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a first
secondary media agent to the scalable information management system
of FIG. 3A.
[0022] FIG. 4C is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a second
control media agent to the scalable information management system
of FIG. 3A.
[0023] FIG. 4D is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the secondary storage computing devices are added to the
scalable information management system of FIG. 3A.
[0024] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram depicting the unavailability of
the secondary media agent in the scalable information management
system of FIG. 3A.
[0025] FIG. 5B is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the secondary media agent is unavailable.
[0026] FIG. 6A is a flow diagram depicting the unavailability of
the control media agent in the scalable information management
system of FIG. 3A.
[0027] FIG. 6B is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the control media agent is unavailable.
[0028] FIG. 6C is another flow diagram depicting the operations
performed when the control media agent is unavailable.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting the file systems of the
secondary storage computing devices in the scalable information
management system of FIG. 2A.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a user interface depicting a location of a disk
failure.
[0031] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of a
routine implemented by the storage manager of FIG. 1A for
automatically configuring a new media agent according to an
illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine implemented by the storage manager of FIG. 1A for
redirecting input/output (I/O) requests intended for a first media
agent to a second media agent when the first media agent fails.
[0033] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine implemented by the storage manager of FIG. 1A for
replicating deduplication data when a new media agent is added so
that the replicated deduplication data can be used to process I/O
requests when a media agent fails.
[0034] FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine implemented by the media agent of FIG. 1C for rebuilding
deduplication data associated with a first media agent when the
first media agent fails so that I/O requests intended for the first
media agent can be processed by a second media agent.
[0035] FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine implemented by the storage manager of FIG. 1A for
managing I/O requests when a disk of a media agent fails.
[0036] FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine implemented by the storage manager of FIG. 1A for
generating a user interface that displays a location of a failing
secondary storage device disk.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] Detailed descriptions and examples of systems and methods
according to one or more illustrative embodiments of the present
invention may be found in the section entitled Example Redundant
Distributed Deduplication Data Storage System, as well as in the
section entitled Example Embodiments, and also in FIGS. 2A and
3A-14 herein. Furthermore, components and functionality for the
automatic configuration of secondary storage computing devices when
one or more such devices are installed or become unavailable may be
configured and/or incorporated into information management systems
such as those described herein in FIGS. 1A-1H and 2A-2C.
[0038] Various embodiments described herein are intimately tied to,
enabled by, and would not exist except for, computer technology.
For example, the automatic configuration of secondary storage
computing devices described herein in reference to various
embodiments cannot reasonably be performed by humans alone, without
the computer technology upon which they are implemented.
Information Management System Overview
[0039] With the increasing importance of protecting and leveraging
data, organizations simply cannot risk losing critical data.
Moreover, runaway data growth and other modern realities make
protecting and managing data increasingly difficult. There is
therefore a need for efficient, powerful, and user-friendly
solutions for protecting and managing data. Depending on the size
of the organization, there may be many data production sources
which are under the purview of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of
individuals. In the past, individuals were sometimes responsible
for managing and protecting their own data, and a patchwork of
hardware and software point solutions may have been used in any
given organization. These solutions were often provided by
different vendors and had limited or no interoperability. Certain
embodiments described herein address these and other shortcomings
of prior approaches by implementing scalable, unified,
organization-wide information management, including data storage
management.
[0040] FIG. 1A shows one such information management system 100 (or
"system 100"), which generally includes combinations of hardware
and software configured to protect and manage data and metadata
that are generated and used by computing devices in system 100.
System 100 may be referred to in some embodiments as a "storage
management system" and the operations it performs may be referred
to as "information management operations" or "storage operations"
in some circumstances. The organization that employs system 100 may
be a corporation or other business entity, non-profit organization,
educational institution, household, governmental agency, or the
like.
[0041] Generally, the systems and associated components described
herein may be compatible with and/or provide some or all of the
functionality of the systems and corresponding components described
in one or more of the following U.S. patents and patent application
publications assigned to Commvault Systems, Inc., each of which is
hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein: [0042]
U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,880, entitled "Modular Backup and Retrieval
System Used in Conjunction With a Storage Area Network"; [0043]
U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,298, entitled "System And Method For Archiving
Objects In An Information Store"; [0044] U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,207,
entitled "System and Method for Dynamically Performing Storage
Operations in a Computer Network"; [0045] U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,923,
entitled "System And Method For Combining Data Streams In Pipelined
Storage Operations In A Storage Network"; [0046] U.S. Pat. No.
7,343,453, entitled "Hierarchical Systems and Methods for Providing
a Unified View of Storage Information"; [0047] U.S. Pat. No.
7,395,282, entitled "Hierarchical Backup and Retrieval System";
[0048] U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,782, entitled "System and Methods for
Performing a Snapshot and for Restoring Data"; [0049] U.S. Pat. No.
7,617,262, entitled "System and Methods for Monitoring Application
Data in a Data Replication System"; [0050] U.S. Pat. No. 7,734,669,
entitled "Managing Copies Of Data"; [0051] U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,579,
entitled "Metabase for Facilitating Data Classification"; [0052]
U.S. Pat. No. 8,156,086, entitled "Systems And Methods For Stored
Data Verification"; [0053] U.S. Pat. No. 8,170,995, entitled
"Method and System for Offline Indexing of Content and Classifying
Stored Data"; [0054] U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,195, entitled "System And
Method For Performing Auxiliary Storage Operations"; [0055] U.S.
Pat. No. 8,285,681, entitled "Data Object Store and Server for a
Cloud Storage Environment, Including Data Deduplication and Data
Management Across Multiple Cloud Storage Sites"; [0056] U.S. Pat.
No. 8,307,177, entitled "Systems And Methods For Management Of
Virtualization Data"; [0057] U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,652, entitled
"Content-Aligned, Block-Based Deduplication"; [0058] U.S. Pat. No.
8,578,109, entitled "Systems and Methods for Retaining and Using
Data Block Signatures in Data Protection Operations"; [0059] U.S.
Pat. No. 8,578,120, entitled "Block-Level Single Instancing";
[0060] U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,900, entitled "Distributed Deduplicated
Storage System"; [0061] U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2006/0224846, entitled
"System and Method to Support Single Instance Storage Operations";
[0062] U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0319534, entitled "Application-Aware
and Remote Single Instance Data Management"; [0063] U.S. Pat. Pub.
No. 2012/0150818, entitled "Client-Side Repository in a Networked
Deduplicated Storage System"; [0064] U.S. Pat. Pub. No.
2012/0150826, entitled "Distributed Deduplicated Storage System";
and [0065] U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2014/0201170, entitled "High
Availability Distributed Deduplicated Storage System".
[0066] Information management system 100 can include a variety of
computing devices and computing technologies. For instance, system
100 can include one or more client computing devices 102 and
secondary storage computing devices 106, as well as storage manager
140 or a host computing device for it. Computing devices can
include, without limitation, one or more: workstations, personal
computers, desktop computers, or other types of generally fixed
computing systems such as mainframe computers, servers, and
minicomputers. Other computing devices can include mobile or
portable computing devices, such as one or more laptops, tablet
computers, personal data assistants, mobile phones (such as
smartphones), and other mobile or portable computing devices such
as embedded computers, set top boxes, vehicle-mounted devices,
wearable computers, etc. Servers can include mail servers, file
servers, database servers, and web servers. Computing devices may
comprise one or more processors (e.g., CPU and/or single-core or
multi-core processors), as well as non-transitory computer-readable
memory (e.g., random-access memory (RAM)) for storing computer
programs to be executed by the one or more processors. Other
computer-readable memory for mass storage of data may be
packaged/configured with the computing device (e.g., an internal
hard disk) and/or may be external and accessible by the computing
device (e.g., network-attached storage).
[0067] In some cases, a computing device includes cloud computing
resources, which may be virtual machines. For instance, one or more
virtual machines may be provided to the organization by a
third-party cloud service vendor. In some embodiments, computing
devices can include one or more virtual machine(s) running on a
physical host computing device (or "host machine") operated by the
organization. As one example, the organization may use one virtual
machine as a database server and another virtual machine as a mail
server, both virtual machines operating on the same host
machine.
[0068] A virtual machine includes an operating system and
associated virtual resources, and is hosted simultaneously with
another operating system on a physical host computer (or host
machine). A hypervisor (typically software, and also known in the
art as a virtual machine monitor or a virtual machine manager or
"VMM") sits between the virtual machine and the hardware of the
physical host machine. Examples of hypervisors as virtualization
software include ESX Server, by VMware, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif.;
Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V, both
by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; and Sun xVM by Oracle
America Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. In some embodiments, the
hypervisor may be firmware or hardware or a combination of software
and/or firmware and/or hardware. The hypervisor provides resources
to each virtual operating system such as a virtual processor,
virtual memory, a virtual network device, and a virtual disk. Each
virtual machine has one or more virtual disks. The hypervisor
typically stores the data of virtual disks in files on the file
system of the physical host machine, called virtual machine disk
files (in VMware lingo) or virtual hard disk image files (in
Microsoft lingo). For example, VMware's ESX Server provides the
Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) for the storage of virtual
machine disk files. A virtual machine reads data from and writes
data to its virtual disk much the e way that a physical machine
reads data from and writes data to a physical disk. Examples of
techniques for implementing information management in a cloud
computing environment are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,285,681.
Examples of techniques for implementing information management in a
virtualized computing environment are described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,307,177.
[0069] Information management system 100 can also include a variety
of electronic data storage devices, generally used for mass storage
of data, including, e.g., primary storage devices 104 and secondary
storage devices 108. Storage devices can generally be of any
suitable type including, without limitation, disk drives, storage
arrays (e.g., storage-area network (SAN) and/or network-attached
storage (NAS) technology), semiconductor memory (e.g., solid state
storage devices), network attached storage (NAS) devices, tape
libraries or other magnetic, non-tape storage devices, optical
media storage devices, DNA/RNA-based memory technology,
combinations of the same, etc. In some embodiments, storage devices
can form part of a distributed file system. In some cases, storage
devices are provided in a cloud storage environment (e.g., a
private cloud or one operated by a third-party vendor), whether for
primary data or secondary copies or both.
[0070] Depending on context, the term "information management
system" can refer to generally all of the illustrated hardware and
software components in FIG. 1C, or the term may refer to only a
subset of the illustrated components. For instance, in some cases,
system 100 generally refers to a combination of specialized
components used to protect, move, manage, manipulate, analyze,
and/or process data and metadata generated by client computing
devices 102. However, system 100 in some cases does not include the
underlying components that generate and/or store primary data 112,
such as the client computing devices 102 themselves, and the
primary storage devices 104. Likewise secondary storage devices 108
(e.g., a third-party provided cloud storage environment) may not be
part of system 100. As an example, "information management system"
may sometimes refer to one or more of the following components,
which will be described in further detail below: storage manager,
data agent, and media agent.
[0071] Information management system 100 includes one or more
client computing devices 102 having an operating system and at
least one application 110 executing thereon; and one or more
primary storage devices 104 storing primary data 112. Client
computing device(s) 102 and primary storage devices 104 may
generally be referred to in some cases as primary storage subsystem
117.
Client Computing Devices, Clients, and Subclients
[0072] Typically, a variety of sources in an organization produce
data to be protected and managed. As just one illustrative example,
in a corporate environment such data sources can be employee
workstations and company servers such as a mail server, a web
server, a database server, a transaction server, or the like. In
system 100, data generation sources include one or more client
computing devices 102. A computing device that has a data agent 142
installed and operating on it is generally referred to as a "client
computing device" 102, and may include any type of computing
device, without limitation. A client computing device 102 may be
associated with one or more users and/or user accounts.
[0073] A "client" is a logical component of information management
system 100, which may represent a logical grouping of one or more
agents installed on a client computing device 102. Storage manager
140 recognizes a client as a component of system 100, and in some
embodiments, may automatically create a client component the first
time a data agent 142 is installed on a client computing device
102. Because data generated by executable component(s) 110 is
tracked by the associated data agent 142 so that it may be properly
protected in system 100, a client may be said to generate data and
to store the generated data to primary storage, such as primary
storage device 104. However, the terms "client" and "client
computing device" as used herein do not imply that a client
computing device 102 is necessarily configured in the client/server
sense relative to another computing device such as a mail server,
or that a client computing device 102 cannot be a server in its own
right. As just a few examples, a client computing device 102 can be
and/or include mail servers, file servers, database servers, and
web servers.
[0074] Each client computing device 102 may have application(s) 110
executing thereon which generate and manipulate the data that is to
be protected from loss and managed in system 100. Applications 110
generally facilitate the operations of an organization, and can
include, without limitation, mail server applications (e.g.,
Microsoft Exchange Server), file server applications, mail client
applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Client), database
applications or database management systems (e.g., SQL, Oracle,
SAP, Lotus Notes Database), word processing applications (e.g.,
Microsoft Word), spreadsheet applications, financial applications,
presentation applications, graphics and/or video applications,
browser applications, mobile applications, entertainment
applications, and so on. Each application 110 may be accompanied by
an application-specific data agent 142. A file system, e.g.,
Microsoft Windows Explorer, may be considered an application 110
and may be accompanied by its own data agent 142. Client computing
devices 102 can have at least one operating system (e.g., Microsoft
Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, IBM z/OS, Linux, other Unix-based operating
systems, etc.) installed thereon, which may support or host one or
more file systems and other applications 110. In some embodiments,
a virtual machine that executes on a host client computing device
102 may be considered an application 110 and may be accompanied by
a specific data agent 142 (e.g., virtual server data agent).
[0075] Client computing devices 102 and other components in system
100 can be connected to one another via one or more electronic
communication pathways 114. For example, a first communication
pathway 114 may communicatively couple client computing device 102
and secondary storage computing device 106; a second communication
pathway 114 may communicatively couple storage manager 140 and
client computing device 102; and a third communication pathway 114
may communicatively couple storage manager 140 and secondary
storage computing device 106, etc. (see, e.g., FIG. 1A and FIG.
1C). A communication pathway 114 can include one or more networks
or other connection types including one or more of the following,
without limitation: the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a
local area network (LAN), a Storage Area Network (SAN), a Fibre
Channel (FC) connection, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
connection, a virtual private network (VPN), a token ring or TCP/IP
based network, an intranet network, a point-to-point link, a
cellular network, a wireless data transmission system, a two-way
cable system, an interactive kiosk network, a satellite network, a
broadband network, a baseband network, a neural network, a mesh
network, an ad hoc network, other appropriate computer or
telecommunications networks, combinations of the same or the like.
Communication pathways 114 in some cases may also include
application programming interfaces (APIs) including, e.g., cloud
service provider APIs, virtual machine management APIs, and hosted
service provider APIs. The underlying infrastructure of
communication pathways 114 may be wired and/or wireless, analog
and/or digital, or any combination thereof; and the facilities used
may be private, public, third-party provided, or any combination
thereof, without limitation.
[0076] A "subclient" is a logical grouping of all or part of a
client's primary data 112. In general a subclient may be defined
according to how the subclient data is to be protected as a unit in
system 100. For example, a subclient may be associated with a
certain storage policy. A given client may thus comprise several
subclients, each subclient associated with a different storage
policy. For example, some files may form a first subclient that
requires compression and deduplication and is associated with a
first storage policy. Other files of the client may form a second
subclient that requires a different retention schedule as well as
encryption, and may be associated with a different, second storage
policy. As a result, though the primary data may be generated by
the same application 110, and may belong to one given client,
portions of the data may be assigned to different subclients for
distinct treatment by the information management system. More
detail on subclients is given in regard to storage policies
below.
Primary Data and Exemplary Primary Storage Devices
[0077] Primary data 112 is generally production data or other
"live" data generated by the operating system and/or applications
110 executing on client computing device 102. Primary data 112 is
generally stored on primary storage device(s) 104 and is organized
via a file system operating on the client computing device 102.
Thus, client computing device(s) 102 and corresponding applications
110 may create, access, modify, write, delete, and otherwise use
primary data 112. Primary data 112 is generally in the native
format of the source application 110. According to certain aspects,
primary data 112 is an initial or first stored body of data
generated by the source application 110. Primary data 112 in some
cases is created substantially directly from data generated by the
corresponding source application 110.
[0078] Primary storage devices 104 storing primary data 112 may be
relatively fast and/or expensive technology (e.g., a disk drive, a
hard-disk storage array, solid state memory, etc.), typically
because they must support high-performance live production
environments. Primary data 112 may be highly changeable and/or may
be intended for relatively short term retention (e.g., hours, days,
or weeks). According to some embodiments, client computing device
102 can access primary data 112 stored in primary storage device
104 by making conventional file system calls via the operating
system. Primary data 112 may include structured data (e.g.,
database files), unstructured data (e.g., documents), and/or
semi-structured data. See, e.g., FIG. 1B.
[0079] It can be useful in performing certain tasks to organize
primary data 112 into units of different granularities. In general,
primary data 112 can include files, directories, file system
volumes, data blocks, extents, or any other hierarchies or
organizations of data objects. As used herein, a "data object" can
refer to (i) any file that is currently addressable by a file
system or that was previously addressable by the file system (e.g.,
an archive file), and (ii) a subset of such a file (e.g., a data
block, an extent, etc.).
[0080] It can also be useful in performing certain functions of
system 100 to access and modify metadata within primary data 112.
Metadata generally includes information about data objects and/or
characteristics associated with the data objects. For simplicity
herein, it is to be understood that, unless expressly stated
otherwise, any reference to primary data 112 generally also
includes its associated metadata, but references to metadata
generally do not include the primary data. Metadata can include,
without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner
(e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last
modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of
the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data
object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about
the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a
particular search term), user-supplied tags, to/from information
for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date,
file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time,
application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data
object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location
of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object),
geographic location (e.g., GPS coordinates), frequency of change
(e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business
unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is
otherwise associated with the data object), aging information
(e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object
is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors,
partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory
structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists
(ACLs), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations
of the same or other similar information related to the data
object. In addition to metadata generated by or related to file
systems and operating systems, some applications 110 and/or other
components of system 100 maintain indices of metadata for data
objects, e.g., metadata associated with individual email messages.
The use of metadata to perform classification and other functions
is described in greater detail below.
[0081] Each client computing device 102 is generally associated
with and/or in communication with one or more primary storage
devices 104 storing corresponding primary data 112. A client
computing device 102 may be considered to be associated with or in
communication with a primary storage device 104 if it is capable of
one or more of: routing and/or storing data (e.g., primary data
112) to the particular primary storage device 104, coordinating the
routing and/or storing of data to the particular primary storage
device 104, retrieving data from the particular primary storage
device 104, coordinating the retrieval of data from the particular
primary storage device 104, and modifying and/or deleting data in
the particular primary storage device 104. A client computing
device 102 may be said to access data stored in an associated
storage device 104.
[0082] Primary storage device 104 may be dedicated or shared. In
some cases, each primary storage device 104 is dedicated to an
associated client computing device 102, e.g., a local disk drive.
In other cases, one or more primary storage devices 104 can be
shared by multiple client computing devices 102, e.g., via a local
network, in a cloud storage implementation, etc. As one example,
primary storage device 104 can be a storage array shared by a group
of client computing devices 102, such as EMC Clariion, EMC
Symmetrix, EMC Celerra, Dell EqualLogic, IBM XIV, NetApp FAS, HP
EVA, and HP 3PAR.
[0083] Information management system 100 may also include hosted
services (not shown), which may be hosted in some cases by an
entity other than the organization that employs the other
components of system 100. For instance, the hosted services may be
provided by online service providers. Such service providers can
provide social networking services, hosted email services, or
hosted productivity applications or other hosted applications such
as software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS),
application service providers (ASPs), cloud services, or other
mechanisms for delivering functionality via a network. As it
services users, each hosted service may generate additional data
and metadata, which may be managed by system 100, e.g., as primary
data 112. In some cases, the hosted services may be accessed using
one of the applications 110. As an example, a hosted mail service
may be accessed via browser running on a client computing device
102.
Secondary Copies and Exemplary Secondary Storage Devices
[0084] Primary data 112 stored on primary storage devices 104 may
be compromised in some cases, such as when an employee deliberately
or accidentally deletes or overwrites primary data 112. Or primary
storage devices 104 can be damaged, lost, or otherwise corrupted.
For recovery and/or regulatory compliance purposes, it is therefore
useful to generate and maintain copies of primary data 112.
Accordingly, system 100 includes one or more secondary storage
computing devices 106 and one or more secondary storage devices 108
configured to create and store one or more secondary copies 116 of
primary data 112 including its associated metadata. The secondary
storage computing devices 106 and the secondary storage devices 108
may be referred to as secondary storage subsystem 118.
[0085] Creation of secondary copies 116 can help in search and
analysis efforts and meet other information management goals as
well, such as: restoring data and/or metadata if an original
version is lost (e.g., by deletion, corruption, or disaster);
allowing point-in-time recovery; complying with regulatory data
retention and electronic discovery (e-discovery) requirements;
reducing utilized storage capacity in the production system and/or
in secondary storage; facilitating organization and search of data;
improving user access to data files across multiple computing
devices and/or hosted services; and implementing data retention
policies.
[0086] A secondary copy 116 can comprise a separate stored copy of
data that is derived from one or more earlier-created stored copies
(e.g., derived from primary data 112 or from another secondary copy
116). Secondary copies 116 can include point-in-time data, and may
be intended for relatively long-term retention, before some or all
of the data is moved to other storage or discarded. In some cases,
a secondary copy 116 may be in a different storage device than
other previously stored copies; and/or may be remote from other
previously stored copies. Secondary copies 116 can be stored in the
same storage device as primary data 112. For example, a disk array
capable of performing hardware snapshots stores primary data 112
and creates and stores hardware snapshots of the primary data 112
as secondary copies 116. Secondary copies 116 may be stored in
relatively slow and/or lower cost storage (e.g., magnetic tape). A
secondary copy 116 may be stored in a backup or archive format, or
in some other format different from the native source application
format or other format of primary data 112.
[0087] Secondary storage computing devices 106 may index secondary
copies 116 (e.g., using a media agent 144), so that users can
browse and restore at a later time. After creation of a secondary
copy 116 representative of certain primary data 112, a pointer or
other location indicia (e.g., a stub) may be placed in primary data
112, or be otherwise associated with primary data 112, to indicate
the current location on secondary storage device(s) 108 of a
particular secondary copy 116.
[0088] Since an instance of a data object or metadata in primary
data 112 may change over time as it is modified by application 110
(or hosted service or the operating system), system 100 may create
and manage multiple secondary copies 116 of a particular data
object or metadata, each copy representing the state of the data
object in primary data 112 at a particular point in time. Moreover,
since an instance of a data object in primary data 112 may
eventually be deleted from primary storage device 104 and the file
system, system 100 may continue to manage point-in-time
representations of that data object, even though the instance in
primary data 112 no longer exists.
[0089] For virtual machines, the operating system and other
applications 110 of client computing device(s) 102 may execute
within or under the management of virtualization software (e.g., a
VMM), and the primary storage device(s) 104 may comprise a virtual
disk created on a physical storage device. System 100 may create
secondary copies 116 of the files or other data objects in a
virtual disk file and/or secondary copies 116 of the entire virtual
disk file itself (e.g., of an entire .vmdk file).
[0090] Secondary copies 116 may be distinguished from corresponding
primary data 112. First, secondary copies 116 can be stored in a
different format (e.g., backup, archive, or other non-native
format) than primary data 112. For this or other reasons, secondary
copies 116 may not be directly useable by applications 110 or
client computing device 102 (e.g., via standard system calls or
otherwise) without modification, processing, or other intervention
by system 100 which may be referred to as "restore" operations.
Secondary copies 116 may have been processed by data agent 142
and/or media agent 144 in the course of being created (e.g.,
compression, deduplication, encryption, integrity markers,
indexing, formatting, etc.), and thus secondary copy 116 may
represent source primary data 112 without necessarily being exactly
identical to the source.
[0091] Second, secondary copies 116 may be stored on a secondary
storage device 108 that is inaccessible to application 110 running
on client computing device 102 and/or hosted service. Some
secondary copies 116 may be "offline copies," in that they are not
readily available (e.g., not mounted to tape or disk). Offline
copies can include copies of data that system 100 can access
without human intervention (e.g., tapes within an automated tape
library, but not yet mounted in a drive), and copies that the
system 100 can access only with some human intervention (e.g.,
tapes located at an offsite storage site).
Using Intermediate Devices for Creating Secondary Copies--Secondary
Storage Computing Devices
[0092] Creating secondary copies can be challenging. For instance,
hundreds or thousands of client computing devices 102 may be
continually generating large volumes of primary data 112 to be
protected. Also, there can be significant overhead involved in the
creation of secondary copies 116. Moreover, secondary storage
devices 108 may be special-purpose components, and devices that
write to, read from, or otherwise interact with secondary storage
devices 108, such as secondary storage computing devices 106 and
corresponding media agents 144, may require specialized programmed
intelligence and/or hardware capability. Client computing devices
102 may interact directly with a secondary storage device 108 to
create secondary copies 116; however, in view of the factors
described above, this approach can negatively impact the ability of
client computing device 102 to serve/service application 110 and
produce primary data 112. Further, any given client computing
device 102 may not be optimized for interaction with certain
secondary storage devices 108.
[0093] Thus, information management system 100 may include one or
more software and/or hardware components which generally act as
intermediaries between client computing devices 102 (that generate
primary data 112) and secondary storage devices 108 (that store
secondary copies 116). In addition to off-loading certain
responsibilities from client computing devices 102, these
intermediate components can provide other benefits. For instance,
as discussed further below with respect to FIG. 1D, distributing
some of the work involved in creating secondary copies 116 can
enhance scalability and improve system performance. For instance,
using specialized secondary storage computing devices 106 and media
agents 144 for interfacing with secondary storage devices 108
and/or for performing certain data processing operations can
greatly improve the speed with which system 100 performs
information management operations and can also improve the capacity
of the system to handle large numbers of such operations, while
reducing the computational load on the production environment of
client computing devices 102. The intermediate components can
include one or more secondary storage computing devices 106 as
shown in FIG. 1A and/or one or more media agents 144. Media agents
are discussed further below (e.g., with respect to FIGS.
1C-1E).
[0094] Secondary storage computing device(s) 106 can comprise any
of the computing devices described above, without limitation. In
some cases, secondary storage computing device(s) 106 also include
specialized hardware and/or software componentry for interacting
with certain secondary storage device(s) 108 with which they may be
specially associated.
[0095] To create a secondary copy 116 involving the copying of data
from primary storage subsystem 117 to secondary storage subsystem
118, client computing device 102 may communicate the primary data
112 to be copied (or a processed version thereof) to the designated
secondary storage computing device 106, via a communication pathway
114. Secondary storage computing device 106 in turn may perform
further processing and may convey the data (or a processed version
thereof) to secondary storage device 108. One or more secondary
copies 116 may be created from existing secondary copies 116, such
as in the case of an auxiliary copy operation, described further
below.
Exemplary Primary Data and an Exemplary Secondary Copy
[0096] FIG. 1B is a detailed view showing some specific examples of
primary data stored on primary storage device(s) 104 and secondary
copy data stored on secondary storage device(s) 108, with other
components of the system removed for the purposes of illustration.
Stored on the primary storage device(s) 104 are primary data 112
objects including word processing documents 119A-B, spreadsheets
120, presentation documents 122, video files 124, image files 126,
email mailboxes 128 (and corresponding email messages 129A-C),
html/xml or other types of markup language files 130, databases 132
and corresponding tables or other data structures 133A-133C). Some
or all primary data 112 objects are associated with corresponding
metadata (e.g., "Meta1-11"), which may include file system metadata
and/or application-specific metadata. Stored on the secondary
storage device(s) 108 are secondary copy 116 data objects 134A-C
which may include copies of or may otherwise represent
corresponding primary data 112.
[0097] Secondary copy data objects 134A-C can individually
represent more than one primary data object. For example, secondary
copy data object 134A represents three separate primary data
objects 133C, 122, and 129C (represented as 133C', 122', and 129C',
respectively, and accompanied by corresponding metadata Meta11,
Meta3, and Meta8, respectively). Moreover, as indicated by the
prime mark ('), secondary storage computing devices 106 or other
components in secondary storage subsystem 118 may process the data
received from primary storage subsystem 117 and store a secondary
copy including a transformed and/or supplemented representation of
a primary data object and/or metadata that is different from the
original format, e.g., in a compressed, encrypted, deduplicated, or
other modified format. For instance, secondary storage computing
devices 106 can generate new metadata or other information based on
said processing, and store the newly generated information along
with the secondary copies. Secondary copy data object 134B
represents primary data objects 120, 133B, and 119A as 120', 133B',
and 119A', respectively, accompanied by corresponding metadata
Meta2, Meta10, and Meta1, respectively. Also, secondary copy data
object 134C represents primary data objects 133A, 1196, and 129A as
133A', 1196', and 129A', respectively, accompanied by corresponding
metadata Meta9, Meta5, and Meta6, respectively.
Exemplary Information Management System Architecture
[0098] Information management system 100 can incorporate a variety
of different hardware and software components, which can in turn be
organized with respect to one another in many different
configurations, depending on the embodiment. There are critical
design choices involved in specifying the functional
responsibilities of the components and the role of each component
in system 100. Such design choices can impact performance as well
as the adaptability of system 100 to data growth and other changing
circumstances.
[0099] FIG. 1C shows an information management system 100 designed
according to these considerations and which includes: storage
manager 140, one or more data agents 142 executing on client
computing device(s) 102 and configured to process primary data 112,
and one or more media agents 144 executing on the one or more
secondary storage computing devices 106 for performing tasks
involving the secondary storage devices 108.
[0100] Storage Manager
[0101] Storage manager 140 is a centralized storage and/or
information manager that is configured to perform certain control
functions and also to store certain critical information about
system 100. As noted, the number of components in system 100 and
the amount of data under management can be large. Managing the
components and data is therefore a significant task, which can grow
unpredictably as the number of components and data scale to meet
the needs of the organization. For these and other reasons,
according to certain embodiments, responsibility for controlling
system 100, or at least a significant portion of that
responsibility, is allocated to storage manager 140. Storage
manager 140 can be adapted independently according to changing
circumstances, without having to replace or re-design the remainder
of the system. Moreover, a computing device for hosting and/or
operating as storage manager 140 can be selected to best suit the
functions and networking needs of storage manager 140. These and
other advantages are described in further detail below and with
respect to FIG. 1D.
[0102] Storage manager 140 may be a software module or other
application, which, in some embodiments operates in conjunction
with one or more associated data structures such as a dedicated
database (e.g., management database 146). In some embodiments,
storage manager 140 is itself a computing device that performs the
functions described herein. The storage manager generally
initiates, performs, coordinates and/or controls storage and other
information management operations performed by the system 100,
e.g., to protect and control primary data 112 and secondary copies
116. In general, storage manager 100 may be said to manage
information management system 100, which includes managing
constituent components such as data agents and media agents,
etc.
[0103] As shown by the dashed arrowed lines 114 in FIG. 1C, storage
manager 140 may communicate with and/or control some or all
elements of the information management system 100, such as data
agents 142 and media agents 144. In this manner, storage manager
140 may control the operation of various hardware and software
components in system 100. In certain embodiments, control
information originates from storage manager 140 and status as well
as index reporting is transmitted to storage manager 140 by the
managed components, whereas payload data and metadata are generally
communicated between data agents 142 and media agents 144 (or
otherwise between client computing device(s) 102 and secondary
storage computing device(s) 106), e.g., at the direction of and
under the management of storage manager 140. Control information
can generally include parameters and instructions for carrying out
information management operations, such as, without limitation,
instructions to perform a task associated with an operation, timing
information specifying when to initiate a task, data path
information specifying what components to communicate with or
access in carrying out an operation, and the like. In other
embodiments, some information management operations are controlled
or initiated by other components of system 100 (e.g., by media
agents 144 or data agents 142), instead of or in combination with
storage manager 140.
[0104] According to certain embodiments, storage manager 140
provides one or more of the following functions: [0105]
communicating with data agents 142 and media agents 144, including
transmitting instructions, messages, and/or queries, as well as
receiving status reports, index information, messages, and/or
queries, and responding to same; [0106] initiating execution of
information management operations; [0107] initiating restore and
recovery operations; [0108] managing secondary storage devices 108
and inventory/capacity of the same; [0109] allocating secondary
storage devices 108 for secondary copy operations; [0110]
reporting, searching, and/or classification of data in system 100;
[0111] monitoring completion of and status reporting related to
information management operations and jobs; [0112] tracking
movement of data within system 100; [0113] tracking age information
relating to secondary copies 116, secondary storage devices 108,
comparing the age information against retention guidelines, and
initiating data pruning when appropriate; [0114] tracking logical
associations between components in system 100; [0115] protecting
metadata associated with system 100, e.g., in management database
146; [0116] implementing job management, schedule management, event
management, alert management, reporting, job history maintenance,
user security management, disaster recovery management, and/or user
interfacing for system administrators and/or end users of system
100; [0117] sending, searching, and/or viewing of log files; and
[0118] implementing operations management functionality.
[0119] Storage manager 140 may maintain an associated database 146
(or "storage manager database 146" or "management database 146") of
management-related data and information management policies 148.
Database 146 can be stored in computer memory accessible by storage
manager 140. Database 146 may include a management index 150 (or
"index 150") or other data structure(s) that may store: logical
associations between components of the system; user preferences
and/or profiles (e.g., preferences regarding encryption,
compression, or deduplication of primary data or secondary copies;
preferences regarding the scheduling, type, or other aspects of
secondary copy or other operations; mappings of particular
information management users or user accounts to certain computing
devices or other components, etc.; management tasks; media
containerization; or other useful data. For example, storage
manager 140 may use index 150 to track logical associations between
media agents 144 and secondary storage devices 108 and/or movement
of data from primary storage devices 104 to secondary storage
devices 108. For instance, index 150 may store data associating a
client computing device 102 with a particular media agent 144
and/or secondary storage device 108, as specified in an information
management policy 148.
[0120] Administrators and others may configure and initiate certain
information management operations on an individual basis. But while
this may be acceptable for some recovery operations or other
infrequent tasks, it is often not workable for implementing
on-going organization-wide data protection and management. Thus,
system 100 may utilize information management policies 148 for
specifying and executing information management operations on an
automated basis. Generally, an information management policy 148
can include a stored data structure or other information source
that specifies parameters (e.g., criteria and rules) associated
with storage management or other information management operations.
Storage manager 140 can process an information management policy
148 and/or index 150 and, based on the results, identify an
information management operation to perform, identify the
appropriate components in system 100 to be involved in the
operation (e.g., client computing devices 102 and corresponding
data agents 142, secondary storage computing devices 106 and
corresponding media agents 144, etc.), establish connections to
those components and/or between those components, and/or instruct
and control those components to carry out the operation. In this
manner, system 100 can translate stored information into
coordinated activity among the various computing devices in system
100.
[0121] Management database 146 may maintain information management
policies 148 and associated data, although information management
policies 148 can be stored in computer memory at any appropriate
location outside management database 146. For instance, an
information management policy 148 such as a storage policy may be
stored as metadata in a media agent database 152 or in a secondary
storage device 108 (e.g., as an archive copy) for use in restore or
other information management operations, depending on the
embodiment. Information management policies 148 are described
further below. According to certain embodiments, management
database 146 comprises a relational database (e.g., an SQL
database) for tracking metadata, such as metadata associated with
secondary copy operations (e.g., what client computing devices 102
and corresponding subclient data were protected and where the
secondary copies are stored and which media agent 144 performed the
secondary storage). This and other metadata may additionally be
stored in other locations, such as at secondary storage computing
device 106 or on the secondary storage device 108, allowing data
recovery without the use of storage manager 140 in some cases.
Thus, management database 146 may comprise data needed to kick off
secondary copy operations (e.g., storage policies), status and
reporting information about completed jobs (e.g., status on
yesterday's backup jobs), and additional information sufficient to
enable restore and disaster recovery operations (e.g., media agent
associations, location indexing, content indexing, etc.)
[0122] Storage manager 140 may include a jobs agent 156, a user
interface 158, and a management agent 154, all of which may be
implemented as interconnected software modules or application
programs. These are described further below.
[0123] Jobs agent 156 in some embodiments initiates, controls,
and/or monitors the status of some or all information management
operations previously performed, currently being performed, or
scheduled to be performed by system 100. A job may be a logical
grouping of information management operations such as generating
backup copies of a primary data 112 subclient at a certain time
every day. Thus, jobs agent 156 may access information management
policies 148 (e.g., in management database 146) to determine when
and how to initiate/control jobs in system 100.
[0124] Storage Manager User Interfaces
[0125] User interface 158 may include information processing and
display software, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), an
application program interface (API), and/or other interactive
interface(s) through which users and system processes can retrieve
information about the status of information management operations
or issue instructions to system 100 and/or its constituent
components. Via user interface 158, users may issue instructions to
the components in system 100 regarding performance of secondary
copy and recovery operations. For example, a user may modify a
schedule concerning the number of pending secondary copy
operations. As another example, a user may employ the GUI to view
the status of pending secondary copy jobs or to monitor the status
of certain components in system 100 (e.g., the amount of capacity
left in a storage device). Storage manager 140 may track
information that permits it to select, designate, or otherwise
identify content indices, deduplication databases, or similar
databases or resources or data sets within its information
management cell (or another cell) to be searched in response to
certain queries. Such queries may be entered by the user by
interacting with user interface 158.
[0126] Various embodiments of information management system 100 may
be configured and/or designed to generate user interface data
useable for rendering the various interactive user interfaces
described. The user interface data may be used by system 100 and/or
by another system, device, and/or software program (for example, a
browser program), to render the interactive user interfaces. The
interactive user interfaces may be displayed on, for example,
electronic displays (including, for example, touch-enabled
displays), consoles, etc., whether direct-connected to storage
manager 140 or communicatively coupled remotely, e.g., via an
internet connection. The present disclosure describes various
embodiments of interactive and dynamic user interfaces, some of
which may be generated by user interface agent 158, and which are
the result of significant technological development. The user
interfaces described herein may provide improved human-computer
interactions, allowing for significant cognitive and ergonomic
efficiencies and advantages over previous systems, including
reduced mental workloads, improved decision-making, and the like.
User interface 158 may operate in a single integrated view or
console (not shown). The console may support a reporting capability
for generating a variety of reports, which may be tailored to a
particular aspect of information management.
[0127] User interfaces are not exclusive to storage manager 140 and
in some embodiments a user may access information locally from a
computing device component of system 100. For example, some
information pertaining to installed data agents 142 and associated
data streams may be available from client computing device 102.
Likewise, some information pertaining to media agents 144 and
associated data streams may be available from secondary storage
computing device 106.
[0128] Storage Manager Management Agent
[0129] Management agent 154 can provide storage manager 140 with
the ability to communicate with other components within information
management system 100 and/or with other information management
cells via network protocols and application programming interfaces
(APIs) including, e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, REST, virtualization
software APIs, cloud service provider APIs, and hosted service
provider APIs.
[0130] Management agent 154 also allows multiple information
management cells to communicate with one another. For example,
system 100 in some cases may be one information management cell in
a network of multiple cells adjacent to one another or otherwise
logically related, e.g., in a WAN or LAN. With this arrangement,
the cells may communicate with one another through respective
management agents 154. Inter-cell communication and hierarchy is
described in greater detail in e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.
[0131] Information Management Cell
[0132] An "information management cell" (or "storage operation
cell" or "cell") may generally include a logical and/or physical
grouping of a combination of hardware and software components
associated with performing information management operations on
electronic data, typically one storage manager 140 and at least one
data agent 142 (executing on a client computing device 102) and at
least one media agent 144 (executing on a secondary storage
computing device 106). For instance, the components shown in FIG.
1C may together form an information management cell. Thus, in some
configurations, a system 100 may be referred to as an information
management cell. A given cell may be identified by the identity of
its storage manager 140, which is generally responsible for
managing the cell.
[0133] Multiple cells may be organized hierarchically, so that
cells may inherit properties from hierarchically superior cells or
be controlled by other cells in the hierarchy (automatically or
otherwise). Alternatively, in some embodiments, cells may inherit
or otherwise be associated with information management policies,
preferences, information management operational parameters, or
other properties or characteristics according to their relative
position in a hierarchy of cells. Cells may also be organized
hierarchically according to function, geography, architectural
considerations, or other factors useful or desirable in performing
information management operations. For example, a first cell may
represent a geographic segment of an enterprise, such as a Chicago
office, and a second cell may represent a different geographic
segment, such as a New York City office. Other cells may represent
departments within a particular office, e.g., human resources,
finance, engineering, etc. Where delineated by function, a first
cell may perform one or more first types of information management
operations (e.g., one or more first types of secondary copies at a
certain frequency), and a second cell may perform one or more
second types of information management operations (e.g., one or
more second types of secondary copies at a different frequency and
under different retention rules). In general, the hierarchical
information is maintained by one or more storage managers 140 that
manage the respective cells (e.g., in corresponding management
database(s) 146).
[0134] Data Agents
[0135] A variety of different applications 110 can operate on a
given client computing device 102, including operating systems,
file systems, database applications, e-mail applications, and
virtual machines, just to name a few. And, as part of the process
of creating and restoring secondary copies 116, the client
computing device 102 may be tasked with processing and preparing
the primary data 112 generated by these various applications 110.
Moreover, the nature of the processing/preparation can differ
across application types, e.g., due to inherent structural, state,
and formatting differences among applications 110 and/or the
operating system of client computing device 102. Each data agent
142 is therefore advantageously configured in some embodiments to
assist in the performance of information management operations
based on the type of data that is being protected at a
client-specific and/or application-specific level.
[0136] Data agent 142 is a component of information system 100 and
is generally directed by storage manager 140 in creating or
restoring secondary copies 116. Data agent 142 may be a software
program (e.g., a set of executable binary files) that executes on
the same client computing device 102 as the associated application
110 that data agent 142 is configured to protect. Data agent 142 is
generally responsible for managing, initiating, or otherwise
assisting in the performance of information management operations
in reference to its associated application(s) 110 and corresponding
primary data 112 which is generated/accessed by the particular
application(s). For instance, data agent 142 may take part in
copying, archiving, migrating, and/or replicating of primary data
112 stored in the primary storage device(s) 104. Data agent 142 may
receive control information from storage manager 140, such as
commands to transfer copies of data objects and/or metadata to one
or more media agents 144. Data agent 142 also may compress,
deduplicate, and encrypt primary data 112 before transmitting it to
media agent 144. Data agent 142 also may receive instructions from
storage manager 140 to restore (or assist in restoring) a secondary
copy 116 from secondary storage device 108 to primary storage 104,
such that the restored data may be accessed by application 110.
[0137] Each data agent 142 may be specialized for a particular
application 110. For instance, different individual data agents 142
may be designed to handle Microsoft Exchange data, Lotus Notes
data, Microsoft Windows file system data, Microsoft Active
Directory Objects data, SQL Server data, SharePoint data, Oracle
database data, SAP database data, virtual machines and/or
associated data, and other types of data. A file system data agent,
for example, may handle data files and/or other file system
information. If a client computing device 102 has two or more types
of data 112, a specialized data agent 142 may be used for each data
type. For example, to backup, migrate, and/or restore all of the
data on a Microsoft Exchange server, the client computing device
102 may use: a Microsoft Exchange Mailbox data agent 142 to back up
the Exchange mailboxes; a Microsoft Exchange Database data agent
142 to back up the Exchange databases; a Microsoft Exchange Public
Folder data agent 142 to back up the Exchange Public Folders; and a
Microsoft Windows File System data agent 142 to back up the file
system of client computing device 102. In such embodiments, these
specialized data agents 142 may be treated as four separate data
agents 142 even though they operate on the same client computing
device 102. Other examples may include archive management data
agents such as a migration archiver or a compliance archiver, Quick
Recovery.RTM. agents, and continuous data replication agents.
Application-specific data agents 142 can provide improved
performance as compared to generic agents. For instance, because
application-specific data agents 142 may only handle data for a
single software application, the design of the data agent 142 can
be streamlined. The data agent 142 may therefore execute faster and
consume less persistent storage and/or operating memory than data
agents designed to generically accommodate multiple different
software applications 110.
[0138] Each data agent 142 may be configured to access data and/or
metadata stored in the primary storage device(s) 104 associated
with data agent 142 and its host client computing device 102, and
process the data appropriately. For example, during a secondary
copy operation, data agent 142 may arrange or assemble the data and
metadata into one or more files having a certain format (e.g., a
particular backup or archive format) before transferring the
file(s) to a media agent 144 or other component. The file(s) may
include a list of files or other metadata.
[0139] In some embodiments, a data agent 142 may be distributed
between client computing device 102 and storage manager 140 (and
any other intermediate components) or may be deployed from a remote
location or its functions approximated by a remote process that
performs some or all of the functions of data agent 142. In
addition, a data agent 142 may perform some functions provided by
media agent 144. Other embodiments may employ one or more generic
data agents 142 that can handle and process data from two or more
different applications 110, or that can handle and process multiple
data types, instead of or in addition to using specialized data
agents 142. For example, one generic data agent 142 may be used to
back up, migrate and restore Microsoft Exchange Mailbox data and
Microsoft Exchange Database data, while another generic data agent
may handle Microsoft Exchange Public Folder data and Microsoft
Windows File System data.
[0140] Media Agents
[0141] As noted, off-loading certain responsibilities from client
computing devices 102 to intermediate components such as secondary
storage computing device(s) 106 and corresponding media agent(s)
144 can provide a number of benefits including improved performance
of client computing device 102, faster information management
operations, and enhanced scalability. In one example which will be
discussed further below, media agent 144 can act as a local cache
of recently-copied data and/or metadata that it stored to secondary
storage device(s) 108, thus improving restore capabilities and
performance.
[0142] Media agent 144 is a component of information system 100 and
is generally directed by storage manager 140 in creating or
restoring secondary copies 116. Whereas storage manager 140
generally manages information management system 100, media agent
144 provides a portal to secondary storage devices 108. Media agent
144 may be a software program (e.g., a set of executable binary
files) that executes on a secondary storage computing device 106.
Media agent 144 generally manages, coordinates, and facilitates the
transmission of data between a client computing device 102
(executing a data agent 142) and secondary storage device(s) 108.
For instance, other components in the system may interact with
media agent 144 to gain access to data stored on secondary storage
device(s) 108, (e.g., to browse, read, write, modify, delete, or
restore data). Moreover, media agents 144 can generate and store
information relating to characteristics of the stored data and/or
metadata, or can generate and store other types of information that
generally provides insight into the contents of the secondary
storage devices 108--generally referred to as indexing of the
stored secondary copies 116.
[0143] Media agents 144 can comprise separate nodes of system 100
(e.g., nodes that are separate from client computing devices 102,
storage manager 140, and/or secondary storage devices 108). In
general, a node can be a logically and/or physically separate
component, and in some cases is a component that is individually
addressable or otherwise identifiable. In addition, each media
agent 144 may operate on a dedicated secondary storage computing
device 106, while in other embodiments a plurality of media agents
144 may operate on the same secondary storage computing device
106.
[0144] A media agent 144 may be associated with a particular
secondary storage device 108 if that media agent 144 is capable of
one or more of: routing and/or storing data to the particular
secondary storage device 108; coordinating the routing and/or
storing of data to the particular secondary storage device 108;
retrieving data from the particular secondary storage device 108;
coordinating the retrieval of data from the particular secondary
storage device 108; and modifying and/or deleting data retrieved
from the particular secondary storage device 108. Media agent 144
in certain embodiments is physically separate from the associated
secondary storage device 108. For instance, a media agent 144 may
operate on a secondary storage computing device 106 in a distinct
housing, package, and/or location from the associated secondary
storage device 108. In one example, a media agent 144 operates on a
first server computer and is in communication with a secondary
storage device(s) 108 operating in a separate rack-mounted
RAID-based system.
[0145] A media agent 144 associated with a particular secondary
storage device 108 may instruct secondary storage device 108 to
perform an information management task. For instance, a media agent
144 may instruct a tape library to use a robotic arm or other
retrieval means to load or eject a certain storage media, and to
subsequently archive, migrate, or retrieve data to or from that
media, e.g., for the purpose of restoring data to a client
computing device 102. As another example, a secondary storage
device 108 may include an array of hard disk drives or solid state
drives organized in a RAID configuration, and media agent 144 may
forward a logical unit number (LUN) and other appropriate
information to the array, which uses the received information to
execute the desired secondary copy operation. Media agent 144 may
communicate with a secondary storage device 108 via a suitable
communications link, such as a SCSI or Fiber Channel link.
[0146] Each media agent 144 may maintain an associated media agent
database 152. Media agent database 152 may be stored to a disk or
other storage device (not shown) that is local to the secondary
storage computing device 106 on which media agent 144 operates. In
other cases, media agent database 152 is stored separately from the
host secondary storage computing device 106. Media agent database
152 can include, among other things, a media agent index 153 (see,
e.g., FIG. 1C). In some cases, media agent index 153 does not form
a part of and is instead separate from media agent database
152.
[0147] Media agent index 153 (or "index 153") may be a data
structure associated with the particular media agent 144 that
includes information about the stored data associated with the
particular media agent and which may be generated in the course of
performing a secondary copy operation or a restore. Index 153
provides a fast and efficient mechanism for locating/browsing
secondary copies 116 or other data stored in secondary storage
devices 108 without having to access secondary storage device 108
to retrieve the information from there. For instance, for each
secondary copy 116, index 153 may include metadata such as a list
of the data objects (e.g., files/subdirectories, database objects,
mailbox objects, etc.), a logical path to the secondary copy 116 on
the corresponding secondary storage device 108, location
information (e.g., offsets) indicating where the data objects are
stored in the secondary storage device 108, when the data objects
were created or modified, etc. Thus, index 153 includes metadata
associated with the secondary copies 116 that is readily available
for use from media agent 144. In some embodiments, some or all of
the information in index 153 may instead or additionally be stored
along with secondary copies 116 in secondary storage device 108. In
some embodiments, a secondary storage device 108 can include
sufficient information to enable a "bare metal restore," where the
operating system and/or software applications of a failed client
computing device 102 or another target may be automatically
restored without manually reinstalling individual software packages
(including operating systems).
[0148] Because index 153 may operate as a cache, it can also be
referred to as an "index cache." In such cases, information stored
in index cache 153 typically comprises data that reflects certain
particulars about relatively recent secondary copy operations.
After some triggering event, such as after some time elapses or
index cache 153 reaches a particular size, certain portions of
index cache 153 may be copied or migrated to secondary storage
device 108, e.g., on a least-recently-used basis. This information
may be retrieved and uploaded back into index cache 153 or
otherwise restored to media agent 144 to facilitate retrieval of
data from the secondary storage device(s) 108. In some embodiments,
the cached information may include format or containerization
information related to archives or other files stored on storage
device(s) 108.
[0149] In some alternative embodiments media agent 144 generally
acts as a coordinator or facilitator of secondary copy operations
between client computing devices 102 and secondary storage devices
108, but does not actually write the data to secondary storage
device 108. For instance, storage manager 140 (or media agent 144)
may instruct a client computing device 102 and secondary storage
device 108 to communicate with one another directly. In such a
case, client computing device 102 transmits data directly or via
one or more intermediary components to secondary storage device 108
according to the received instructions, and vice versa. Media agent
144 may still receive, process, and/or maintain metadata related to
the secondary copy operations, i.e., may continue to build and
maintain index 153. In these embodiments, payload data can flow
through media agent 144 for the purposes of populating index 153,
but not for writing to secondary storage device 108.
[0150] Media agent 144 and/or other components such as storage
manager 140 may in some cases incorporate additional functionality,
such as data classification, content indexing, deduplication,
encryption, compression, and the like. Further details regarding
these and other functions are described below.
Distributed, Scalable Architecture
[0151] As described, certain functions of system 100 can be
distributed amongst various physical and/or logical components. For
instance, one or more of storage manager 140, data agents 142, and
media agents 144 may operate on computing devices that are
physically separate from one another. This architecture can provide
a number of benefits. For instance, hardware and software design
choices for each distributed component can be targeted to suit its
particular function. The secondary computing devices 106 on which
media agents 144 operate can be tailored for interaction with
associated secondary storage devices 108 and provide fast index
cache operation, among other specific tasks. Similarly, client
computing device(s) 102 can be selected to effectively service
applications 110 in order to efficiently produce and store primary
data 112.
[0152] Moreover, in some cases, one or more of the individual
components of information management system 100 can be distributed
to multiple separate computing devices. As one example, for large
file systems where the amount of data stored in management database
146 is relatively large, database 146 may be migrated to or may
otherwise reside on a specialized database server (e.g., an SQL
server) separate from a server that implements the other functions
of storage manager 140. This distributed configuration can provide
added protection because database 146 can be protected with
standard database utilities (e.g., SQL log shipping or database
replication) independent from other functions of storage manager
140. Database 146 can be efficiently replicated to a remote site
for use in the event of a disaster or other data loss at the
primary site. Or database 146 can be replicated to another
computing device within the same site, such as to a higher
performance machine in the event that a storage manager host
computing device can no longer service the needs of a growing
system 100.
[0153] The distributed architecture also provides scalability and
efficient component utilization. FIG. 1D shows an embodiment of
information management system 100 including a plurality of client
computing devices 102 and associated data agents 142 as well as a
plurality of secondary storage computing devices 106 and associated
media agents 144. Additional components can be added or subtracted
based on the evolving needs of system 100. For instance, depending
on where bottlenecks are identified, administrators can add
additional client computing devices 102, secondary storage
computing devices 106, and/or secondary storage devices 108.
Moreover, where multiple fungible components are available, load
balancing can be implemented to dynamically address identified
bottlenecks. As an example, storage manager 140 may dynamically
select which media agents 144 and/or secondary storage devices 108
to use for storage operations based on a processing load analysis
of media agents 144 and/or secondary storage devices 108,
respectively.
[0154] Where system 100 includes multiple media agents 144 (see,
e.g., FIG. 1D), a first media agent 144 may provide failover
functionality for a second failed media agent 144. In addition,
media agents 144 can be dynamically selected to provide load
balancing. Each client computing device 102 can communicate with,
among other components, any of the media agents 144, e.g., as
directed by storage manager 140. And each media agent 144 may
communicate with, among other components, any of secondary storage
devices 108, e.g., as directed by storage manager 140. Thus,
operations can be routed to secondary storage devices 108 in a
dynamic and highly flexible manner, to provide load balancing,
failover, etc. Further examples of scalable systems capable of
dynamic storage operations, load balancing, and failover are
provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,207.
[0155] While distributing functionality amongst multiple computing
devices can have certain advantages, in other contexts it can be
beneficial to consolidate functionality on the same computing
device. In alternative configurations, certain components may
reside and execute on the same computing device. As such, in other
embodiments, one or more of the components shown in FIG. 1C may be
implemented on the same computing device. In one configuration, a
storage manager 140, one or more data agents 142, and/or one or
more media agents 144 are all implemented on the same computing
device. In other embodiments, one or more data agents 142 and one
or more media agents 144 are implemented on the same computing
device, while storage manager 140 is implemented on a separate
computing device, etc. without limitation.
Exemplary Types of Information Management Operations
[0156] In order to protect and leverage stored data, system 100 can
be configured to perform a variety of information management
operations, which may also be referred to in some cases as storage
management operations or storage operations. These operations can
generally include (i) data movement operations, (ii) processing and
data manipulation operations, and (iii) analysis, reporting, and
management operations.
[0157] Data Movement Operations, Including Secondary Copy
Operations
[0158] Data movement operations are generally operations that
involve the copying or migration of data between different
locations in system 100. For example, data movement operations can
include operations in which stored data is copied, migrated, or
otherwise transferred from one or more first storage devices to one
or more second storage devices, such as from primary storage
device(s) 104 to secondary storage device(s) 108, from secondary
storage device(s) 108 to different secondary storage device(s) 108,
from secondary storage devices 108 to primary storage devices 104,
or from primary storage device(s) 104 to different primary storage
device(s) 104, or in some cases within the same primary storage
device 104 such as within a storage array.
[0159] Data movement operations can include by way of example,
backup operations, archive operations, information lifecycle
management operations such as hierarchical storage management
operations, replication operations (e.g., continuous data
replication), snapshot operations, deduplication or
single-instancing operations, auxiliary copy operations,
disaster-recovery copy operations, and the like. As will be
discussed, some of these operations do not necessarily create
distinct copies. Nonetheless, some or all of these operations are
generally referred to as "secondary copy operations" for
simplicity. Data movement also comprises restoring secondary
copies.
[0160] Backup Operations
[0161] A backup operation creates a copy of a version of primary
data 112 at a particular point in time (e.g., one or more files or
other data units). Each subsequent backup copy 116 (which is a form
of secondary copy 116) may be maintained independently of the
first. A backup generally involves maintaining a version of the
copied primary data 112 as well as backup copies 116. Further, a
backup copy in some embodiments is generally stored in a form that
is different from the native format, e.g., a backup format. This
contrasts to the version in primary data 112 which may instead be
stored in a native format of the source application(s) 110. In
various cases, backup copies can be stored in a format in which the
data is compressed, encrypted, deduplicated, and/or otherwise
modified from the original native application format. For example,
a backup copy may be stored in a compressed backup format that
facilitates efficient long-term storage.
[0162] Backup copies 116 can have relatively long retention periods
as compared to primary data 112, which is generally highly
changeable. Backup copies 116 may be stored on media with slower
retrieval times than primary storage device 104. Some backup copies
may have shorter retention periods than some other types of
secondary copies 116, such as archive copies (described below).
Backups may be stored at an offsite location.
[0163] Backup operations can include full backups, differential
backups, incremental backups, "synthetic full" backups, and/or
creating a "reference copy." A full backup (or "standard full
backup") in some embodiments is generally a complete image of the
data to be protected. However, because full backup copies can
consume a relatively large amount of storage, it can be useful to
use a full backup copy as a baseline and only store changes
relative to the full backup copy for subsequent backup copies.
[0164] A differential backup operation (or cumulative incremental
backup operation) tracks and stores changes that occurred since the
last full backup. Differential backups can grow quickly in size,
but can restore relatively efficiently because a restore can be
completed in some cases using only the full backup copy and the
latest differential copy.
[0165] An incremental backup operation generally tracks and stores
changes since the most recent backup copy of any type, which can
greatly reduce storage utilization. In some cases, however,
restoring can be lengthy compared to full or differential backups
because completing a restore operation may involve accessing a full
backup in addition to multiple incremental backups.
[0166] Synthetic full backups generally consolidate data without
directly backing up data from the client computing device. A
synthetic full backup is created from the most recent full backup
(i.e., standard or synthetic) and subsequent incremental and/or
differential backups. The resulting synthetic full backup is
identical to what would have been created had the last backup for
the subclient been a standard full backup. Unlike standard full,
incremental, and differential backups, however, a synthetic full
backup does not actually transfer data from primary storage to the
backup media, because it operates as a backup consolidator. A
synthetic full backup extracts the index data of each participating
subclient. Using this index data and the previously backed up user
data images, it builds new full backup images (e.g., bitmaps), one
for each subclient. The new backup images consolidate the index and
user data stored in the related incremental, differential, and
previous full backups into a synthetic backup file that fully
represents the subclient (e.g., via pointers) but does not comprise
all its constituent data.
[0167] Any of the above types of backup operations can be at the
volume level, file level, or block level. Volume level backup
operations generally involve copying of a data volume (e.g., a
logical disk or partition) as a whole. In a file-level backup,
information management system 100 generally tracks changes to
individual files and includes copies of files in the backup copy.
For block-level backups, files are broken into constituent blocks,
and changes are tracked at the block level. Upon restore, system
100 reassembles the blocks into files in a transparent fashion. Far
less data may actually be transferred and copied to secondary
storage devices 108 during a file-level copy than a volume-level
copy. Likewise, a block-level copy may transfer less data than a
file-level copy, resulting in faster execution. However, restoring
a relatively higher-granularity copy can result in longer restore
times. For instance, when restoring a block-level copy, the process
of locating constituent blocks can sometimes take longer than
restoring file-level backups.
[0168] A reference copy may comprise copy(ies) of selected objects
from backed up data, typically to help organize data by keeping
contextual information from multiple sources together, and/or help
retain specific data for a longer period of time, such as for legal
hold needs. A reference copy generally maintains data integrity,
and when the data is restored, it may be viewed in the same format
as the source data. In some embodiments, a reference copy is based
on a specialized client, individual subclient and associated
information management policies (e.g., storage policy, retention
policy, etc.) that are administered within system 100.
[0169] Archive Operations
[0170] Because backup operations generally involve maintaining a
version of the copied primary data 112 and also maintaining backup
copies in secondary storage device(s) 108, they can consume
significant storage capacity. To reduce storage consumption, an
archive operation according to certain embodiments creates an
archive copy 116 by both copying and removing source data. Or, seen
another way, archive operations can involve moving some or all of
the source data to the archive destination. Thus, data satisfying
criteria for removal (e.g., data of a threshold age or size) may be
removed from source storage. The source data may be primary data
112 or a secondary copy 116, depending on the situation. As with
backup copies, archive copies can be stored in a format in which
the data is compressed, encrypted, deduplicated, and/or otherwise
modified from the format of the original application or source
copy. In addition, archive copies may be retained for relatively
long periods of time (e.g., years) and, in some cases are never
deleted. Archive copies are generally retained for longer periods
of time than backup copies. In certain embodiments, archive copies
may be made and kept for extended periods in order to meet
compliance regulations.
[0171] Archiving can also serve the purpose of freeing up space in
primary storage device(s) 104 and easing the demand on
computational resources on client computing device 102. Similarly,
when a secondary copy 116 is archived, the archive copy can
therefore serve the purpose of freeing up space in the source
secondary storage device(s) 108. Examples of data archiving
operations are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,298.
[0172] Snapshot Operations
[0173] Snapshot operations can provide a relatively lightweight,
efficient mechanism for protecting data. From an end-user
viewpoint, a snapshot may be thought of as an "instant" image of
primary data 112 at a given point in time, and may include state
and/or status information relative to an application 110 that
creates/manages primary data 112. In one embodiment, a snapshot may
generally capture the directory structure of an object in primary
data 112 such as a file or volume or other data set at a particular
moment in time and may also preserve file attributes and contents.
A snapshot in some cases is created relatively quickly, e.g.,
substantially instantly, using a minimum amount of file space, but
may still function as a conventional file system backup.
[0174] A "hardware snapshot" (or "hardware-based snapshot")
operation can be a snapshot operation where a target storage device
(e.g., a primary storage device 104 or a secondary storage device
108) performs the snapshot operation in a self-contained fashion,
substantially independently, using hardware, firmware and/or
software operating on the storage device itself. For instance, the
storage device may perform snapshot operations generally without
intervention or oversight from any of the other components of the
system 100, e.g., a storage array may generate an "array-created"
hardware snapshot and may also manage its storage, integrity,
versioning, etc. In this manner, hardware snapshots can off-load
other components of system 100 from processing involved in creating
and managing snapshots.
[0175] A "software snapshot" (or "software-based snapshot")
operation, on the other hand, can be a snapshot operation in which
one or more other components in information management system 100
(e.g., client computing devices 102, data agents 142, etc.)
implement a software layer that manages the snapshot operation via
interaction with the target storage device. For instance, the
component executing the snapshot management software layer may
derive a set of pointers and/or data that represents the snapshot.
The snapshot management software layer may then transmit the same
to the target storage device, along with appropriate instructions
for writing the snapshot. One example of a software snapshot
product may be Microsoft Volume Snapshot Service (VSS), which is
part of the Microsoft Windows operating system.
[0176] Some types of snapshots do not actually create another
physical copy of all the data as it existed at the particular point
in time, but may simply create pointers that are able to map files
and directories to specific memory locations (e.g., to specific
disk blocks) where the data resides, as it existed at the
particular point in time. For example, a snapshot copy may include
a set of pointers derived from the file system or from an
application. In some other cases, the snapshot may be created at
the block-level, such that creation of the snapshot occurs without
awareness of the file system. Each pointer points to a respective
stored data block, so that collectively, the set of pointers
reflect the storage location and state of the data object (e.g.,
file(s) or volume(s) or data set(s)) at the particular point in
time when the snapshot copy was created.
[0177] An initial snapshot may use only a small amount of disk
space needed to record a mapping or other data structure
representing or otherwise tracking the blocks that correspond to
the current state of the file system. Additional disk space is
usually required only when files and directories change later on.
Furthermore, when files change, typically only the pointers which
map to blocks are copied, not the blocks themselves. For example
for "copy-on-write" snapshots, when a block changes in primary
storage, the block is copied to secondary storage or cached in
primary storage before the block is overwritten in primary storage,
and the pointer to that block is changed to reflect the new
location of that block. The snapshot mapping of file system data
may also be updated to reflect the changed block(s) at that
particular point in time. In some other cases, a snapshot includes
a full physical copy of all or substantially all of the data
represented by the snapshot. Further examples of snapshot
operations are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,782.
[0178] A snapshot copy in many cases can be made quickly and
without significantly impacting primary computing resources because
large amounts of data need not be copied or moved. In some
embodiments, a snapshot may exist as a virtual file system,
parallel to the actual file system. Users in some cases gain
read-only access to the record of files and directories of the
snapshot. By electing to restore primary data 112 from a snapshot
taken at a given point in time, users may also return the current
file system to the state of the file system that existed when the
snapshot was taken.
[0179] Replication Operations
[0180] Another type of secondary copy operation is a replication
operation. Some types of secondary copies 116 are used to
periodically capture images of primary data 112 at particular
points in time (e.g., backups, archives, and snapshots). However,
it can also be useful for recovery purposes to protect primary data
112 in a more continuous fashion, by replicating primary data 112
substantially as changes occur. In some cases a replication copy
can be a mirror copy, for instance, where changes made to primary
data 112 are mirrored or substantially immediately copied to
another location (e.g., to secondary storage device(s) 108). By
copying each write operation to the replication copy, two storage
systems are kept synchronized or substantially synchronized so that
they are virtually identical at approximately the same time. Where
entire disk volumes are mirrored, however, mirroring can require
significant amount of storage space and utilizes a large amount of
processing resources.
[0181] According to some embodiments secondary copy operations are
performed on replicated data that represents a recoverable state,
or "known good state" of a particular application running on the
source system. For instance, in certain embodiments, known good
replication copies may be viewed as copies of primary data 112.
This feature allows the system to directly access, copy, restore,
backup or otherwise manipulate the replication copies as if the
data were the "live" primary data 112. This can reduce access time,
storage utilization, and impact on source applications 110, among
other benefits. Based on known good state information, system 100
can replicate sections of application data that represent a
recoverable state rather than rote copying of blocks of data.
Examples of replication operations (e.g., continuous data
replication) are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,262.
[0182] Deduplication/Single-Instancing Operations
[0183] Deduplication or single-instance storage is useful to reduce
the amount of non-primary data. For instance, some or all of the
above-described secondary copy operations can involve deduplication
in some fashion. New data is read, broken down into data portions
of a selected granularity (e.g., sub-file level blocks, files,
etc.), compared with corresponding portions that are already in
secondary storage, and only new portions are stored. Portions that
already exist are represented as pointers to the already-stored
data. Thus, a deduplicated secondary copy 116 may comprise actual
data portions copied from primary data 112 and may further comprise
pointers to already-stored data, which is generally more
storage-efficient than a full copy.
[0184] In order to streamline the comparison process, information
management system 100 may calculate and/or store signatures (e.g.,
hashes or cryptographically unique IDs) corresponding to the
individual data portions in the source data and compare the
signatures instead of comparing entire data portions. In some
cases, only a single instance of each data portion is stored, and
deduplication operations may therefore be referred to
interchangeably as "single-instancing" operations. Depending on the
implementation, however, deduplication operations can store more
than one instance of certain data portions, but nonetheless
significantly reduce stored-data redundancy. Depending on the
embodiment, deduplication portions such as data blocks can be of
fixed or variable length. Using variable length blocks can enhance
deduplication by responding to changes in the data stream, but can
involve complex processing. In some cases, system 100 utilizes a
technique for dynamically aligning deduplication blocks based on
changing content in the data stream, as described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,364,652.
[0185] Information management system 100 can perform deduplication
in a variety of manners at a variety of locations. For instance, in
some embodiments, system 100 implements "target-side" deduplication
by deduplicating data at the media agent 144 after being received
from data agent 142. In some such cases, the media agents 144 are
generally configured to manage the deduplication process. For
instance, one or more of the media agents 144 maintain a
corresponding deduplication database that stores deduplication
information (e.g., datablock signatures). Examples of such a
configuration are provided in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0150826.
Instead of or in combination with "target-side" deduplication,
deduplication can also be performed on the "source-side" (or
"client-side"), e.g., to reduce the amount of data to be
transmitted by data agent 142 to media agent 144. Storage manager
140 may communicate with other components within system 100 via
network protocols and cloud service provider APIs to facilitate
cloud-based deduplication/single instancing, as exemplified in U.S.
Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0150818. Some other deduplication/single
instancing techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos.
2006/0224846 and 2009/0319534.
[0186] Information Lifecycle Management and Hierarchical Storage
Management
[0187] In some embodiments, files and other data over their
lifetime move from more expensive quick-access storage to less
expensive slower-access storage. Operations associated with moving
data through various tiers of storage are sometimes referred to as
information lifecycle management (ILM) operations.
[0188] One type of ILM operation is a hierarchical storage
management (HSM) operation, which generally automatically moves
data between classes of storage devices, such as from high-cost to
low-cost storage devices. For instance, an HSM operation may
involve movement of data from primary storage devices 104 to
secondary storage devices 108, or between tiers of secondary
storage devices 108. With each tier, the storage devices may be
progressively cheaper, have relatively slower access/restore times,
etc. For example, movement of data between tiers may occur as data
becomes less important over time. In some embodiments, an HSM
operation is similar to archiving in that creating an HSM copy may
(though not always) involve deleting some of the source data, e.g.,
according to one or more criteria related to the source data. For
example, an HSM copy may include primary data 112 or a secondary
copy 116 that is larger than a given size threshold or older than a
given age threshold. Often, and unlike some types of archive
copies, HSM data that is removed or aged from the source is
replaced by a logical reference pointer or stub. The reference
pointer or stub can be stored in the primary storage device 104 or
other source storage device, such as a secondary storage device 108
to replace the deleted source data and to point to or otherwise
indicate the new location in (another) secondary storage device
108.
[0189] According to one example, files are generally moved between
higher and lower cost storage depending on how often the files are
accessed. When a user requests access to HSM data that has been
removed or migrated, system 100 uses the stub to locate the data
and may make recovery of the data appear transparent, even though
the HSM data may be stored at a location different from other
source data. In this manner, the data appears to the user (e.g., in
file system browsing windows and the like) as if it still resides
in the source location (e.g., in a primary storage device 104). The
stub may also include some metadata associated with the
corresponding data, so that a file system and/or application can
provide some information about the data object and/or a
limited-functionality version (e.g., a preview) of the data
object.
[0190] An HSM copy may be stored in a format other than the native
application format (e.g., compressed, encrypted, deduplicated,
and/or otherwise modified). In some cases, copies which involve the
removal of data from source storage and the maintenance of stub or
other logical reference information on source storage may be
referred to generally as "on-line archive copies". On the other
hand, copies which involve the removal of data from source storage
without the maintenance of stub or other logical reference
information on source storage may be referred to as "off-line
archive copies". Examples of HSM and ILM techniques are provided in
U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.
[0191] Auxiliary Copy Operations
[0192] An auxiliary copy is generally a copy of an existing
secondary copy 116. For instance, an initial secondary copy 116 may
be derived from primary data 112 or from data residing in secondary
storage subsystem 118, whereas an auxiliary copy is generated from
the initial secondary copy 116. Auxiliary copies provide additional
standby copies of data and may reside on different secondary
storage devices 108 than the initial secondary copies 116. Thus,
auxiliary copies can be used for recovery purposes if initial
secondary copies 116 become unavailable. Exemplary auxiliary copy
techniques are described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No.
8,230,195.
[0193] Disaster-Recovery Copy Operations
[0194] Information management system 100 may also make and retain
disaster recovery copies, often as secondary, high-availability
disk copies. System 100 may create secondary disk copies and store
the copies at disaster recovery locations using auxiliary copy or
replication operations, such as continuous data replication
technologies. Depending on the particular data protection goals,
disaster recovery locations can be remote from the client computing
devices 102 and primary storage devices 104, remote from some or
all of the secondary storage devices 108, or both.
[0195] Data Manipulation, Including Encryption and Compression
[0196] Data manipulation and processing may include encryption and
compression as well as integrity marking and checking, formatting
for transmission, formatting for storage, etc. Data may be
manipulated "client-side" by data agent 142 as well as
"target-side" by media agent 144 in the course of creating
secondary copy 116.
[0197] Encryption Operations
[0198] Information management system 100 in some cases is
configured to process data (e.g., files or other data objects,
primary data 112, secondary copies 116, etc.), according to an
appropriate encryption algorithm (e.g., Blowfish, Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES), Triple Data Encryption Standard (3-DES),
etc.) to limit access and provide data security. System 100 in some
cases encrypts the data at the client level, such that client
computing devices 102 (e.g., data agents 142) encrypt the data
prior to transferring it to other components, e.g., before sending
the data to media agents 144 during a secondary copy operation. In
such cases, client computing device 102 may maintain or have access
to an encryption key or passphrase for decrypting the data upon
restore. Encryption can also occur when media agent 144 creates
auxiliary copies or archive copies. Encryption may be applied in
creating a secondary copy 116 of a previously unencrypted secondary
copy 116, without limitation. In further embodiments, secondary
storage devices 108 can implement built-in, high performance
hardware-based encryption.
[0199] Compression Operations
[0200] Similar to encryption, system 100 may also or alternatively
compress data in the course of generating a secondary copy 116.
Compression encodes information such that fewer bits are needed to
represent the information as compared to the original
representation. Compression techniques are well known in the art.
Compression operations may apply one or more data compression
algorithms. Compression may be applied in creating a secondary copy
116 of a previously uncompressed secondary copy, e.g., when making
archive copies or disaster recovery copies. The use of compression
may result in metadata that specifies the nature of the
compression, so that data may be uncompressed on restore if
appropriate.
[0201] Data Analysis, Reporting, and Management Operations
[0202] Data analysis, reporting, and management operations can
differ from data movement operations in that they do not
necessarily involve copying, migration or other transfer of data
between different locations in the system. For instance, data
analysis operations may involve processing (e.g., offline
processing) or modification of already stored primary data 112
and/or secondary copies 116. However, in some embodiments data
analysis operations are performed in conjunction with data movement
operations. Some data analysis operations include content indexing
operations and classification operations which can be useful in
leveraging the data under management to provide enhanced search and
other features. Other data analysis operations such as compression
and encryption can provide data reduction and security benefits,
respectively.
[0203] Classification Operations/Content Indexing
[0204] In some embodiments, information management system 100
analyzes and indexes characteristics, content, and metadata
associated with primary data 112 ("online content indexing") and/or
secondary copies 116 ("off-line content indexing"). Content
indexing can identify files or other data objects based on content
(e.g., user-defined keywords or phrases, other keywords/phrases
that are not defined by a user, etc.), and/or metadata (e.g., email
metadata such as "to", "from," "cc," "bcc," attachment name,
received time, etc.). Content indexes may be searched and search
results may be restored.
[0205] Information management system 100 generally organizes and
catalogues the results into a content index, which may be stored
within media agent database 152, for example. The content index can
also include the storage locations of or pointer references to
indexed data in primary data 112 or secondary copies 116, as
appropriate. The results may also be stored elsewhere in system 100
(e.g., in primary storage device 104 or in secondary storage device
108). Such content index data provides storage manager 140 or other
components with an efficient mechanism for locating primary data
112 and/or secondary copies 116 of data objects that match
particular criteria, thus greatly increasing the search speed
capability of system 100. For instance, search criteria can be
specified by a user through user interface 158 of storage manager
140. Moreover, when system 100 analyzes data and/or metadata in
secondary copies 116 to create an "off-line content index," this
operation has no significant impact on the performance of client
computing devices 102 and thus does not take a toll on the
production environment. Examples of content indexing techniques are
provided in U.S. Pat. No. 8,170,995.
[0206] One or more components, such as a content index engine, can
be configured to scan data and/or associated metadata for
classification purposes to populate a database (or other data
structure) of information, which can be referred to as a "data
classification database" or a "metabase." Depending on the
embodiment, the data classification database(s) can be organized in
a variety of different ways, including centralization, logical
sub-divisions, and/or physical sub-divisions. For instance, one or
more data classification databases may be associated with different
subsystems or tiers within system 100. As an example, there may be
a first metabase associated with primary storage subsystem 117 and
a second metabase associated with secondary storage subsystem 118.
In other cases, there may be one or more metabases associated with
individual components, e.g., client computing devices 102 and/or
media agents 144. In some embodiments, a data classification
database may reside as one or more data structures within
management database 146, or may be otherwise associated with
storage manager 140 or may reside as a separate component.
[0207] In some cases, metabase(s) may be included in separate
database(s) and/or on separate storage device(s) from primary data
112 and/or secondary copies 116, such that operations related to
the metabase(s) do not significantly impact performance on other
components of information management system 100. In other cases,
metabase(s) may be stored along with primary data 112 and/or
secondary copies 116. Files or other data objects can be associated
with identifiers (e.g., tag entries, etc.) to facilitate searches
of stored data objects. Among a number of other benefits, the
metabase can also allow efficient, automatic identification of
files or other data objects to associate with secondary copy or
other information management operations. For instance, a metabase
can dramatically improve the speed with which the information
management system can search through and identify data as compared
to other approaches which can involve scanning an entire file
system. Examples of metabases and data classification operations
are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,734,669 and 7,747,579.
[0208] Management and Reporting Operations
[0209] Certain embodiments leverage the integrated ubiquitous
nature of information management system 100 to provide useful
system-wide management and reporting functions. Operations
management can generally include monitoring and managing the health
and performance of system 100 by, without limitation, performing
error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics
(e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency,
etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the
like. As an example, storage manager 140 or other component in
system 100 may analyze traffic patterns and suggest and/or
automatically route data to minimize congestion. In some
embodiments, the system can generate predictions relating to
storage operations or storage operation information. Such
predictions, which may be based on a trending analysis, may predict
various network operations or resource usage, such as network
traffic levels, storage media use, use of bandwidth of
communication links, use of media agent components, etc. Further
examples of traffic analysis, trend analysis, prediction
generation, and the like are described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,343,453.
[0210] In some configurations having a hierarchy of storage
operation cells, a master storage manager 140 may track the status
of subordinate cells, such as the status of jobs, system
components, system resources, and other items, by communicating
with storage managers 140 (or other components) in the respective
storage operation cells. Moreover, the master storage manager 140
may also track status by receiving periodic status updates from the
storage managers 140 (or other components) in the respective cells
regarding jobs, system components, system resources, and other
items. In some embodiments, a master storage manager 140 may store
status information and other information regarding its associated
storage operation cells and other system information in its
management database 146 and/or index 150 (or in another location).
The master storage manager 140 or other component may also
determine whether certain storage-related or other criteria are
satisfied, and may perform an action or trigger event (e.g., data
migration) in response to the criteria being satisfied, such as
where a storage threshold is met for a particular volume, or where
inadequate protection exists for certain data. For instance, data
from one or more storage operation cells is used to dynamically and
automatically mitigate recognized risks, and/or to advise users of
risks or suggest actions to mitigate these risks. For example, an
information management policy may specify certain requirements
(e.g., that a storage device should maintain a certain amount of
free space, that secondary copies should occur at a particular
interval, that data should be aged and migrated to other storage
after a particular period, that data on a secondary volume should
always have a certain level of availability and be restorable
within a given time period, that data on a secondary volume may be
mirrored or otherwise migrated to a specified number of other
volumes, etc.). If a risk condition or other criterion is
triggered, the system may notify the user of these conditions and
may suggest (or automatically implement) a mitigation action to
address the risk. For example, the system may indicate that data
from a primary copy 112 should be migrated to a secondary storage
device 108 to free space on primary storage device 104. Examples of
the use of risk factors and other triggering criteria are described
in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.
[0211] In some embodiments, system 100 may also determine whether a
metric or other indication satisfies particular storage criteria
sufficient to perform an action. For example, a storage policy or
other definition might indicate that a storage manager 140 should
initiate a particular action if a storage metric or other
indication drops below or otherwise fails to satisfy specified
criteria such as a threshold of data protection. In some
embodiments, risk factors may be quantified into certain measurable
service or risk levels. For example, certain applications and
associated data may be considered to be more important relative to
other data and services. Financial compliance data, for example,
may be of greater importance than marketing materials, etc. Network
administrators may assign priority values or "weights" to certain
data and/or applications corresponding to the relative importance.
The level of compliance of secondary copy operations specified for
these applications may also be assigned a certain value. Thus, the
health, impact, and overall importance of a service may be
determined, such as by measuring the compliance value and
calculating the product of the priority value and the compliance
value to determine the "service level" and comparing it to certain
operational thresholds to determine whether it is acceptable.
Further examples of the service level determination are provided in
U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453, which is incorporated by reference
herein.
[0212] System 100 may additionally calculate data costing and data
availability associated with information management operation
cells. For instance, data received from a cell may be used in
conjunction with hardware-related information and other information
about system elements to determine the cost of storage and/or the
availability of particular data. Exemplary information generated
could include how fast a particular department is using up
available storage space, how long data would take to recover over a
particular pathway from a particular secondary storage device,
costs over time, etc. Moreover, in some embodiments, such
information may be used to determine or predict the overall cost
associated with the storage of certain information. The cost
associated with hosting a certain application may be based, at
least in part, on the type of media on which the data resides, for
example. Storage devices may be assigned to a particular cost
categories, for example. Further examples of costing techniques are
described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.
[0213] Any of the above types of information (e.g., information
related to trending, predictions, job, cell or component status,
risk, service level, costing, etc.) can generally be provided to
users via user interface 158 in a single integrated view or console
(not shown). Report types may include: scheduling, event
management, media management and data aging. Available reports may
also include backup history, data aging history, auxiliary copy
history, job history, library and drive, media in library, restore
history, and storage policy, etc., without limitation. Such reports
may be specified and created at a certain point in time as a system
analysis, forecasting, or provisioning tool. Integrated reports may
also be generated that illustrate storage and performance metrics,
risks and storage costing information. Moreover, users may create
their own reports based on specific needs. User interface 158 can
include an option to show a "virtual view" of the system that
graphically depicts the various components in the system using
appropriate icons. As one example, user interface 158 may provide a
graphical depiction of primary storage devices 104, secondary
storage devices 108, data agents 142 and/or media agents 144, and
their relationship to one another in system 100.
[0214] In general, the operations management functionality of
system 100 can facilitate planning and decision-making. For
example, in some embodiments, a user may view the status of some or
all jobs as well as the status of each component of information
management system 100. Users may then plan and make decisions based
on this data. For instance, a user may view high-level information
regarding secondary copy operations for system 100, such as job
status, component status, resource status (e.g., communication
pathways, etc.), and other information. The user may also drill
down or use other means to obtain more detailed information
regarding a particular component, job, or the like. Further
examples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.
[0215] Information management system 100 can also be configured to
perform system-wide e-discovery operations in some embodiments. In
general, e-discovery operations provide a unified collection and
search capability for data in the system, such as data stored in
secondary storage devices 108 (e.g., backups, archives, or other
secondary copies 116). For example, system 100 may construct and
maintain a virtual repository for data stored in system 100 that is
integrated across source applications 110, different storage device
types, etc. According to some embodiments, e-discovery utilizes
other techniques described herein, such as data classification
and/or content indexing.
Information Management Policies
[0216] An information management policy 148 can include a data
structure or other information source that specifies a set of
parameters (e.g., criteria and rules) associated with secondary
copy and/or other information management operations.
[0217] One type of information management policy 148 is a "storage
policy." According to certain embodiments, a storage policy
generally comprises a data structure or other information source
that defines (or includes information sufficient to determine) a
set of preferences or other criteria for performing information
management operations. Storage policies can include one or more of
the following: (1) what data will be associated with the storage
policy, e.g., subclient; (2) a destination to which the data will
be stored; (3) datapath information specifying how the data will be
communicated to the destination; (4) the type of secondary copy
operation to be performed; and (5) retention information specifying
how long the data will be retained at the destination (see, e.g.,
FIG. 1E). Data associated with a storage policy can be logically
organized into subclients, which may represent primary data 112
and/or secondary copies 116. A subclient may represent static or
dynamic associations of portions of a data volume. Subclients may
represent mutually exclusive portions. Thus, in certain
embodiments, a portion of data may be given a label and the
association is stored as a static entity in an index, database or
other storage location. Subclients may also be used as an effective
administrative scheme of organizing data according to data type,
department within the enterprise, storage preferences, or the like.
Depending on the configuration, subclients can correspond to files,
folders, virtual machines, databases, etc. In one exemplary
scenario, an administrator may find it preferable to separate
e-mail data from financial data using two different subclients.
[0218] A storage policy can define where data is stored by
specifying a target or destination storage device (or group of
storage devices). For instance, where the secondary storage device
108 includes a group of disk libraries, the storage policy may
specify a particular disk library for storing the subclients
associated with the policy. As another example, where the secondary
storage devices 108 include one or more tape libraries, the storage
policy may specify a particular tape library for storing the
subclients associated with the storage policy, and may also specify
a drive pool and a tape pool defining a group of tape drives and a
group of tapes, respectively, for use in storing the subclient
data. While information in the storage policy can be statically
assigned in some cases, some or all of the information in the
storage policy can also be dynamically determined based on
criteria, which can be set forth in the storage policy. For
instance, based on such criteria, a particular destination storage
device(s) or other parameter of the storage policy may be
determined based on characteristics associated with the data
involved in a particular secondary copy operation, device
availability (e.g., availability of a secondary storage device 108
or a media agent 144), network status and conditions (e.g.,
identified bottlenecks), user credentials, and the like.
[0219] Datapath information can also be included in the storage
policy. For instance, the storage policy may specify network
pathways and components to utilize when moving the data to the
destination storage device(s). In some embodiments, the storage
policy specifies one or more media agents 144 for conveying data
associated with the storage policy between the source and
destination. A storage policy can also specify the type(s) of
operations associated with the storage policy, such as a backup,
archive, snapshot, auxiliary copy, or the like. Furthermore,
retention parameters can specify how long the resulting secondary
copies 116 will be kept (e.g., a number of days, months, years,
etc.), perhaps depending on organizational needs and/or compliance
criteria.
[0220] Another type of information management policy 148 is a
"scheduling policy," which specifies when and how often to perform
operations. Scheduling parameters may specify with what frequency
(e.g., hourly, weekly, daily, event-based, etc.) or under what
triggering conditions secondary copy or other information
management operations are to take place. Scheduling policies in
some cases are associated with particular components, such as a
subclient, client computing device 102, and the like.
[0221] When adding a new client computing device 102,
administrators can manually configure information management
policies 148 and/or other settings, e.g., via user interface 158.
However, this can be an involved process resulting in delays, and
it may be desirable to begin data protection operations quickly,
without awaiting human intervention. Thus, in some embodiments,
system 100 automatically applies a default configuration to client
computing device 102. As one example, when one or more data
agent(s) 142 are installed on a client computing device 102, the
installation script may register the client computing device 102
with storage manager 140, which in turn applies the default
configuration to the new client computing device 102. In this
manner, data protection operations can begin substantially
immediately. The default configuration can include a default
storage policy, for example, and can specify any appropriate
information sufficient to begin data protection operations. This
can include a type of data protection operation, scheduling
information, a target secondary storage device 108, data path
information (e.g., a particular media agent 144), and the like.
[0222] Another type of information management policy 148 is an
"audit policy" (or security policy), which comprises preferences,
rules and/or criteria that protect sensitive data in information
management system 100. For example, an audit policy may define
"sensitive objects" which are files or data objects that contain
particular keywords (e.g., "confidential," or "privileged") and/or
are associated with particular keywords (e.g., in metadata) or
particular flags (e.g., in metadata identifying a document or email
as personal, confidential, etc.). An audit policy may further
specify rules for handling sensitive objects. As an example, an
audit policy may require that a reviewer approve the transfer of
any sensitive objects to a cloud storage site, and that if approval
is denied for a particular sensitive object, the sensitive object
should be transferred to a local primary storage device 104
instead. To facilitate this approval, the audit policy may further
specify how a secondary storage computing device 106 or other
system component should notify a reviewer that a sensitive object
is slated for transfer.
[0223] Another type of information management policy 148 is a
"provisioning policy," which can include preferences, priorities,
rules, and/or criteria that specify how client computing devices
102 (or groups thereof) may utilize system resources, such as
available storage on cloud storage and/or network bandwidth. A
provisioning policy specifies, for example, data quotas for
particular client computing devices 102 (e.g., a number of
gigabytes that can be stored monthly, quarterly or annually).
Storage manager 140 or other components may enforce the
provisioning policy. For instance, media agents 144 may enforce the
policy when transferring data to secondary storage devices 108. If
a client computing device 102 exceeds a quota, a budget for the
client computing device 102 (or associated department) may be
adjusted accordingly or an alert may trigger.
[0224] While the above types of information management policies 148
have been described as separate policies, one or more of these can
be generally combined into a single information management policy
148. For instance, a storage policy may also include or otherwise
be associated with one or more scheduling, audit, or provisioning
policies or operational parameters thereof. Moreover, while storage
policies are typically associated with moving and storing data,
other policies may be associated with other types of information
management operations. The following is a non-exhaustive list of
items that information management policies 148 may specify: [0225]
schedules or other timing information, e.g., specifying when and/or
how often to perform information management operations; [0226] the
type of secondary copy 116 and/or copy format (e.g., snapshot,
backup, archive, HSM, etc.); [0227] a location or a class or
quality of storage for storing secondary copies 116 (e.g., one or
more particular secondary storage devices 108); [0228] preferences
regarding whether and how to encrypt, compress, deduplicate, or
otherwise modify or transform secondary copies 116; [0229] which
system components and/or network pathways (e.g., preferred media
agents 144) should be used to perform secondary storage operations;
[0230] resource allocation among different computing devices or
other system components used in performing information management
operations (e.g., bandwidth allocation, available storage capacity,
etc.); [0231] whether and how to synchronize or otherwise
distribute files or other data objects across multiple computing
devices or hosted services; and [0232] retention information
specifying the length of time primary data 112 and/or secondary
copies 116 should be retained, e.g., in a particular class or tier
of storage devices, or within the system 100.
[0233] Information management policies 148 can additionally specify
or depend on historical or current criteria that may be used to
determine which rules to apply to a particular data object, system
component, or information management operation, such as: [0234]
frequency with which primary data 112 or a secondary copy 116 of a
data object or metadata has been or is predicted to be used,
accessed, or modified; [0235] time-related factors (e.g., aging
information such as time since the creation or modification of a
data object); [0236] deduplication information (e.g., hashes, data
blocks, deduplication block size, deduplication efficiency or other
metrics); [0237] an estimated or historic usage or cost associated
with different components (e.g., with secondary storage devices
108); [0238] the identity of users, applications 110, client
computing devices 102 and/or other computing devices that created,
accessed, modified, or otherwise utilized primary data 112 or
secondary copies 116; [0239] a relative sensitivity (e.g.,
confidentiality, importance) of a data object, e.g., as determined
by its content and/or metadata; [0240] the current or historical
storage capacity of various storage devices; [0241] the current or
historical network capacity of network pathways connecting various
components within the storage operation cell; [0242] access control
lists or other security information; and [0243] the content of a
particular data object (e.g., its textual content) or of metadata
associated with the data object.
[0244] Exemplary Storage Policy and Secondary Copy Operations
[0245] FIG. 1E includes a data flow diagram depicting performance
of secondary copy operations by an embodiment of information
management system 100, according to an exemplary storage policy
148A. System 100 includes a storage manager 140, a client computing
device 102 having a file system data agent 142A and an email data
agent 142B operating thereon, a primary storage device 104, two
media agents 144A, 144B, and two secondary storage devices 108: a
disk library 108A and a tape library 108B. As shown, primary
storage device 104 includes primary data 112A, which is associated
with a logical grouping of data associated with a file system
("file system subclient"), and primary data 1128, which is a
logical grouping of data associated with email ("email subclient").
The techniques described with respect to FIG. 1E can be utilized in
conjunction with data that is otherwise organized as well.
[0246] As indicated by the dashed box, the second media agent 144B
and tape library 108B are "off-site," and may be remotely located
from the other components in system 100 (e.g., in a different city,
office building, etc.). Indeed, "off-site" may refer to a magnetic
tape located in remote storage, which must be manually retrieved
and loaded into a tape drive to be read. In this manner,
information stored on the tape library 108B may provide protection
in the event of a disaster or other failure at the main site(s)
where data is stored.
[0247] The file system subclient 112A in certain embodiments
generally comprises information generated by the file system and/or
operating system of client computing device 102, and can include,
for example, file system data (e.g., regular files, file tables,
mount points, etc.), operating system data (e.g., registries, event
logs, etc.), and the like. The e-mail subclient 112B can include
data generated by an e-mail application operating on client
computing device 102, e.g., mailbox information, folder
information, emails, attachments, associated database information,
and the like. As described above, the subclients can be logical
containers, and the data included in the corresponding primary data
112A and 112B may or may not be stored contiguously.
[0248] The exemplary storage policy 148A includes backup copy
preferences (or rule set) 160, disaster recovery copy preferences
or rule set 162, and compliance copy preferences or rule set 164.
Backup copy rule set 160 specifies that it is associated with file
system subclient 166 and email subclient 168. Each of subclients
166 and 168 are associated with the particular client computing
device 102. Backup copy rule set 160 further specifies that the
backup operation will be written to disk library 108A and
designates a particular media agent 144A to convey the data to disk
library 108A. Finally, backup copy rule set 160 specifies that
backup copies created according to rule set 160 are scheduled to be
generated hourly and are to be retained for 30 days. In some other
embodiments, scheduling information is not included in storage
policy 148A and is instead specified by a separate scheduling
policy.
[0249] Disaster recovery copy rule set 162 is associated with the
same two subclients 166 and 168. However, disaster recovery copy
rule set 162 is associated with tape library 108B, unlike backup
copy rule set 160. Moreover, disaster recovery copy rule set 162
specifies that a different media agent, namely 144B, will convey
data to tape library 108B. Disaster recovery copies created
according to rule set 162 will be retained for 60 days and will be
generated daily. Disaster recovery copies generated according to
disaster recovery copy rule set 162 can provide protection in the
event of a disaster or other catastrophic data loss that would
affect the backup copy 116A maintained on disk library 108A.
[0250] Compliance copy rule set 164 is only associated with the
email subclient 168, and not the file system subclient 166.
Compliance copies generated according to compliance copy rule set
164 will therefore not include primary data 112A from the file
system subclient 166. For instance, the organization may be under
an obligation to store and maintain copies of email data for a
particular period of time (e.g., 10 years) to comply with state or
federal regulations, while similar regulations do not apply to file
system data. Compliance copy rule set 164 is associated with the
same tape library 108B and media agent 144B as disaster recovery
copy rule set 162, although a different storage device or media
agent could be used in other embodiments. Finally, compliance copy
rule set 164 specifies that copies generated under compliance copy
rule set 164 will be retained for 10 years and will be generated
quarterly.
[0251] Secondary Copy Jobs
[0252] A logical grouping of secondary copy operations governed by
a rule set and being initiated at a point in time may be referred
to as a "secondary copy job" and sometimes may be called a "backup
job," even though it is not necessarily limited to creating backup
copies. Secondary copy jobs may be initiated on demand as well.
Steps 1-9 below illustrate three secondary copy jobs based on
storage policy 148A.
[0253] At step 1, storage manager 140 initiates a backup job
according to the backup copy rule set 160, which logically
comprises all the secondary copy operations necessary to effectuate
rules 160 in storage policy 148A every hour, including steps 1-4
occurring hourly. For instance, a scheduling service running on
storage manager 140 accesses backup copy rule set 160 or a separate
scheduling policy associated with client computing device 102 and
initiates a backup job on an hourly basis. Thus, at the scheduled
time, storage manager 140 sends instructions to client computing
device 102 (i.e., to both data agent 142A and data agent 142B) to
begin the backup job.
[0254] At step 2, file system data agent 142A and email data agent
142B operating on client computing device 102 respond to the
instructions received from storage manager 140 by accessing and
processing the respective subclient primary data 112A and 112B
involved in the backup copy operation, which can be found in
primary storage device 104. Because the secondary copy operation is
a backup copy operation, the data agent(s) 142A, 142B may format
the data into a backup format or otherwise process the data
suitable for a backup copy.
[0255] At step 3, client computing device 102 (e.g., using file
system data agent 142A) communicates the processed data to the
first media agent 144A according to backup copy rule set 160, as
directed by storage manager 140. Storage manager 140 may further
keep a record in management database 146 of the association between
media agent 144A and one or more of: client computing device 102,
file system data agent 142A, and/or backup copy 116A.
[0256] The target media agent 144A receives the
data-agent-processed data from client computing device 102, and at
step 4 generates and conveys backup copy 116A to disk library 108A
to be stored as backup copy 116A, again at the direction of storage
manager 140 and according to backup copy rule set 160. Media agent
144A can also update its index 153 to include data and/or metadata
related to backup copy 116A, such as information indicating where
the backup copy 116A resides on disk library 108A, data and
metadata for cache retrieval, etc. Storage manager 140 may
similarly update its index 150 to include information relating to
the secondary copy operation, such as information relating to the
type of operation, a physical location associated with one or more
copies created by the operation, the time the operation was
performed, status information relating to the operation, the
components involved in the operation, and the like. In some cases,
storage manager 140 may update its index 150 to include some or all
of the information stored in index 153 of media agent 144A. At this
point, the backup job may be considered complete. After the 30-day
retention period expires, storage manager 140 instructs media agent
144A to delete backup copy 116A from disk library 108A and indexes
150 and/or 153 are updated accordingly.
[0257] At step 5, storage manager 140 initiates another backup job
according to the disaster recovery rule set 162. Illustratively
this includes steps 5-7 occurring daily for creating disaster
recovery copy 1168. Disaster recovery copy 1168 will be based on
backup copy 116A and not on primary data 112A and 112B.
[0258] At step 6, illustratively based on instructions received
from storage manager 140 at step 5, the specified media agent 144B
retrieves the most recent backup copy 116A from disk library
108A.
[0259] At step 7, again at the direction of storage manager 140 and
as specified in disaster recovery copy rule set 162, media agent
144B uses the retrieved data to create a disaster recovery copy
1168 and store it to tape library 108B. In some cases, disaster
recovery copy 1168 is a direct, mirror copy of backup copy 116A,
and remains in the backup format. In other embodiments, disaster
recovery copy 1168 may be generated in some other manner, such as
by using primary data 112A, 1128 from primary storage device 104 as
source data. The disaster recovery copy operation is initiated once
a day and disaster recovery copies 1168 are deleted after 60 days;
indexes 153 and/or 150 are updated accordingly when/after each
information management operation is executed and/or completed. The
present backup job may be considered to be complete.
[0260] At step 8, storage manager 140 initiates another backup job
according to compliance rule set 164, which includes steps 8-9
occurring quarterly for creating compliance copy 116C. For
instance, storage manager 140 instructs media agent 144B to create
compliance copy 116C on tape library 108B, as specified in the
compliance copy rule set 164.
[0261] At step 9 in the example, compliance copy 116C is generated
using disaster recovery copy 1168 as the source. In other
embodiments, compliance copy 116C is instead generated using
primary data 1128 corresponding to the email subclient or using
backup copy 116A from disk library 108A as source data. As
specified in the illustrated example, compliance copies 116C are
created quarterly, and are deleted after ten years, and indexes 153
and/or 150 are kept up-to-date accordingly.
[0262] Exemplary Applications of Storage Policies--Information
Governance Policies and Classification
[0263] Storage manager 140 may permit a user to specify aspects of
storage policy 148A. For example, the storage policy can be
modified to include information governance policies to define how
data should be managed in order to comply with a certain regulation
or business objective. The various policies may be stored, for
example, in management database 146. An information governance
policy may align with one or more compliance tasks that are imposed
by regulations or business requirements. Examples of information
governance policies might include a Sarbanes-Oxley policy, a HIPAA
policy, an electronic discovery (e-discovery) policy, and so
on.
[0264] Information governance policies allow administrators to
obtain different perspectives on an organization's online and
offline data, without the need for a dedicated data silo created
solely for each different viewpoint. As described previously, the
data storage systems herein build an index that reflects the
contents of a distributed data set that spans numerous clients and
storage devices, including both primary data and secondary copies,
and online and offline copies. An organization may apply multiple
information governance policies in a top-down manner over that
unified data set and indexing schema in order to view and
manipulate the data set through different lenses, each of which is
adapted to a particular compliance or business goal. Thus, for
example, by applying an e-discovery policy and a Sarbanes-Oxley
policy, two different groups of users in an organization can
conduct two very different analyses of the same underlying physical
set of data/copies, which may be distributed throughout the
information management system.
[0265] An information governance policy may comprise a
classification policy, which defines a taxonomy of classification
terms or tags relevant to a compliance task and/or business
objective. A classification policy may also associate a defined tag
with a classification rule. A classification rule defines a
particular combination of criteria, such as users who have created,
accessed or modified a document or data object; file or application
types; content or metadata keywords; clients or storage locations;
dates of data creation and/or access; review status or other status
within a workflow (e.g., reviewed or un-reviewed); modification
times or types of modifications; and/or any other data attributes
in any combination, without limitation. A classification rule may
also be defined using other classification tags in the taxonomy.
The various criteria used to define a classification rule may be
combined in any suitable fashion, for example, via Boolean
operators, to define a complex classification rule. As an example,
an e-discovery classification policy might define a classification
tag "privileged" that is associated with documents or data objects
that (1) were created or modified by legal department staff, or (2)
were sent to or received from outside counsel via email, or (3)
contain one of the following keywords: "privileged" or "attorney"
or "counsel", or other like terms. Accordingly, all these documents
or data objects will be classified as "privileged."
[0266] One specific type of classification tag, which may be added
to an index at the time of indexing, is an "entity tag." An entity
tag may be, for example, any content that matches a defined data
mask format. Examples of entity tags might include, e.g., social
security numbers (e.g., any numerical content matching the
formatting mask XXX-XX-XXXX), credit card numbers (e.g., content
having a 13-16 digit string of numbers), SKU numbers, product
numbers, etc. A user may define a classification policy by
indicating criteria, parameters or descriptors of the policy via a
graphical user interface, such as a form or page with fields to be
filled in, pull-down menus or entries allowing one or more of
several options to be selected, buttons, sliders, hypertext links
or other known user interface tools for receiving user input, etc.
For example, a user may define certain entity tags, such as a
particular product number or project ID code that is relevant in
the organization. In some implementations, the classification
policy can be implemented using cloud-based techniques. For
example, the storage devices may be cloud storage devices, and the
storage manager 140 may execute cloud service provider API over a
network to classify data stored on cloud storage devices.
Restore Operations from Secondary Copies
[0267] While not shown in FIG. 1E, at some later point in time, a
restore operation can be initiated involving one or more of
secondary copies 116A, 1168, 116C. A restore operation logically
takes a selected secondary copy 116, reverses the effects of the
secondary copy operation that created it, and stores the restored
data to primary storage where a client computing device 102 may
properly access it as primary data. A media agent 144 and an
appropriate data agent 142 (e.g., executing on the client computing
device 102) perform the tasks needed to complete a restore
operation. For example, data that was encrypted, compressed, and/or
deduplicated in the creation of secondary copy 116 will be
correspondingly rehydrated (reversing deduplication), uncompressed,
and unencrypted into a format appropriate to primary data. In
general, restored data should be indistinguishable from other
primary data 112. Preferably, the restored data has fully regained
the native format that may make it immediately usable by
application 110.
[0268] As one example, a user may manually initiate a restore of
backup copy 116A, e.g., by interacting with user interface 158 of
storage manager 140 or with a web-based console with access to
system 100. Storage manager 140 may accesses data in its index 150
and/or management database 146 (and/or the respective storage
policy 148A) associated with the selected backup copy 116A to
identify the appropriate media agent 144A and/or secondary storage
device 108A where the secondary copy resides. The user may be
presented with a representation (e.g., stub, thumbnail, listing,
etc.) and metadata about the selected secondary copy, in order to
determine whether this is the appropriate copy to be restored,
e.g., date that the original primary data was created. Storage
manager 140 will then instruct media agent 144A and an appropriate
data agent 142 to restore secondary copy 116A to primary storage
device 104. A media agent may be selected for use in the restore
operation based on a load balancing algorithm, an availability
based algorithm, or other criteria. The selected media agent, e.g.,
144A, retrieves secondary copy 116A from disk library 108A. For
instance, media agent 144A may access its index 153 to identify a
location of backup copy 116A on disk library 108A, or may access
location information residing on disk library 108A itself.
[0269] In some cases when backup copy 116A was recently created or
accessed, caching may speed up the restore operation. In such a
case, media agent 144A accesses a cached version of backup copy
116A residing in index 153, without having to access disk library
108A for some or all of the data. Once it has retrieved backup copy
116A, the media agent 144A communicates the data to the requesting
client computing device 102. Upon receipt, file system data agent
142A and email data agent 142B may unpackage (e.g., restore from a
backup format to the native application format) the data in backup
copy 116A and restore the unpackaged data to primary storage device
104. In general, secondary copies 116 may be restored to the same
volume or folder in primary storage device 104 from which the
secondary copy was derived; to another storage location or client
computing device 102; to shared storage. In some cases the data may
be restored so that it may be used by an application 110 of a
different version/vintage from the application that created the
original primary data 112.
Exemplary Secondary Copy Formatting
[0270] The formatting and structure of secondary copies 116 can
vary depending on the embodiment. In some cases, secondary copies
116 are formatted as a series of logical data units or "chunks"
(e.g., 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, or 8 GB chunks). This can
facilitate efficient communication and writing to secondary storage
devices 108, e.g., according to resource availability. For example,
a single secondary copy 116 may be written on a chunk-by-chunk
basis to one or more secondary storage devices 108. In some cases,
users can select different chunk sizes, e.g., to improve throughput
to tape storage devices. Generally, each chunk can include a header
and a payload. The payload can include files (or other data units)
or subsets thereof included in the chunk, whereas the chunk header
generally includes metadata relating to the chunk, some or all of
which may be derived from the payload. For example, during a
secondary copy operation, media agent 144, storage manager 140, or
other component may divide files into chunks and generate headers
for each chunk by processing the files. The headers can include a
variety of information such as file identifier(s), volume(s),
offset(s), or other information associated with the payload data
items, a chunk sequence number, etc. Importantly, in addition to
being stored with secondary copy 116 on secondary storage device
108, the chunk headers can also be stored to index 153 of the
associated media agent(s) 144 and/or to index 150 associated with
storage manager 140. This can be useful in some cases for providing
faster processing of secondary copies 116 during browsing,
restores, or other operations. In some cases, once a chunk is
successfully transferred to a secondary storage device 108, the
secondary storage device 108 returns an indication of receipt,
e.g., to media agent 144 and/or storage manager 140, which may
update their respective indexes 153, 150 accordingly. During
restore, chunks may be processed (e.g., by media agent 144)
according to the information in the chunk header to reassemble the
files.
[0271] Data can also be communicated within system 100 in data
channels that connect client computing devices 102 to secondary
storage devices 108. These data channels can be referred to as
"data streams", and multiple data streams can be employed to
parallelize an information management operation, improving data
transfer rate, among other advantages. Example data formatting
techniques including techniques involving data streaming, chunking,
and the use of other data structures in creating secondary copies
are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,315,923 8,156,086, and
8,578,120.
[0272] FIGS. 1F and 1G are diagrams of example data streams 170 and
171, respectively, which may be employed for performing information
management operations. Referring to FIG. 1F, data agent 142 forms
data stream 170 from source data associated with a client computing
device 102 (e.g., primary data 112). Data stream 170 is composed of
multiple pairs of stream header 172 and stream data (or stream
payload) 174. Data streams 170 and 171 shown in the illustrated
example are for a single-instanced storage operation, and a stream
payload 174 therefore may include both single-instance (SI) data
and/or non-SI data. A stream header 172 includes metadata about the
stream payload 174. This metadata may include, for example, a
length of the stream payload 174, an indication of whether the
stream payload 174 is encrypted, an indication of whether the
stream payload 174 is compressed, an archive file identifier (ID),
an indication of whether the stream payload 174 is single
instanceable, and an indication of whether the stream payload 174
is a start of a block of data.
[0273] Referring to FIG. 1G, data stream 171 has the stream header
172 and stream payload 174 aligned into multiple data blocks. In
this example, the data blocks are of size 64 KB. The first two
stream header 172 and stream payload 174 pairs comprise a first
data block of size 64 KB. The first stream header 172 indicates
that the length of the succeeding stream payload 174 is 63 KB and
that it is the start of a data block. The next stream header 172
indicates that the succeeding stream payload 174 has a length of 1
KB and that it is not the start of a new data block. Immediately
following stream payload 174 is a pair comprising an identifier
header 176 and identifier data 178. The identifier header 176
includes an indication that the succeeding identifier data 178
includes the identifier for the immediately previous data block.
The identifier data 178 includes the identifier that the data agent
142 generated for the data block. The data stream 171 also includes
other stream header 172 and stream payload 174 pairs, which may be
for SI data and/or non-SI data.
[0274] FIG. 1H is a diagram illustrating data structures 180 that
may be used to store blocks of SI data and non-SI data on a storage
device (e.g., secondary storage device 108). According to certain
embodiments, data structures 180 do not form part of a native file
system of the storage device. Data structures 180 include one or
more volume folders 182, one or more chunk folders 184/185 within
the volume folder 182, and multiple files within chunk folder 184.
Each chunk folder 184/185 includes a metadata file 186/187, a
metadata index file 188/189, one or more container files
190/191/193, and a container index file 192/194. Metadata file
186/187 stores non-SI data blocks as well as links to SI data
blocks stored in container files. Metadata index file 188/189
stores an index to the data in the metadata file 186/187. Container
files 190/191/193 store SI data blocks. Container index file
192/194 stores an index to container files 190/191/193. Among other
things, container index file 192/194 stores an indication of
whether a corresponding block in a container file 190/191/193 is
referred to by a link in a metadata file 186/187. For example, data
block B2 in the container file 190 is referred to by a link in
metadata file 187 in chunk folder 185. Accordingly, the
corresponding index entry in container index file 192 indicates
that data block B2 in container file 190 is referred to. As another
example, data block B1 in container file 191 is referred to by a
link in metadata file 187, and so the corresponding index entry in
container index file 192 indicates that this data block is referred
to.
[0275] As an example, data structures 180 illustrated in FIG. 1H
may have been created as a result of separate secondary copy
operations involving two client computing devices 102. For example,
a first secondary copy operation on a first client computing device
102 could result in the creation of the first chunk folder 184, and
a second secondary copy operation on a second client computing
device 102 could result in the creation of the second chunk folder
185. Container files 190/191 in the first chunk folder 184 would
contain the blocks of SI data of the first client computing device
102. If the two client computing devices 102 have substantially
similar data, the second secondary copy operation on the data of
the second client computing device 102 would result in media agent
144 storing primarily links to the data blocks of the first client
computing device 102 that are already stored in the container files
190/191. Accordingly, while a first secondary copy operation may
result in storing nearly all of the data subject to the operation,
subsequent secondary storage operations involving similar data may
result in substantial data storage space savings, because links to
already stored data blocks can be stored instead of additional
instances of data blocks.
[0276] If the operating system of the secondary storage computing
device 106 on which media agent 144 operates supports sparse files,
then when media agent 144 creates container files 190/191/193, it
can create them as sparse files. A sparse file is a type of file
that may include empty space (e.g., a sparse file may have real
data within it, such as at the beginning of the file and/or at the
end of the file, but may also have empty space in it that is not
storing actual data, such as a contiguous range of bytes all having
a value of zero). Having container files 190/191/193 be sparse
files allows media agent 144 to free up space in container files
190/191/193 when blocks of data in container files 190/191/193 no
longer need to be stored on the storage devices. In some examples,
media agent 144 creates a new container file 190/191/193 when a
container file 190/191/193 either includes 100 blocks of data or
when the size of the container file 190 exceeds 50 MB. In other
examples, media agent 144 creates a new container file 190/191/193
when a container file 190/191/193 satisfies other criteria (e.g.,
it contains from approximately 100 to approximately 1000 blocks or
when its size exceeds approximately 50 MB to 1 GB). In some cases,
a file on which a secondary copy operation is performed may
comprise a large number of data blocks. For example, a 100 MB file
may comprise 400 data blocks of size 256 KB. If such a file is to
be stored, its data blocks may span more than one container file,
or even more than one chunk folder. As another example, a database
file of 20 GB may comprise over 40,000 data blocks of size 512 KB.
If such a database file is to be stored, its data blocks will
likely span multiple container files, multiple chunk folders, and
potentially multiple volume folders. Restoring such files may
require accessing multiple container files, chunk folders, and/or
volume folders to obtain the requisite data blocks.
Using Backup Data for Replication and Disaster Recovery ("Live
Synchronization")
[0277] There is an increased demand to off-load resource intensive
information management tasks (e.g., data replication tasks) away
from production devices (e.g., physical or virtual client computing
devices) in order to maximize production efficiency. At the same
time, enterprises expect access to readily-available up-to-date
recovery copies in the event of failure, with little or no
production downtime.
[0278] FIG. 2A illustrates a system 200 configured to address these
and other issues by using backup or other secondary copy data to
synchronize a source subsystem 201 (e.g., a production site) with a
destination subsystem 203 (e.g., a failover site). Such a technique
can be referred to as "live synchronization" and/or "live
synchronization replication." In the illustrated embodiment, the
source client computing devices 202a include one or more virtual
machines (or "VMs") executing on one or more corresponding VM host
computers 205a, though the source need not be virtualized. The
destination site 203 may be at a location that is remote from the
production site 201, or may be located in the same data center,
without limitation. One or more of the production site 201 and
destination site 203 may reside at data centers at known geographic
locations, or alternatively may operate "in the cloud."
[0279] The synchronization can be achieved by generally applying an
ongoing stream of incremental backups from the source subsystem 201
to the destination subsystem 203, such as according to what can be
referred to as an "incremental forever" approach. FIG. 2A
illustrates an embodiment of a data flow which may be orchestrated
at the direction of one or more storage managers (not shown). At
step 1, the source data agent(s) 242a and source media agent(s)
244a work together to write backup or other secondary copies of the
primary data generated by the source client computing devices 202a
into the source secondary storage device(s) 208a. At step 2, the
backup/secondary copies are retrieved by the source media agent(s)
244a from secondary storage. At step 3, source media agent(s) 244a
communicate the backup/secondary copies across a network to the
destination media agent(s) 244b in destination subsystem 203.
[0280] As shown, the data can be copied from source to destination
in an incremental fashion, such that only changed blocks are
transmitted, and in some cases multiple incremental backups are
consolidated at the source so that only the most current changed
blocks are transmitted to and applied at the destination. An
example of live synchronization of virtual machines using the
"incremental forever" approach is found in U.S. Patent Application
No. 62/265,339 entitled "Live Synchronization and Management of
Virtual Machines across Computing and Virtualization Platforms and
Using Live Synchronization to Support Disaster Recovery." Moreover,
a deduplicated copy can be employed to further reduce network
traffic from source to destination. For instance, the system can
utilize the deduplicated copy techniques described in U.S. Pat. No.
9,239,687, entitled "Systems and Methods for Retaining and Using
Data Block Signatures in Data Protection Operations."
[0281] At step 4, destination media agent(s) 244b write the
received backup/secondary copy data to the destination secondary
storage device(s) 208b. At step 5, the synchronization is completed
when the destination media agent(s) and destination data agent(s)
242b restore the backup/secondary copy data to the destination
client computing device(s) 202b. The destination client computing
device(s) 202b may be kept "warm" awaiting activation in case
failure is detected at the source. This synchronization/replication
process can incorporate the techniques described in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/721,971, entitled "Replication Using
Deduplicated Secondary Copy Data."
[0282] Where the incremental backups are applied on a frequent,
on-going basis, the synchronized copies can be viewed as mirror or
replication copies. Moreover, by applying the incremental backups
to the destination site 203 using backup or other secondary copy
data, the production site 201 is not burdened with the
synchronization operations. Because the destination site 203 can be
maintained in a synchronized "warm" state, the downtime for
switching over from the production site 201 to the destination site
203 is substantially less than with a typical restore from
secondary storage. Thus, the production site 201 may flexibly and
efficiently fail over, with minimal downtime and with relatively
up-to-date data, to a destination site 203, such as a cloud-based
failover site. The destination site 203 can later be reverse
synchronized back to the production site 201, such as after repairs
have been implemented or after the failure has passed.
Integrating with the Cloud Using File System Protocols
[0283] Given the ubiquity of cloud computing, it can be
increasingly useful to provide data protection and other
information management services in a scalable, transparent, and
highly plug-able fashion. FIG. 2B illustrates an information
management system 200 having an architecture that provides such
advantages, and incorporates use of a standard file system protocol
between primary and secondary storage subsystems 217, 218. As
shown, the use of the network file system (NFS) protocol (or any
another appropriate file system protocol such as that of the Common
Internet File System (CIFS)) allows data agent 242 to be moved from
the primary storage subsystem 217 to the secondary storage
subsystem 218. For instance, as indicated by the dashed box 206
around data agent 242 and media agent 244, data agent 242 can
co-reside with media agent 244 on the same server (e.g., a
secondary storage computing device such as component 106), or in
some other location in secondary storage subsystem 218.
[0284] Where NFS is used, for example, secondary storage subsystem
218 allocates an NFS network path to the client computing device
202 or to one or more target applications 210 running on client
computing device 202. During a backup or other secondary copy
operation, the client computing device 202 mounts the designated
NFS path and writes data to that NFS path. The NFS path may be
obtained from NFS path data 215 stored locally at the client
computing device 202, and which may be a copy of or otherwise
derived from NFS path data 219 stored in the secondary storage
subsystem 218.
[0285] Write requests issued by client computing device(s) 202 are
received by data agent 242 in secondary storage subsystem 218,
which translates the requests and works in conjunction with media
agent 244 to process and write data to a secondary storage
device(s) 208, thereby creating a backup or other secondary copy.
Storage manager 240 can include a pseudo-client manager 217, which
coordinates the process by, among other things, communicating
information relating to client computing device 202 and application
210 (e.g., application type, client computing device identifier,
etc.) to data agent 242, obtaining appropriate NFS path data from
the data agent 242 (e.g., NFS path information), and delivering
such data to client computing device 202.
[0286] Conversely, during a restore or recovery operation client
computing device 202 reads from the designated NFS network path,
and the read request is translated by data agent 242. The data
agent 242 then works with media agent 244 to retrieve, re-process
(e.g., re-hydrate, decompress, decrypt), and forward the requested
data to client computing device 202 using NFS.
[0287] By moving specialized software associated with system 200
such as data agent 242 off the client computing devices 202, the
illustrative architecture effectively decouples the client
computing devices 202 from the installed components of system 200,
improving both scalability and plug-ability of system 200. Indeed,
the secondary storage subsystem 218 in such environments can be
treated simply as a read/write NFS target for primary storage
subsystem 217, without the need for information management software
to be installed on client computing devices 202. As one example, an
enterprise implementing a cloud production computing environment
can add VM client computing devices 202 without installing and
configuring specialized information management software on these
VMs. Rather, backups and restores are achieved transparently, where
the new VMs simply write to and read from the designated NFS path.
An example of integrating with the cloud using file system
protocols or so-called "infinite backup" using NFS share is found
in U.S. Patent Application No. 62/294,920, entitled "Data
Protection Operations Based on Network Path Information." Examples
of improved data restoration scenarios based on network-path
information, including using stored backups effectively as primary
data sources, may be found in U.S. Patent Application No.
62/297,057, entitled "Data Restoration Operations Based on Network
Path Information."
Highly Scalable Managed Data Pool Architecture
[0288] Enterprises are seeing explosive data growth in recent
years, often from various applications running in geographically
distributed locations. FIG. 2C shows a block diagram of an example
of a highly scalable, managed data pool architecture useful in
accommodating such data growth. The illustrated system 200, which
may be referred to as a "web-scale" architecture according to
certain embodiments, can be readily incorporated into both open
compute/storage and common-cloud architectures.
[0289] The illustrated system 200 includes a grid 245 of media
agents 244 logically organized into a control tier 231 and a
secondary or storage tier 233. Media agents assigned to the storage
tier 233 can be configured to manage a secondary storage pool 208
as a deduplication store, and be configured to receive client write
and read requests from the primary storage subsystem 217, and
direct those requests to the secondary tier 233 for servicing. For
instance, media agents CMA1-CMA3 in the control tier 231 maintain
and consult one or more deduplication databases 247, which can
include deduplication information (e.g., data block hashes, data
block links, file containers for deduplicated files, etc.)
sufficient to read deduplicated files from secondary storage pool
208 and write deduplicated files to secondary storage pool 208. For
instance, system 200 can incorporate any of the deduplication
systems and methods shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,900,
entitled "Distributed Deduplicated Storage System," and U.S. Pat.
Pub. No. 2014/0201170, entitled "High Availability Distributed
Deduplicated Storage System."
[0290] Media agents SMA1-SMA6 assigned to the secondary tier 233
receive write and read requests from media agents CMA1-CMA3 in
control tier 231, and access secondary storage pool 208 to service
those requests. Media agents CMA1-CMA3 in control tier 231 can also
communicate with secondary storage pool 208, and may execute read
and write requests themselves (e.g., in response to requests from
other control media agents CMA1-CMA3) in addition to issuing
requests to media agents in secondary tier 233. Moreover, while
shown as separate from the secondary storage pool 208,
deduplication database(s) 247 can in some cases reside in storage
devices in secondary storage pool 208.
[0291] As shown, each of the media agents 244 (e.g., CMA1-CMA3,
SMA1-SMA6, etc.) in grid 245 can be allocated a corresponding
dedicated partition 251A-251I, respectively, in secondary storage
pool 208. Each partition 251 can include a first portion 253
containing data associated with (e.g., stored by) media agent 244
corresponding to the respective partition 251. System 200 can also
implement a desired level of replication, thereby providing
redundancy in the event of a failure of a media agent 244 in grid
245. Along these lines, each partition 251 can further include a
second portion 255 storing one or more replication copies of the
data associated with one or more other media agents 244 in the
grid.
[0292] System 200 can also be configured to allow for seamless
addition of media agents 244 to grid 245 via automatic
configuration. As one illustrative example, a storage manager (not
shown) or other appropriate component may determine that it is
appropriate to add an additional node to control tier 231, and
perform some or all of the following: (i) assess the capabilities
of a newly added or otherwise available computing device as
satisfying a minimum criteria to be configured as or hosting a
media agent in control tier 231; (ii) confirm that a sufficient
amount of the appropriate type of storage exists to support an
additional node in control tier 231 (e.g., enough disk drive
capacity exists in storage pool 208 to support an additional
deduplication database 247); (iii) install appropriate media agent
software on the computing device and configure the computing device
according to a pre-determined template; (iv) establish a partition
251 in the storage pool 208 dedicated to the newly established
media agent 244; and (v) build any appropriate data structures
(e.g., an instance of deduplication database 247). An example of
highly scalable managed data pool architecture or so-called
web-scale architecture for storage and data management is found in
U.S. Patent Application No. 62/273,286 entitled "Redundant and
Robust Distributed Deduplication Data Storage System."
[0293] The embodiments and components thereof disclosed in FIGS.
2A, 2B, and 2C, as well as those in FIGS. 1A-1H, may be implemented
in any combination and permutation to satisfy data storage
management and information management needs at one or more
locations and/or data centers.
Example Redundant Distributed Deduplication Data Storage System
[0294] The components illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 8 can be
implemented within an example highly scalable managed data pool
architecture, such as the highly scalable managed data pool
architecture described above with respect to FIG. 2C. Furthermore,
FIGS. 9 through 14 depict routines that can implemented by one or
more components in an example highly scalable managed data pool
architecture.
[0295] FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a scalable
information management system. As shown in FIG. 3A, the system 100
can further include one or more deduplication database media agents
222, 224, 226, and 228 (DDB media agents), examples of which are
described in greater detail in U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0150826,
previously incorporated herein by reference. The DDB media agents
222, 224, 226, and 228 can include deduplication databases
210A-210D that store deduplication information (e.g., data block
signatures, the location information of data blocks stored in the
secondary storage devices 108, a count value indicative of the
number of instances that a particular block is used, etc.). Such
information can be stored in a primary table, for example. The
deduplication databases 210A-210D can include additional data
structures, such as a deduplication chunk table and/or a chunk
integrity table. Furthermore, the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226,
and 228 can be implemented on the same secondary storage computing
devices 106 as one or more of the media agents 144, or on separate
computing devices.
[0296] During a backup or other secondary copy operation using
deduplication techniques, the system 100 can query the DDB media
agents 222, 224, 226, and/or 228 and corresponding deduplication
databases 210A-210D for signatures of the data blocks to be backed
up. In some embodiments, the client computing device 102 can query
the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, and/or 228 and in certain
embodiments, the secondary storage computing devices 106 can query
the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, and/or 228. When a signature is
found in the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, or 228, a link to the
location of a copy of the data block stored in the secondary
storage devices 108 is stored as part of the backup. When a
signature is not found in the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, or
228, a copy of the data block is stored in the secondary storage
devices 108, and the signature of the data block (and other
deduplication information) is stored in the appropriate DDB media
agent(s) 222, 224, 226, or 228.
[0297] A data block distribution policy can specify which DDB media
agents 222, 224, 226, or 228 store which signatures and which DDB
media agents 222, 224, 226, or 228 are therefore queried for
particular data block signatures. For example, the distribution
policy can indicate that data block signatures are stored in DDB
media agents 222, 224, 226, or 228 based on a modulo operation of
the signature of the data block, as described previously. One
example of an implementation of such a policy will now be
described.
[0298] According to the example, during a backup operation one of
the media agents 144 is assigned, at the direction of the storage
manager 140, to back up a data file for one of the client computing
devices 102. For each constituent data block in the file, the media
agent 144 calculates a hash or other signature for the data block,
and consults the deduplication database 210 of a selected one of
the DDB media agents 224.
[0299] The media agent 144 selects the appropriate DDB media agent
222, 224, 226, 228 to consult based on a pre-defined data block
distribution policy. In the example embodiment, the distribution
policy dictates that the deduplication information is distributed
across the DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, 228 by assigning each
data block to a selected DDB media agent based on the modulo of the
data block hash value. In the example implementation, there are
four available DDB media agents 222, 224, 226, 228, and a modulo
four is therefore applied to the data block hash value, resulting
in an output value within the set {0, 1, 2, 3}. Data blocks are
assigned to DDB media agents as follows: modulo output=`0`,
assigned to DDBMA 222; modulo output=`1`, assigned to DDBMA 224;
modulo output=`2` assigned to DDBMA 226; and modulo output=`3`
assigned to DDBMA 228.
[0300] For a first exemplary data block in the file, the media
agent 144 computes the hash, takes the modulo of the hash,
resulting in an output of `2`, and therefore sends the data block
hash to the DDB media agent 226. The DDB media agent 226 references
its deduplication database 210C using the hash, and finds an entry
indicating that a copy of the data block already exists in the
secondary storage devices 108. Thus, the DDB media agent 226
returns a link to the media agent 144 indicating the location of
the copy of the data block in the secondary storage devices 108.
Then, when the media agent 144 writes the backup copy of the file
to the secondary storage device(s) 108, the media agent 144
includes the link within the backup copy of the file instead of
including a duplicate copy of the actual data block.
[0301] For a second exemplary data block in the file, the
requesting media agent 144 computes the hash, takes the modulo of
the hash, resulting in an output of `1`, and therefore sends the
hash to the DDB media agent 224. The DDB media agent 224 references
its deduplication database 210B using the hash, and does not find
an entry corresponding to the data block. The DDB media agent 224
returns an indication to the media agent 144 that the data block
does not yet exist in the secondary storage devices 108. When the
media agent 144 writes the backup copy of the file to the secondary
storage device(s) 108, the media agent 144 includes an actual copy
of the data block with the backup copy of the file. The DDB media
agent 224 also updates its deduplication database 210B to include
an entry corresponding to the hash of the data block and including
a link specifying the location of the stored data block in the
secondary storage devices 108. For instance, the requesting media
agent 144 may be assigned to write data only to a particular
secondary storage device 108 according to a pre-defined policy, and
the DDB media agent 224 may therefore include a link specifying
that the data block is stored in the secondary storage device 108
assigned to the requesting media agent 144. Further examples of
distributed deduplication storage schemes are provided in U.S. Pat.
No. 9,020,900, which is incorporated by reference herein.
[0302] Furthermore, should one of the DDB media agents (e.g., DDB
media agent 222) become unavailable, the distribution policy can
specify another DDB media agent (e.g., DDB media agent 226) as a
failover DDB media agent and use the failover DDB media agent for
deduplication operations while the other DDB media agent (e.g., DDB
media agent 222) is unavailable, as described in greater detail
below.
[0303] In some embodiments, one or more of the media agents 144 can
act as control media agents and the other media agents 144 can act
as secondary media agents. A control media agent can be configured
to manage deduplication information, receive read/write requests
from the client computing devices 102 and/or the storage manager
140 (e.g., where read requests are requests to restore a backup
copy of a file and write requests are requests to write a backup
copy of a file to the secondary storage device(s) 108), and direct
read/write requests to the appropriate secondary media agent. A
secondary media agent can be configured to process the received
read/write requests based on deduplication information provided by
a control media agent. Thus, a control media agent may include or
be associated with a deduplication database, such as the
deduplication database 210 (e.g., a control media agent can be a
DDB media agent 222, 224, 226, or 228), while a secondary media
agent may not include or be associated with a deduplication
database.
[0304] FIG. 3B is a flow diagram depicting the operations of a
control media agent 344A and a secondary media agent 346A in the
scalable information management system 100. As illustrated in FIG.
3B, the storage manager 140 can receive a read or write request
from the client computing device 102 (1). The storage manager 140
can transmit the request (2) to the appropriate control media agent
344. For example, the storage manager 140 transmits the request to
the control media agent 344A. The storage manager 140 can determine
which control media agent 344 to transmit the request to based on
an algorithm (e.g., using a module function in a manner similar to
the deduplication process described above), based on a relative
load of each control media agent 344 (e.g., the storage manager 140
can transmit the request to the control media agent 344 consuming
the fewest computing resources at the time), and/or based on other
similar considerations.
[0305] The control media agent 344A can obtain deduplication
information from the DDB database 310 (3) in response to receiving
the request. For example, the control media agent 344A can retrieve
the deduplication information (e.g., data block signatures)
associated with the backup copy of the file to be restored or
written.
[0306] This deduplication information, along with the request
(e.g., which can include the data to be written to the secondary
storage device 108 if a write request is received), can be
transmitted by the control media agent 44A to the secondary media
agent 346A (4). Like with the storage manager 140, the control
media agent 344A can determine which secondary media agent 346 to
send the deduplication information and the request based on an
algorithm (e.g., using a module function in a manner similar to the
deduplication process described above), based on a relative load of
each second media agent 346 (e.g., the control media agent 344A can
transmit the request to the secondary media agent 346 consuming the
fewest computing resources at the time), based on the secondary
media agent 346A that is associated with a portion of the secondary
storage device 108 that corresponds with the data to be read or
written, and/or based on other similar considerations.
[0307] Using the deduplication information and/or the request, the
secondary media agent 346A can read the appropriate data from the
secondary storage device 108 (if a read request) or generate a
backup copy of the data to be written to the secondary storage
device 108 (if a write request) (5). The process by which the
secondary media agent 346A uses the deduplication information to
replace the links in a data backup when processing a read request
or uses the deduplication information to replace duplicate data
blocks when processing a write request are described in greater
detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,578,109 and 9,020,900 and U.S. Patent
Publication No. 2014/0201170, which are hereby incorporated by
reference herein in their entireties.
[0308] FIG. 4A is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a first
control media agent 144A in the scalable information management
system 100. In an embodiment, the scalable information management
system 100 is configured to automatically allocate or re-allocate
computing resources when a new media agent 144 is added to the
scalable information management system 100 or an existing media
agent 144 is removed from the scalable information management
system 100 (or otherwise becomes unavailable). For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 4A, an administrator can load a secondary
storage computing device 106A with the appropriate software such
that at least a portion of the secondary storage computing device
106A can execute the functionality of a media agent 144A (e.g., a
control media agent) and can then install the secondary storage
computing device 106A (e.g., connect the secondary storage
computing device 106A to a power source, to other components in the
scalable information management system 100, etc.). However, the
administrator may not need to configure the media agent 144A other
than the initial loading of the software such that the secondary
storage computing device 106A is compatible with the scalable
information management system 100. Rather, once the secondary
storage computing device 106A is installed, the scalable
information management system 100 (e.g., the storage manager 140)
can automatically determine whether the media agent 144A of the new
secondary storage computing device 106 should be configured as a
control media agent or a secondary media agent, partition the
secondary storage device 108 to provide an allocation of memory
associated with the new media agent 144A (e.g., partition block
408A), configure the new media agent 144A with the deduplication
and storage policies that are used to operate the other existing
media agents 144 (not shown), and/or perform any other tasks
necessary such that the new media agent 144A can process read and
write requests. As part of configuring the new media agent 144A
with the deduplication and storage policies, the secondary storage
computing device 106A may be associated with a DDB database 210E.
The DDB database 210E may store deduplication data used when
writing to and/or reading from data stored in the partition 408A in
the secondary storage device 108.
[0309] FIG. 4B is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a first
secondary media agent 144B to the scalable information management
system 100. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the secondary storage
computing device 106A is an existing secondary storage computing
device and secondary storage computing device 106B is a new
secondary storage computing device. For example, the new secondary
storage computing device 106B may sync with the storage manager
140. In response to the syncing, the storage manager 140 may create
a new storage pool for the secondary storage computing device 106B
and/or send a message back to the secondary storage computing
device 106B to create a new file system (e.g., GlusterFS) (e.g., if
this is the first or second secondary storage computing device
installed), including information on the other secondary storage
computing devices (e.g., secondary storage computing device 106A).
The secondary storage computing device 106B may start the new file
system volume and send back to the storage manager 140 a data path
for the secondary storage computing device 106B (and this
information can be stored in a disk library). The storage manager
140 can use this information to create a library, storage policy
(if not already created), etc. Alternatively (e.g., if the
secondary storage computing device 106B is not the first or second
secondary storage computing device installed), the storage manager
140 can instruct the secondary storage computing device 106B to
join an existing file system by providing the volume information
(and path information from the secondary storage computing device
106B can be stored by the storage manager 140 in the existing disk
library). Thus, the secondary storage computing device 106B may
send information on its available computing resources (e.g.,
available memory, disk information, such as the file system, the
type of data that can be stored, etc., processing power, etc.)
and/or path information (e.g., disk library mount path, etc.) to
the storage manager 140. The storage manager 140 may also
auto-detect the volumes on the disks of the secondary storage
computing device 106B.
[0310] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can determine whether the media agent 144B
should be a control media agent or a secondary media agent. In an
embodiment, the secondary storage computing device 106B does not
have the computing resources necessary to include or be associated
with a DDB database 210. Thus, the storage manager 140 may
configure the media agent 144B to be a secondary media agent.
[0311] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can also partition (or re-partition) the
secondary storage device 108 to include memory allocated for
specific use by each of the secondary storage computing devices
106A-B. For example, the secondary storage device 108 previously
included a partition represented by block 408A allocated
specifically for use by the secondary storage computing device
106A. With the addition of the secondary storage computing device
106B, the memory represented by block 408A in FIG. 4A may remain
allocated to the secondary storage computing device 106A (e.g.,
only the secondary storage computing device 106A has access to the
partition). However, the storage manager 140 can instruct the
secondary storage computing device 106A to further partition (e.g.,
sub-partition) the memory allocated to the secondary storage
computing device 106A such that memory is allocated for storing
data associated with the secondary storage computing devices
106A-B. For example, the sub-partition represented by block 408A
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106A and the sub-partition represented by block
408B may correspond to the data associated with the secondary
storage computing device 106B. In an embodiment, each sub-partition
is a separate physical disk.
[0312] With the addition of the secondary storage computing device
106B, the storage manager 140 can also create a new partition in
the secondary storage device 108 that is allocated to the secondary
storage computing device 106B. Like with the secondary storage
computing device 106A, the storage manager 140 can instruct the
secondary storage computing device 106B to further partition (e.g.,
sub-partition) the memory allocated to the secondary storage
computing device 106B such that memory is allocated for storing
data associated with the secondary storage computing devices
106A-B. For example, the sub-partition represented by block 408D
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106A and the sub-partition represented by block
408E may correspond to the data associated with the secondary
storage computing device 106B.
[0313] As described herein, the secondary storage computing device
106A can retrieve the data stored in the sub-partition represented
by the block 408A, replicate the data, and store the replicated
data in the sub-partition represented by the block 408D.
Alternatively, the secondary storage computing device 106A can
transmit the replicated data to the storage manager 140 to instruct
the secondary storage computing device 106B to store the replicated
data in the sub-partition represented by the block 408D. Similarly,
the secondary storage computing device 106B can store original data
in the sub-partition represented by block 408E, replicate this
data, and store the replicated data in the sub-partition
represented by block 408B (or instruct the storage manager 140
and/or the secondary storage computing device 106A to store the
replicated data).
[0314] FIG. 4C is a flow diagram depicting the addition of a second
control media agent 144C to the scalable information management
system 100. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the secondary storage
computing devices 106A-B are existing secondary storage computing
devices and secondary storage computing device 106C is a new
secondary storage computing device. For example, the new secondary
storage computing device 106C may sync with the storage manager
140. In response to the syncing, the storage manager 140 may create
a new storage pool for the secondary storage computing device 106C
and/or send a message back to the secondary storage computing
device 106C to create a new file system (e.g., GlusterFS) (e.g., if
this is the first or second secondary storage computing device
installed), including information on the other secondary storage
computing devices (e.g., secondary storage computing devices
106A-B). The secondary storage computing device 106C may start the
new file system volume and send back to the storage manager 140 a
data path for the secondary storage computing device 106B and/or a
deduplication information data path for the secondary storage
computing device 106C (and this information can be stored in a disk
library). The storage manager 140 can use this information to
create a library, storage policy (if not already created), etc.
Alternatively (e.g., if the secondary storage computing device 106C
is not the first or second secondary storage computing device
installed), the storage manager 140 can instruct the secondary
storage computing device 106C to join an existing file system by
providing the volume information (and path information from the
secondary storage computing device 106C can be stored by the
storage manager 140 in the existing disk library). Thus, the
secondary storage computing device 106C may send information on its
available computing resources (e.g., available memory, disk
information, such as the file system, the type of data that can be
stored, etc., processing power, etc.) and/or path information
(e.g., disk library mount path, deduplication database mount path,
etc.) to the storage manager 140. The storage manager 140 may also
auto-detect the volumes on the disks of the secondary storage
computing device 106C.
[0315] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can determine whether the media agent 144C
should be a control media agent or a secondary media agent. In an
embodiment, the secondary storage computing device 106C may have
the computing resources necessary to include or be associated with
a DDB database (e.g., the DDB database 210F here) and thus the
storage manager 140 may configure the media agent 144C to be a
control media agent.
[0316] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can also partition (or re-partition) the
secondary storage device 108 to include memory allocated for
specific use by each of the secondary storage computing devices
106A-C. For example, the secondary storage device 108 previously
included a partition represented by blocks 408A-B allocated
specifically for use by the secondary storage computing device 106A
and a partition represented by blocks 408D-E allocated specifically
for use by the secondary storage computing device 106B. With the
addition of the secondary storage computing device 106C, the
partition represented by blocks 408A-B in FIG. 4B may remain
allocated to the secondary storage computing device 106A (e.g.,
only the secondary storage computing device 106A has access to the
partition) and the partition represented by blocks 408D-E in FIG.
4B may remain allocated to the secondary storage computing device
106B (e.g., only the secondary storage computing device 106B has
access to the partition). However, the storage manager 140 can
instruct the secondary storage computing device 106A to further
partition (e.g., sub-partition) the memory allocated to the
secondary storage computing device 106A such that memory is
allocated for storing data associated with the secondary storage
computing devices 106A-C. For example, the sub-partition
represented by block 408A may correspond to the data associated
with the secondary storage computing device 106A, the sub-partition
represented by block 408B may correspond to the data associated
with the secondary storage computing device 106B, and the
sub-partition represented by block 408C may correspond to the data
associated with the secondary storage computing device 106C. In
addition, the storage manager 140 can instruct the secondary
storage computing device 106B to further partition (e.g.,
sub-partition) the memory allocated to the secondary storage
computing device 106B such that memory is allocated for storing
data associated with the secondary storage computing devices
106A-C. For example, the sub-partition represented by block 408D
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106A, the sub-partition represented by block 408E
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106B, and the sub-partition represented by block
408F may correspond to the data associated with the secondary
storage computing device 106C.
[0317] With the addition of the secondary storage computing device
106C, the storage manager 140 can also create a new partition in
the secondary storage device 108 that is allocated to the secondary
storage computing device 106C. Like with the secondary storage
computing devices 106A-B, the storage manager 140 can instruct the
secondary storage computing device 106C to further partition (e.g.,
sub-partition) the memory allocated to the secondary storage
computing device 106C such that memory is allocated for storing
data associated with the secondary storage computing devices
106A-C. For example, the sub-partition represented by block 408G
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106A, the sub-partition represented by block 408H
may correspond to the data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106B, and the sub-partition represented by block
408I may correspond to the data associated with the secondary
storage computing device 106C.
[0318] The secondary storage computing device 106A can retrieve the
data stored in the sub-partition represented by the block 408A,
replicate the data, and store the replicated data in the
sub-partition represented by the block 408G (or instruct the
storage manager 140 and/or the secondary storage computing device
106C to store the replicated data). Furthermore, the secondary
storage computing device 106B can retrieve the data stored in the
sub-partition represented by the block 408E, replicate the data,
and store the replicated data in the sub-partition represented by
the block 408H (or instruct the storage manager 140 and/or the
secondary storage computing device 106C to store the replicated
data). Similarly, the secondary storage computing device 106C can
store original data in the sub-partition represented by block 408I,
replicate this data, and store the replicated data in the
sub-partition represented by blocks 408C and 408F (or instruct the
storage manager 140 and/or the secondary storage computing devices
106A-B to store the replicated data). As described in greater
detail below, the secondary storage computing device 106A can also
replicate deduplication data stored in the DDB database 210E for
storage in the DDB database 210F.
[0319] FIG. 4D is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C are added to
the scalable information management system 100. For example, the
secondary storage computing devices 106B-C may be added at the same
time. On startup, the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C
may sync with the storage manager 140 as described above. The
storage manager 140 may create a new storage pool for the secondary
storage computing devices 106B-C and/or send a message back to the
secondary storage computing devices 106B-C to create a new file
system (e.g., GlusterFS) (e.g., if this is the first or second
secondary storage computing device installed), including
information on the other secondary storage computing devices (e.g.,
secondary storage computing device 106A). The secondary storage
computing devices 106B-C may start the new file system volume and
send back to the storage manager 140 a data path and a
deduplication information data path for each respective secondary
storage computing device 106B-C (and this information can be stored
in a disk library). The storage manager 140 can use this
information to create a library, storage policy (if not already
created), etc. Alternatively (e.g., if the secondary storage
computing devices 106B-C are not the first or second secondary
storage computing devices installed), the storage manager 140 can
instruct the secondary storage computing devices to join an
existing file system by providing the volume information (and path
information from the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C can
be stored by the storage manager 140 in the existing disk library).
Thus, the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C may send
information on their available computing resources (e.g., available
memory, disk information, such as the file system, the type of data
that can be stored, etc., processing power, etc.) and/or path
information (e.g., disk library mount path, deduplication database
mount path, etc.) to the storage manager 140 (1) and (2). The
storage manager 140 may also auto-detect the volumes on the disks
of the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C.
[0320] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can determine whether the media agents 144B-C
should be control media agents or secondary media agents. As
described above, the secondary storage computing device 106B does
not have the computing resources necessary to include or be
associated with a DDB database 210. Thus, the storage manager 140
may configure the media agent 144B to be a secondary media agent.
However, the secondary storage computing device 106C may have the
computing resources necessary to include or be associated with a
DDB database (e.g., the DDB database 210F here) and thus the
storage manager 140 may configure the media agent 144C to be a
control media agent.
[0321] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can also partition (or re-partition) the
secondary storage device 108 to include memory allocated for
specific use by each of the secondary storage computing devices
106A-C. For example, the partition represented by blocks 408A-C may
be allocated to the secondary storage computing device 106A, the
partition represented by blocks 408D-F may be allocated to the
secondary storage computing device 106B, and the partition
represented by blocks 408G-I may be allocated to the secondary
storage computing device 106C.
[0322] Based on the detected and/or received information, the
storage manager 140 can also instruct secondary storage computing
devices 106 associated with a DDB database 210 (e.g., the secondary
storage computing devices 106A and 106C) to partition their
respective DDB databases 210 such that each DDB database 210 stores
deduplication information initially stored in the other DDB
databases 210 for redundancy purposes. For example, the storage
manager 140 can instruct the secondary storage computing device
106A (3) to partition the DDB database 210E so that one partition
can include deduplication information from the DDB database 210F.
The secondary storage computing device 106A can partition the DDB
database 210E (4) and retrieve deduplication information from the
DDB database 210E to be transmitted to the secondary storage
computing device 106C for storage in a reserved partition of the
DDB database 210F. The deduplication information from the DDB
database 210E can be replicated by the secondary storage computing
device 106A and transmitted directly to the secondary storage
computing device 106C for storage in the reserved partition of the
DDB database 210F. Alternatively, the deduplication information
from the DDB database 210E can be replicated by the secondary
storage computing device 106A and transmitted to the storage
manager 140. The storage manager 140 can then transmit the
replicated deduplication information to the secondary storage
computing device 106C for storage in the reserved partition of the
DDB database 210F.
[0323] Likewise, the storage manager 140 can instruct the secondary
storage device 106C (5) to partition the DDB database 210F so that
one partition can include deduplication information from the DDB
database 210E. The secondary storage computing device 106C can
partition the DDB database 210F (6) in response to receiving the
instruction from the storage manager 140.
[0324] The storage manager 140 can also instruct the secondary
storage computing device 106A (3) to further partition (e.g.,
sub-partition) the memory allocated to the secondary storage
computing device 106A such that memory is allocated for storing
data associated with the other secondary storage computing devices
106B-C. The number of sub-partitions may depend on a replication
parameter, which identifies a number of times data associated with
a secondary storage computing device 106 should be replicated for
redundancy purposes. In response to receiving the instruction, the
secondary storage computing device 106A can partition the secondary
storage device 108 into partitions 408A-C, where partition 408A
corresponds to data of the secondary storage computing device 106A,
partition 408B corresponds to data of the secondary storage
computing device 106B, and partition 408C corresponds to data of
the secondary storage computing device 106C. The secondary storage
computing device 106B can receive a similar instruction (7) from
the storage manager 140 and partition the secondary storage device
108 into partitions 408D-F, where partition 408D corresponds to
data of the secondary storage computing device 106A, partition 408E
corresponds to data of the secondary storage computing device 106B,
and partition 408F corresponds to data of the secondary storage
computing device 106C, and the secondary storage computing device
106C can receive an instruction (5) to partition the secondary
storage device 108 into partitions 408G-I, where partition 408G
corresponds to data of the secondary storage computing device 106A,
partition 408H corresponds to data of the secondary storage
computing device 106B, and partition 408I corresponds to data of
the secondary storage computing device 106C.
[0325] The secondary storage computing device 106A may retrieve the
data in partition 408A (8), replicate the data, and store the
replicated data in partition 408D (9) and in partition 408G (10).
Alternatively, the secondary storage computing device 106A can
transmit the replicated data to the storage manager 140 to instruct
the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C associated with the
various partitions to store the replicated data in the appropriate
sub-partition or to the individual secondary storage computing
devices 106B-C for storage in the appropriate sub-partition.
Similarly, the secondary storage computing device 106B can store
original data in partition 408E (11) and store replicated data in
partitions 408B (12) and 408H (13) (or instruct the storage manager
140 and/or the secondary storage computing devices 106A and 106C to
store the replicated data), and the secondary storage computing
device 106C can store original data in partition 408I (14) and
store replicated data in partitions 408C (15) and 408F (16) (or
instruct the storage manager 140 and/or the secondary storage
computing devices 106A-B to store the replicated data).
[0326] Data replication can occur in real-time (e.g., within a few
seconds of being configured by the storage manager 140).
Alternatively or in addition, data replication can occur off-line
at a set or random time or in the background when one or more of
the secondary storage computing devices 106A-C is otherwise
idle.
[0327] Thus, the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C can be
automatically configured for use by the storage manager 140 without
any user input once the secondary storage computing devices 106B-C
are physically installed. Furthermore, the storage manager 140 can
initiate the reallocation of resources if one or more secondary
storage computing devices 106A-C (e.g., media agents 144A-C) become
unavailable, as described below with respect to FIGS. 5A through
6C.
[0328] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram depicting the unavailability of
the secondary media agent 144B in the scalable information
management system 100. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the media agent
144B is unavailable and cannot be used to access the secondary
storage device 108 and the data in partitions 408D-F.
[0329] FIG. 5B is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the secondary media agent 144B is unavailable. As illustrated
in FIG. 5B, if the storage manager 140 receives a read or write
request from a client computing device 102 that normally would be
forwarded to a control media agent and then to the secondary media
agent 144B, the storage manager 140 instead forwards the read or
write request to another media agent (e.g., either control or
secondary media agent) that is available. For example, the storage
manager 140 can forward the read or write request (1) to the
control media agent 144A. The control media agent 144A may or may
not access deduplication information (2) from the DDB database 210E
(e.g., may access the deduplication information if the read request
corresponds to a backup copy that includes deduplication links or
the write request corresponds to data that includes duplicate
blocks). The control media agent 144A may then use the
deduplication information, if accessed, and complete the read or
write request (3) by accessing the partition 408B, which was
previously allocated for replicated data of the now unavailable
secondary media agent 144B. Thus, the control media agent 144A can
function as the secondary media agent 144B, reading and writing to
data that is a mirror of data normally accessed by the secondary
media agent 144B in the secondary storage device 108.
[0330] FIG. 6A is a flow diagram depicting the unavailability of
the control media agent 144C in the scalable information management
system 100. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the media agent 144C is
unavailable and cannot be used to access the secondary storage
device 108 and the data in partitions 408H-I. Similarly, the
deduplication information stored in DDB database 210F is no longer
available as well.
[0331] FIG. 6B is a flow diagram depicting the operations performed
when the control media agent 144C is unavailable. As illustrated in
FIG. 6B, if the storage manager 140 receives a read or write
request from a client computing device 102 that normally would be
forwarded to the control media agent 144C, the storage manager 140
instead forwards the read or write request to another control media
agent that is available. For example, the storage manager 140 can
forward the read or write request (1) to the control media agent
144A. The control media agent 144A may access the partition in the
DDB database 210E that corresponds to the deduplication information
originally stored in the DDB database 210F and retrieve such
deduplication information. If deduplication information of the
media agent 144C is not available in the DDB database 210E, the
control media agent 144A can rebuild the deduplication information
using the data in the partition 408C. The control media agent 144A
may then use the deduplication information and complete the read or
write request (3) by accessing the partition 408C, which was
previously allocated for replicated data of the now unavailable
control media agent 144C. Alternatively, the control media agent
144A can transmit the retrieved deduplication information to a
secondary media agent, and the secondary media agent can complete
the read or write request. Thus, the control media agent 144A can
function as the control media agent 144C, reading and writing to
data that is a mirror of data normally accessed by the control
media agent 144C in the secondary storage device 108 (or
instructing a secondary media agent to perform the reading and/or
writing).
[0332] FIG. 6C is another flow diagram depicting the operations
performed when the control media agent 144C is unavailable. As
illustrated in FIG. 6C, if the storage manager 140 receives a read
or write request from a client computing device 102 that normally
would be forwarded to the control media agent 144C, the storage
manager 140 instead forwards the read or write request to another
media agent that is available. For example, the storage manager 140
can forward the read or write request (1) to the secondary media
agent 144B. Because the secondary media agent 144B does not have
access to deduplication information, the secondary media agent 144B
can rebuild the deduplication information using the data stored in
the partition 408F. For example, the secondary media agent 144B can
retrieve data stored in the partition 408F (2) and analyze the data
to identify links and/or duplicate blocks and rebuild the
deduplication information (3). The rebuilt deduplication
information can be stored locally (e.g., in media agent database
152B) or in a DDB database associated with another media agent 144.
The secondary media agent 144B may then use the deduplication
information and complete the read or write request (4) by accessing
the partition 408F, which was previously allocated for replicated
data of the now unavailable control media agent 144C.
Alternatively, the secondary media agent 144B can transmit the
retrieved deduplication information to another secondary media
agent, and the other secondary media agent can complete the read or
write request. Thus, the secondary media agent 144B can function as
the control media agent 144C, reading and writing to data that is a
mirror of data normally accessed by the control media agent 144C in
the secondary storage device 108 (or instructing another secondary
media agent to perform the reading and/or writing).
Multiple File Systems for Minimizing Secondary Storage Computing
Device Failures
[0333] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting the file systems of the
secondary storage computing devices 160A-C in the scalable
information management system 100. In some embodiments, each
partition allocated to a secondary storage computing device (e.g.,
partitions represented by blocks 408A-C, which are allocated to the
secondary storage computing device 106A as depicted in FIG. 4D)
forms a single file system or volume. While a partition may
correspond to a single file system, the single file system can
include multiple physical hard disks (e.g., each sub-partition may
correspond to a different hard disk). However, because the multiple
hard disks form a single file system, a failure of one hard disk
can cause the file system to become corrupted and therefore the
entire secondary storage computing device to fail. Thus, it may be
desirable to design a file system scheme in which a secondary
storage computing device does not fail merely because a single hard
disk failed.
[0334] Accordingly, each allocated partition may instead correspond
to multiple file systems. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7,
the secondary storage computing device 106A has access to a
partition in a secondary storage device that has three
sub-partitions represented by blocks 708A, 710A, and 712A. The
secondary storage computing device 106B has access to a partition
in the secondary storage device that has three sub-partitions
represented by blocks 708B, 710B, and 712B. The secondary storage
computing device 106C has access to a partition in the secondary
storage device that has three sub-partitions represented by blocks
708C, 710C, and 712C. Each sub-partition represented by blocks
708A-C, 710A-C, and 712A-C may be a separate hard disk.
Furthermore, each sub-partition represented by blocks 708A, 710A,
and 712A may store data associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106A, each sub-partition represented by blocks
708B, 710B, and 712B may store data associated with the secondary
storage computing device 106B, and each sub-partition represented
by blocks 708C, 710C, and 712C may store data associated with the
secondary storage computing device 106C. Alternatively, each
sub-partition represented by blocks 708A-C, 710A-C, and 712A-C may
store data associated with some or all of the secondary storage
computing devices 106A-C.
[0335] Each of the hard disks corresponding to blocks 708A-C may
collectively form a first file system, each of the hard disks
corresponding to blocks 710A-C may collectively form a second file
system, and each of the hard disks corresponding to blocks 712A-C
may collectively form a third file system. The storage manager 140
or the individual secondary storage computing devices 106A-C
(independently or at the direction of the storage manager 140) may
perform parity replication such that each hard disk corresponding
to a given file system stores some or all of the data stored on the
other hard disks corresponding to the same file system. For
example, the hard disk corresponding to block 708A may store some
or all of the data stored on the hard disks corresponding to blocks
708B-C after the parity replication is performed (e.g., the hard
disks corresponding to blocks 708A-C may each store 1/3 of all
writes to the file system).
[0336] Thus, a secondary storage computing device 106 does not fail
merely because one hard disk associated with the secondary storage
computing device 106 fails. As an illustrative example, if the hard
disk corresponding to block 708A and a first file system fails, a
read or write request intended for the first file system and/or the
secondary storage computing device 106A may be redirected to the
secondary storage computing devices 106B-C because the secondary
storage computing devices 106B-C are associated with hard disks of
the first file system (e.g., represented by blocks 708B-C) that
have not failed. The secondary storage computing devices 106B-C can
then process the read and/or write request. However, if a read or
write request is received that is intended for a second file system
and/or the secondary storage computing device 106A (e.g.,
corresponding to the hard disk represented by block 710A), the read
or write request would not have to be redirected to another
secondary storage computing device 106B-C. Rather, the read or
write request could be handled by the hard disk represented by
block 710A, even if the hard disk represented by block 708A has
failed, because the hard drive represented by block 710A has not
failed and forms a part of the second file system.
Disk Failure Notification User Interface
[0337] FIG. 8 is a user interface 800 depicting a location of a
disk failure. In an embodiment, a media agent 144 can run a service
or application to check the status of one or more hard disks that
are included in the secondary storage device 108 and/or provide
automatic reporting of the determined status. The service can
determine the status of a volume or file system (e.g., hard disks
represented by blocks 708A-C in FIG. 7), the status of a sub-volume
or sub-file system (e.g., some, but not all, of the hard disks
represented by blocks 708A-C), and/or individual hard disks (e.g.,
the hard disk represented by block 708A).
[0338] For example, the service can be configured to transmit a
write request to a specific memory location in a hard disk. The
service can then transmit a read request to read the data that was
just written to the memory location. If the read request returns
data that matches the data initially included in the write request,
then the service may determine that the hard disk is functioning
properly. Otherwise, the service may determine that the hard disk
will fail or has failed. In such a situation, the service can
transmit a unique identifier identifying the hard disk (e.g., a
serial number of the hard disk) to the storage manager 140. The
service may transmit the write and read request messages
periodically to periodically check the status of the hard disk.
[0339] As another example, the hard drive can be configured with a
service that performs a self-test. The self-test can include a test
of the electrical and/or mechanical performance of the hard disk,
such as a test of buffer random access memory (RAM), a read/write
circuitry test, a test of the read/write head elements, seeking and
servo on data tracks, a scan of a portion of or all of the disk
surface, a conveyance test, and/or the like. The service in the
media agent 144 can be configured to periodically instruct the hard
disk to perform the self-test. Alternatively, the hard disk service
can automatically periodically perform the self-test and report
results to the media agent 144 service. If during the self-test the
hard disk determines that a failure is imminent (e.g., a failure
will happen within a certain time period, a failure will occur
after a certain number of read/write requests are received, etc.)
or that a failure has occurred, the hard disk service can transmit
an alert to the media agent 144 service. In an embodiment, the
alert includes the unique identifier of the hard disk (e.g., the
serial number of the hard disk). The media agent 144 service can
then notify the storage manager 140 that the hard disk identified
by the unique identifier is failing or has failed.
[0340] As described above, the storage manager 140 can include the
management database 146. When a hard disk is installed as part of
the secondary storage device 108, a location of the hard disk
(e.g., a bay and/or a slot in the bay at which the hard disk is
placed) and the unique identifier of the hard disk are stored in
the management database 146. Thus, when the storage manager 140
receives a notification from the media agent 144 that a hard disk
identified by a certain unique identifier is failing or has failed,
the storage manager 140 can query the management database 146 to
identify a location of the hard disk. The storage manager 140 can
then generate user interface data that causes a user interface
rendered by a user device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet, a
laptop, a desktop, etc.) to display the location of the failing or
failed hard disk.
[0341] As an illustrative example, the user interface 800 can be
rendered by a user device using user interface data generated and
provided by the storage manager 140. The user interface 800 can
display a graphical representation of bays 810, 820, and 830, which
may be bays in the secondary storage device 108. Each bay 810, 820,
and 830 may have various slots in which hard disks are located. The
user interface 800 may highlight one or more hard disks that are
indicated as failing or having failed. For example, the hard disk
located in slot 832 in the bay 830 is shaded to indicate that the
hard disk is failing or has failed. Optionally, the user interface
800 can include text that provides more information about why the
hard disk is failing or has failed, text that instructs a user to
replace the hard disk, text identifying the location of the failing
or failed hard disk, and/or text providing other information.
[0342] While the user interface 800 displays bays 810, 820, and 830
for a single secondary storage device 108, this is not meant to be
limiting. For example, the scalable information management system
100 can include multiple pools, where each pool includes one or
more secondary storage computing devices 106 and a secondary
storage device 108 that provide the functionality described herein.
The user interface 800 can graphically display the locations of
bays and hard disks corresponding to multiple pools in the scalable
information management system 100. The locations of bay and hard
disks corresponding to multiple pools can be displayed in the same
window, in different windows, and/or accessed individually via a
menu presented in the user interface 800.
[0343] Using the user interface 800, a user can more easily
identify the location of a failing or failed hard disk and replace
this hard disk with a new hard disk. When a new hard disk is
swapped into the location of the failing or failed hard disk, the
user interface 800 may no longer highlight the slot (e.g., slot
832) as the location of a failing or failed hard disk. In addition,
upon detection of the insertion of the new hard disk, the storage
manager 140 may automatically instruct the appropriate secondary
storage computing device 106 to format the hard disk and set up the
hard disk for use (e.g., perform a repair operation, replicate data
for storage on the hard disk, associate the hard disk with a
particular file system, etc.).
Process for Automatically Configuring a New Media Agent
[0344] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of a
routine 900 implemented by the storage manager 140 for
automatically configuring a new media agent. The elements outlined
for routine 900 may be implemented by one or more components that
are associated with the storage manager 140. For example, routine
900 can be implemented by any one, or a combination of the
operating system of the storage manager 140, an application running
on the storage manager 140, and the like. Accordingly, routine 900
has been logically associated as being generally performed by the
storage manager 140, and thus the following illustrative embodiment
should not construed as limiting.
[0345] At block 902, the routine 900 detects that a second
secondary storage computing device is installed. The routine 900
may make the detection after a first secondary storage computing
device that manages first data in the secondary storage device has
already been installed.
[0346] At block 904, the routine 900 determines whether a media
agent of the second secondary storage computing device is a control
media agent or a secondary media agent. For example, the routine
900 makes the determination based on the computing resources
available to the second secondary storage computing device (e.g.,
whether the second secondary storage computing device has
sufficient memory available to manage a deduplication database).
Whether the media agent is a control media agent or a secondary
media agent may determine whether the second secondary storage
computing device is used to manage deduplication information or is
used to use provided deduplication information to process read
and/or write requests.
[0347] At block 906, the routine 900 partitions the secondary
storage device such that a first portion of the secondary storage
device is assigned to the first secondary storage computing device
and a second portion of the secondary storage device is assigned to
the second secondary storage computing device. Each partition may
be further partitioned such that each sub-partition corresponds to
the original data of the respective secondary storage computing
device or replicated data of the other secondary storage computing
devices.
[0348] At block 908, the routine 900 instructs the first secondary
storage computing device to replicate the first data and transmit
the replicated first data to the second secondary storage computing
device for storage in the second portion of the secondary storage
device. Alternatively, the routine 900 can instruct the first
secondary storage computing device to directly store the replicated
first data in the second portion.
[0349] In further embodiments, if the second secondary storage
computing device becomes unavailable, the routine 900 can instruct
another secondary storage computing device to act as the media
agent of the second secondary storage computing device. This may be
possible because the other secondary storage computing devices may
have access to replicated forms of the data normally managed by the
secondary storage computing device.
[0350] In regard to the figures described herein, other embodiments
are possible within the scope of the present invention, such that
the above-recited components, steps, blocks, operations, and/or
messages/requests/queries/instructions are differently arranged,
sequenced, sub-divided, organized, and/or combined. In some
embodiments, a different component may initiate or execute a given
operation. For example, in some embodiments, the control media
agents can directly process the read and/or write requests, thereby
bypassing the secondary media agents.
Process for Redirecting I/O Requests when a Media Agent Fails
[0351] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine 1000 implemented by the storage manager 140 for
redirecting input/output (I/O) requests intended for a first media
agent to a second media agent when the first media agent fails. The
elements outlined for routine 900 may be implemented by one or more
components that are associated with the storage manager 140. For
example, routine 1000 can be implemented by any one, or a
combination of the operating system of the storage manager 140, an
application running on the storage manager 140, and the like.
Accordingly, routine 1000 has been logically associated as being
generally performed by the storage manager 140, and thus the
following illustrative embodiment should not construed as
limiting.
[0352] At block 1002, the routine 1000 detects that a first
secondary storage computing device has failed. The routine 1000 may
make the detection based on an inability to contact the first
secondary storage computing device.
[0353] At block 1004, the routine 1000 redirects an I/O request
intended for the first secondary storage computing device to a
second secondary storage computing device. The I/O request can
correspond to first data that is stored in a first partition of the
secondary storage device 108 accessible by the first secondary
storage computing device. The first data may have been replicated
at a previous time and the replicated data may have been stored in
a second partition of the secondary storage device 108 accessible
by the second secondary storage computing device. For example, the
second partition can include a first sub-partition that stores data
associated with the second secondary storage computing device and a
second sub-partition that stores data associated with the first
secondary storage computing device.
[0354] At block 1006, the routine 1000 receives an indication that
the I/O request is performed using a second sub-partition of a
second partition of the secondary storage device. For example, the
second secondary storage computing device can perform the I/O
request in place of the first secondary storage computing
device.
Process for Automatically Replicating Deduplication Data for a New
Media Agent
[0355] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine 1100 implemented by the storage manager 140 for
replicating deduplication data when a new media agent is added so
that the replicated deduplication data can be used to process I/O
requests when a media agent fails. The elements outlined for
routine 1100 may be implemented by one or more components that are
associated with the storage manager 140. For example, routine 1100
can be implemented by any one, or a combination of the operating
system of the storage manager 140, an application running on the
storage manager 140, and the like. Accordingly, routine 1100 has
been logically associated as being generally performed by the
storage manager 140, and thus the following illustrative embodiment
should not construed as limiting.
[0356] At block 1102, the routine 1100 detects that a second
secondary storage computing device is installed. The routine 1100
may make the detection after a first secondary storage computing
device that manages first data in the secondary storage device has
already been installed.
[0357] At block 1104, the routine 1100 partitions the secondary
storage device such that a first portion of the secondary storage
device is assigned to the first secondary storage computing device
and a second portion of the secondary storage device is assigned to
the second secondary storage computing device. Each partition may
be further partitioned such that each sub-partition corresponds to
the original data of the respective secondary storage computing
device or replicated data of the other secondary storage computing
devices. Alternatively, the routine 1100 can instruct one or more
of the secondary storage computing devices to complete the
partition.
[0358] At block 1106, the routine 1100 instructs the first
secondary storage computing device to replicate first deduplication
data and transmit the replicated first deduplication data to the
second secondary storage computing device for use in performing I/O
requests on data in the second portion. For example, if the first
secondary storage computing device fails, the second secondary
storage computing device can use the replicated deduplication data
to perform I/O requests originally intended for the first secondary
storage computing device.
Process for Rebuilding Deduplication Data to Perform I/O
Requests
[0359] FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine 1200 implemented by the media agent 144 for rebuilding
deduplication data associated with a first media agent when the
first media agent fails so that I/O requests intended for the first
media agent can be processed by a second media agent. The elements
outlined for routine 1200 may be implemented by one or more
components that are associated with the media agent 144.
Accordingly, routine 1200 has been logically associated as being
generally performed by the media agent 144, and thus the following
illustrative embodiment should not construed as limiting.
[0360] At block 1202, the routine 1200 receives an I/O request
intended for a first secondary storage computing device that has
failed. The routine 1200 may detect that the first secondary
storage computing device has failed based on an inability to
contact the first secondary storage computing device.
[0361] At block 1204, the routine 1200 determines that
deduplication data associated with the first secondary storage
computing device is not available. For example, the deduplication
data may not be available because the media agent 144 is a
secondary media agent and not a control media agent (and thus the
media agent 144 does not have a corresponding DDB database
210).
[0362] At block 1206, the routine 1200 accesses first data stored
in a first portion of a second partition of a secondary storage
device. For example, the first portion of the second partition of
the secondary storage device is allocated for storing data
associated with the first secondary storage computing device. Thus,
the first data is associated with the first secondary storage
computing device.
[0363] At block 1208, the routine 1200 reconstructs the
deduplication data using the accessed first data. For example,
deduplication data can include data block signatures, the location
information of data blocks stored in the secondary storage device
108, a count value indicative of the number of instances that a
particular block is used, and/or the like. The routine 1200 can
parse the first data to identify data blocks and links or
references to data blocks (e.g., the links or references may have
been previously inserted into the first data to replace duplicate
data blocks). The routine 1200 can then generate signatures for the
identified data blocks (e.g., generates hash values for the
identified data blocks) and populate a partition of the DDB
database 210 allocated to the first secondary storage computing
device with the generated data block signatures and the location of
each data block in the secondary storage device 108. The routine
1200 can further use the links or references to data blocks to
identify a number of times that a particular data block is used in
the first data (e.g., if there are 3 links to a first data block,
then the first data block is used 4 times given that the 3 links
replaced duplicates of the first data block and the 3 links each
point to a copy of the first data block in the first data). The
routine 1200 can then also store the identified number of times
that a particular data block is used in the partition of the DDB
database 210 allocated to the first secondary storage computing
device.
[0364] At block 1210, the routine 1200 performs the I/O request
using the reconstructed deduplication data and the accessed first
data. For example, if the I/O request is a write request, the write
request may specify a data block to write to the secondary storage
device 108. The routine 1200 can generate a signature of the data
block (e.g., generate a hash) and compare the generated signature
to the generated signatures in the reconstructed deduplication
data. If there is a match, then the routine 1200 identifies the
location of the data block corresponding to the matching signature,
replaces the data block with a link to the identified location,
increments a count of a number of times that the data block is
used, and stores the link in the secondary storage device 108 to
complete the request. As another example, if the I/O request is a
read request, the result of the read request may be data blocks and
links. The routine 1200 can replace the links with data blocks
stored at the locations pointed to by the links and forward the
data blocks and the data blocks replacing the links to the device
that provided the read request.
Process for Using Multiple File Systems
[0365] FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine 1300 implemented by the storage manager 140 for managing
I/O requests when a disk of a media agent fails. The elements
outlined for routine 1300 may be implemented by one or more
components that are associated with the storage manager 140. For
example, routine 1300 can be implemented by any one, or a
combination of the operating system of the storage manager 140, an
application running on the storage manager 140, and the like.
Accordingly, routine 1300 has been logically associated as being
generally performed by the storage manager 140, and thus the
following illustrative embodiment should not construed as
limiting.
[0366] At block 1302, the routine 1300 detects that a first data
storage computer is installed. For example, a second and third data
storage computer may have been previously installed. The second
data storage computer may manage a first secondary storage device
that includes a first hard disk and a second hard disk. The third
data storage computer may manage a second secondary storage device
that includes a third hard disk and a fourth hard disk. The first
data storage computer may manage a third secondary storage device
that includes a fifth hard disk and a sixth hard disk.
[0367] At block 1304, the routine 1300 associates the first hard
disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth hard disk such that the
first hard disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth hard disk
together store data for a first file system. The routine 1300 may
further perform a parity replication on the first, third, and fifth
hard disks.
[0368] At block 1306, the routine 1300 associates the second hard
disk, the fourth hard disk, and the sixth hard disk such that the
second hard disk, the fourth hard disk, and the sixth hard disk
together store data for a second file system. The routine 1300 may
further perform a parity replication on the second, fourth, and
sixth hard disks. In an embodiment, the second data storage
computer may continue to receive I/O requests for the second hard
disk even after a failure of the first hard disk given that each
hard disk is associated with a different file system. Furthermore,
the third and/or fifth hard disks may be able to service any I/O
requests intended for the first hard disk given the parity
replication.
Process for Displaying User Interface Depicting Failing Disks
[0369] FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram illustrative of embodiments of
a routine 1400 implemented by the storage manager 140 for
generating a user interface that displays a location of a failing
secondary storage device disk. The elements outlined for routine
1400 may be implemented by one or more components that are
associated with the storage manager 140. For example, routine 1400
can be implemented by any one, or a combination of the operating
system of the storage manager 140, an application running on the
storage manager 140, and the like. Accordingly, routine 1400 has
been logically associated as being generally performed by the
storage manager 140, and thus the following illustrative embodiment
should not construed as limiting.
[0370] At block 1402, the routine 1400 receives an indication that
a disk of a first secondary storage device is failing and a unique
identifier associated with the disk of the first secondary storage
device. The routine 1400 may receive the indication from a media
agent 144 that periodically monitors the health status of disks in
the secondary storage device 108.
[0371] At block 1404, the routine 1400 identifies a location of the
disk of the first secondary storage device based on the unique
identifier. For example, the management database 146 may store the
unique identifiers of disks in secondary storage devices and
location of such disks.
[0372] At block 1406, the routine 1400 generates user interface
data that causes a user device to display a user interface
depicting a location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device. For example, the user interface can graphically indicate a
bay and a slot in the bay in which the disk of the first secondary
storage device is located.
Example Embodiments
[0373] One aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, where the first data storage computer
is a first control node configured to manage first deduplication
information stored in a first deduplication database and direct
read and write requests to secondary nodes, and where the first
data storage computer manages first data in a secondary storage
device; a second data storage computer comprising computer
hardware, where the second data storage computer is installed in
the networked information management system after the first data
storage computer; and a storage manager comprising computer
hardware configured to: detect that the second data storage
computer is installed in the networked information management
system, determine whether the second data storage computer is a
second control node or a first secondary node based on computing
resources available to the second data storage computer, partition
the secondary storage device such that a first portion of the
secondary storage device is assigned to the first data storage
computer and a second portion of the secondary storage device is
assigned to the second data storage computer, and instruct the
first data storage computer to replicate the first data and
transmit the replicated first data to the second data storage
computer for storage in the second portion of the secondary storage
device.
[0374] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can have any sub-combination of the following features:
where the first data storage computer is configured with a
deduplication policy and a storage policy, and where the storage
manager is further configured to configure the second data storage
computer with the deduplication policy and the storage policy;
where the second data storage computer is the second control node,
and where the storage manager is further configured to instruct the
first data storage computer to replicate the first deduplication
information and transmit the replicated first deduplication
information to the second data storage computer for storage in a
second deduplication database; where the networked information
management system further comprises a third data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, where the third data storage computer
is a second secondary node, where a third portion of the secondary
storage device is assigned to the third data storage computer, and
where the third portion comprises the replicated first data and
replicated second data corresponding to the second data storage
computer; where the second data storage computer is the first
secondary node, where the second data storage computer is
unavailable, and where the storage manager is further configured
to: receive a read request intended for the second data storage
computer, and transmit the read request to the first data storage
computer, where the first data storage computer routes the read
request to the third data storage computer instead of the second
data storage computer such that the third data storage computer can
retrieve a portion of the replicated second data that corresponds
with the read request; and where the second portion of the
secondary storage device comprises a third portion allocated to the
first data storage computer and a fourth portion allocated to the
second data storage computer, and wherein the replicated first data
is stored in the third portion.
[0375] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for automatically configuring installed
data storage computers. The computer-implemented method comprises:
detecting that a first data storage computer is installed in a
networked information management system, wherein the first data
storage computer is a first control node configured to manage first
deduplication information stored in a first deduplication database
and direct read and write requests to secondary nodes, and wherein
the first data storage computer manages first data in a secondary
storage device; detecting that a second data storage computer is
installed in the networked information management system, wherein
the second data storage computer is installed in the networked
information management system after the first data storage
computer; determining whether the second data storage computer is a
second control node or a first secondary node based on computing
resources available to the second data storage computer;
partitioning the secondary storage device such that a first portion
of the secondary storage device is assigned to the first data
storage computer and a second portion of the secondary storage
device is assigned to the second data storage computer; and
instructing the first data storage computer to replicate the first
data and transmit the replicated first data to the second data
storage computer for storage in the second portion of the secondary
storage device.
[0376] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the first data storage computer is configured with a deduplication
policy and a storage policy, and wherein the computer-implemented
method further comprises configuring the second data storage
computer with the deduplication policy and the storage policy;
where the second data storage computer is the second control node,
and wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises
instructing the first data storage computer to replicate the first
deduplication information and transmit the replicated first
deduplication information to the second data storage computer for
storage in a second deduplication database; where the second
deduplication database comprises a third portion allocated to the
first data storage computer and a fourth portion allocated to the
second data storage computer, and wherein the replicated first
deduplication information is stored in the third portion of the
second deduplication database; where the replicated first
deduplication information comprises at least one of a data block
signature, a storage location of a data block, or a count of a
number of times the data block is used; where a third data storage
computer is a second secondary node, wherein a third portion of the
secondary storage device is assigned to the third data storage
computer, and wherein the third portion comprises the replicated
first data and replicated second data corresponding to the second
data storage computer; where the second data storage computer is
the first secondary node, wherein the second data storage computer
is unavailable, and wherein the computer-implemented method further
comprises: receiving a read request intended for the second data
storage computer, and transmitting the read request to the first
data storage computer, wherein the first data storage computer
routes the read request to the third data storage computer instead
of the second data storage computer such that the third data
storage computer can retrieve a portion of the replicated second
data that corresponds with the read request; and where the second
portion of the secondary storage device comprises a third portion
allocated to the first data storage computer and a fourth portion
allocated to the second data storage computer, and wherein the
replicated first data is stored in the third portion.
[0377] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is a first control node configured to manage first
deduplication information stored in a first deduplication database
and direct read and write requests to secondary nodes, and wherein
the first data storage computer manages first data in a secondary
storage device; a second data storage computer comprising computer
hardware; and a storage manager comprising computer hardware
configured to: detect that the second data storage computer is
installed in the networked information management system, determine
that the second data storage computer is a second control node
based on computing resources available to the second data storage
computer, partition the secondary storage device such that a first
portion of the secondary storage device is assigned to the first
data storage computer and a second portion of the secondary storage
device is assigned to the second data storage computer, instruct
the first data storage computer to replicate the first data,
receive the replicated first data, and transmit the replicated
first data to the second data storage computer for storage in the
second portion of the secondary storage device.
[0378] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first data storage computer is configured with
a deduplication policy and a storage policy, and wherein the
storage manager is further configured to configure the second data
storage computer with the deduplication policy and the storage
policy; the storage manager is further configured to: instruct the
first data storage computer to replicate the first deduplication
information, receive the replicated first deduplication
information, and transmit the replicated first deduplication
information to the second data storage computer for storage in a
second deduplication database; and where the second deduplication
database comprises a third portion allocated to the first data
storage computer and a fourth portion allocated to the second data
storage computer, and wherein the replicated first deduplication
information is stored in the third portion of the second
deduplication database.
[0379] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to process input/output (I/O) requests
corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is stored in a
first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein a
replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first data stored in
the first partition and the replication of the second data stored
in the second partition; a second data storage computer comprising
computer hardware, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition and the second data stored in the fourth partition; and a
storage manager comprising computer hardware configured to: detect
that the second data storage computer has failed, receive a first
I/O request corresponding to the second data, and send the first
I/O request to the first data storage computer in place of the
second data storage computer in response to detecting that the
second data storage computer has failed, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to process the first I/O request
using the replication of the second data stored in the second
partition.
[0380] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first I/O request is a read request; where the
first data storage computer is further configured to retrieve a
portion of the replication of the second data stored in the second
partition corresponding to the read request; where the first I/O
request is a write request that comprises a first data block; where
the first data storage computer is further configured to write the
first data block to the second partition for inclusion in the
replication of the second data; where the first data storage
computer is further configured to process the first I/O request
using the replication of the second data and a replication of
deduplication information associated with the second data storage
computer; where the replication of the deduplication information
comprises at least one of a data block signature, a storage
location of a data block, or a count of a number of times the data
block is used; and where the first data storage computer is not
configured to access the second data stored in the fourth
partition.
[0381] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for automatically configuring installed
data storage computers. The computer-implemented method comprises:
determining a presence of a first data storage computer and a
second data storage computer, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to process input/output (I/O) requests
corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is stored in a
first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein a
replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first data stored in
the first partition and the replication of the second data stored
in the second partition; detecting that the second data storage
computer has failed, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition and the second data stored in the fourth partition;
receiving a first I/O request corresponding to the second data; and
sending the first I/O request to the first data storage computer in
place of the second data storage computer in response to detecting
that the second data storage computer has failed in a manner that
causes the first data storage computer to process the first I/O
request using the replication of the second data stored in the
second partition.
[0382] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the first I/O request is a read request; where sending the first
I/O request to the first data storage computer further comprises
sending the first I/O request to the first data storage computer in
a manner that causes the first data storage computer to access a
portion of the replication of the second data stored in the second
partition corresponding to the read request; where the first I/O
request is a write request that comprises a first data block; where
sending the first I/O request to the first data storage computer
further comprises sending the first I/O request to the first data
storage computer in a manner that causes the first data storage
computer to write the first data block to the second partition for
inclusion in the replication of the second data; where sending the
first I/O request to the first data storage computer further
comprises sending the first I/O request to the first data storage
computer in a manner that causes the first data storage computer to
process the first I/O request using the replication of the second
data and a replication of deduplication information associated with
the second data storage computer; where the replication of the
deduplication information comprises at least one of a data block
signature, a storage location of a data block, or a count of a
number of times the data block is used; and where the first data
storage computer is not configured to access the second data stored
in the fourth partition.
[0383] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to process input/output (I/O) requests
corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is stored in a
first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein a
replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first partition and
the second partition; a second data storage computer comprising
computer hardware, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the third partition and the fourth partition; and a
storage manager comprising computer hardware configured to: detect
that the second data storage computer has failed, and send a first
I/O request corresponding to the second data to the first data
storage computer in place of the second data storage computer in
response to detecting that the second data storage computer has
failed, wherein the first data storage computer is configured to
process the first I/O request using the replication of the second
data stored in the second partition.
[0384] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first data storage computer is further
configured to process the first I/O request using the replication
of the second data and a replication of deduplication information
associated with the second data storage computer; where the
replication of the deduplication information comprises at least one
of a data block signature, a storage location of a data block, or a
count of a number of times the data block is used; and where the
first data storage computer is not configured to access the second
data stored in the fourth partition.
[0385] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to manage first deduplication information
stored in a first deduplication database, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to process input/output (I/O)
requests corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is
stored in a first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein
a replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first data stored in
the first partition and the replication of the second data stored
in the second partition; a second data storage computer comprising
computer hardware, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition and the second data stored in the fourth partition; and a
storage manager comprising computer hardware configured to: detect
that the second data storage computer is installed in the networked
information management system, instruct the first data storage
computer to replicate the first deduplication information and
transmit the replicated first deduplication information to the
second data storage computer for storage in a second deduplication
database, detect that the first data storage computer has failed,
receive a first I/O request corresponding to the first data, and
send the first I/O request to the second data storage computer in
place of the first data storage computer in response to detecting
that the first data storage computer has failed, wherein the second
data storage computer is configured to process the first I/O
request using at least one of the replication of the first data
stored in the third partition or the replicated first deduplication
information stored in the second deduplication database.
[0386] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first I/O request is a read request; where the
second data storage computer is further configured to retrieve a
portion of the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition corresponding to the read request; where the first I/O
request is a write request that comprises a first data block; where
the second data storage computer is further configured to:
determine that the first data block is a duplicate of another data
block included in the replication of the first data using the
replicated first deduplication information, replace the first data
block with a link to the another data block, and write the link to
the third partition; where the replicated first deduplication
information comprises at least one of a data block signature, a
storage location of a data block, or a count of a number of times
the data block is used; where the second data storage computer is
not configured to access the first data stored in the first
partition; and where the second deduplication database comprises a
fifth partition and a sixth partition, and wherein the replicated
first deduplication information is stored in the fifth partition
and second deduplication information corresponding to the second
data storage computer is stored in the sixth partition.
[0387] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for automatically configuring installed
data storage computers. The computer-implemented method comprises:
determining a presence of a first data storage computer, wherein
the first data storage computer is configured to manage first
deduplication information stored in a first deduplication database,
wherein the first data storage computer is configured to process
input/output (I/O) requests corresponding to first data, wherein
the first data is stored in a first partition of a secondary
storage device, wherein a replication of second data is stored in a
second partition of the secondary storage device, and wherein the
first data storage computer is further configured to access the
first data stored in the first partition and the replication of the
second data stored in the second partition; detecting that a second
data storage computer is installed, wherein the second data storage
computer is configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the
second data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a
third partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second
data is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage
device, and wherein the second data storage computer is further
configured to access the replication of the first data stored in
the third partition and the second data stored in the fourth
partition; instructing the first data storage computer to replicate
the first deduplication information and transmit the replicated
first deduplication information to the second data storage computer
for storage in a second deduplication database; detecting that the
first data storage computer has failed; receiving a first I/O
request corresponding to the first data; and sending the first I/O
request to the second data storage computer in place of the first
data storage computer in response to detecting that the first data
storage computer has failed in a manner that causes the second data
storage computer to process the first I/O request using at least
one of the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition or the replicated first deduplication information stored
in the second deduplication database.
[0388] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the first I/O request is a read request; where sending the first
I/O request to the second data storage computer further comprises
sending the first I/O request to the second data storage computer
in a manner that causes the second data storage computer to
retrieve a portion of the replication of the first data stored in
the third partition corresponding to the read request; where the
first I/O request is a write request that comprises a first data
block; where sending the first I/O request to the second data
storage computer further comprises sending the first I/O request to
the second data storage computer in a manner that causes the second
data storage computer to: determine that the first data block is a
duplicate of another data block included in the replication of the
first data using the replicated first deduplication information,
replace the first data block with a link to the another data block,
and write the link to the third partition; where the replicated
first deduplication information comprises at least one of a data
block signature, a storage location of a data block, or a count of
a number of times the data block is used; where the second data
storage computer is not configured to access the first data stored
in the first partition; and where the second deduplication database
comprises a fifth partition and a sixth partition, and wherein the
replicated first deduplication information is stored in the fifth
partition and second deduplication information corresponding to the
second data storage computer is stored in the sixth partition.
[0389] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to manage first deduplication information
stored in a first deduplication database, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to process input/output (I/O)
requests corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is
stored in a first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein
a replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first partition and
the second partition; a second data storage computer comprising
computer hardware, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the third partition and the fourth partition; and a
storage manager comprising computer hardware configured to: detect
that the second data storage computer is installed in the networked
information management system, instruct the first data storage
computer to replicate the first deduplication information and
transmit the replicated first deduplication information to the
second data storage computer for storage in a second deduplication
database, detect that the first data storage computer has failed,
and send a first I/O request corresponding to the first data to the
second data storage computer in place of the first data storage
computer in response to detecting that the first data storage
computer has failed, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process the first I/O request using at least one of
the replication of the first data stored in the third partition or
the replicated first deduplication information stored in the second
deduplication database.
[0390] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first I/O request is a write request that
comprises a first data block; where the second data storage
computer is further configured to: determine that the first data
block is a duplicate of another data block included in the
replication of the first data using the replicated first
deduplication information, replace the first data block with a link
to the another data block, and write the link to the third
partition; and where the second data storage computer is not
configured to access the first data stored in the first
partition.
[0391] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising computer hardware, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to manage first deduplication information
stored in a first deduplication database, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to process input/output (I/O)
requests corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is
stored in a first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein
a replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first data stored in
the first partition and the replication of the second data stored
in the second partition; a second data storage computer comprising
computer hardware, wherein the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition and the second data stored in the fourth partition; and a
storage manager comprising computer hardware configured to: detect
that the first data storage computer has failed, receive a first
I/O request corresponding to the first data, instruct the second
data storage computer to reconstruct the first deduplication
information using the replication of the first data stored in the
third partition, and send the first I/O request to the second data
storage computer in place of the first data storage computer in
response to detecting that the first data storage computer has
failed, wherein the second data storage computer is configured to
process the first I/O request using at least one of the replication
of the first data stored in the third partition or the
reconstructed first deduplication information.
[0392] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the first I/O request is a read request; where the
second data storage computer is further configured to retrieve a
portion of the replication of the first data stored in the third
partition corresponding to the read request; where the first I/O
request is a write request that comprises a first data block; where
the second data storage computer is further configured to:
determine that the first data block is a duplicate of another data
block included in the replication of the first data using the
reconstructed first deduplication information, replace the first
data block with a link to the another data block, and write the
link to the third partition; where the reconstructed first
deduplication information comprises at least one of a data block
signature, a storage location of a data block, or a count of a
number of times the data block is used; where the second data
storage computer is not configured to access the first data stored
in the first partition; where the second data storage computer is
configured to: retrieve the replication of the first data stored in
the third partition, parse the replication of the first data to
identify a first data block and a first link, generate a signature
for the first data block, store the signature of the first data
block and a storage location of the first data block in the third
partition in a second deduplication database, identify a number of
times the first data block is used using the first link, and store
the number of times the first data block is used in the second
deduplication database; where the first I/O request is a write
request that comprises a second data block, and wherein the second
data storage computer is configured to: generate a signature of the
second data block, compare the signature of the second data block
with the signature of the first data block, and store the second
data block in the third partition in response to a determination
that the signature of the second data block does not match the
signature of the first data block; and where the first I/O request
is a write request that comprises a second data block, and wherein
the second data storage computer is configured to: generate a
signature of the second data block, compare the signature of the
second data block with the signature of the first data block, and
store a link to the first data block in the third partition in
place of the second data block in response to a determination that
the signature of the second data block matches the signature of the
first data block.
[0393] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for automatically configuring installed
data storage computers. The computer-implemented method comprises:
detecting a presence of a first data storage computer and a second
data storage computer, wherein the first data storage computer is
configured to manage first deduplication information stored in a
first deduplication database, wherein the first data storage
computer is configured to process input/output (I/O) requests
corresponding to first data, wherein the first data is stored in a
first partition of a secondary storage device, wherein a
replication of second data is stored in a second partition of the
secondary storage device, and wherein the first data storage
computer is further configured to access the first partition and
the second partition, where the second data storage computer is
configured to process I/O requests corresponding to the second
data, wherein a replication of the first data is stored in a third
partition of the secondary storage device, wherein the second data
is stored in a fourth partition of the secondary storage device,
and wherein the second data storage computer is further configured
to access the third partition and the fourth partition; detecting
that the first data storage computer has failed; receiving a first
I/O request corresponding to the first data; instructing the second
data storage computer to reconstruct the first deduplication
information using the replication of the first data stored in the
third partition; and sending the first I/O request to the second
data storage computer in place of the first data storage computer
in response to detecting that the first data storage computer has
failed in a manner that causes the second data storage computer to
process the first I/O request using at least one of the replication
of the first data stored in the third partition or the
reconstructed first deduplication information.
[0394] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the first I/O request is a read request; where sending the first
I/O request to the second data storage computer further comprises
sending the first I/O request to the second data storage computer
in a manner that causes the second data storage computer to
retrieve a portion of the replication of the first data stored in
the third partition corresponding to the read request; where the
first I/O request is a write request that comprises a first data
block; where sending the first I/O request to the second data
storage computer further comprises sending the first I/O request to
the second data storage computer in a manner that causes the second
data storage computer to: determine that the first data block is a
duplicate of another data block included in the replication of the
first data using the reconstructed first deduplication information,
replace the first data block with a link to the another data block,
and write the link to the third partition; where the reconstructed
first deduplication information comprises at least one of a data
block signature, a storage location of a data block, or a count of
a number of times the data block is used; where the second data
storage computer is not configured to access the first data stored
in the first partition; where instructing the second data storage
computer to reconstruct the first deduplication information further
comprises instructing the second data storage computer to
reconstruct the first deduplication information in a manner that
causes the second data storage computer to: retrieve the
replication of the first data stored in the third partition, parse
the replication of the first data to identify a first data block
and a first link, generate a signature for the first data block,
store the signature of the first data block and a storage location
of the first data block in the third partition in a second
deduplication database, identify a number of times the first data
block is used using the first link, and store the number of times
the first data block is used in the second deduplication database;
where the first I/O request is a write request that comprises a
second data block, and wherein sending the first I/O request to the
second data storage computer further comprises sending the first
I/O request to the second data storage computer in a manner that
causes the second data storage computer to: generate a signature of
the second data block, compare the signature of the second data
block with the signature of the first data block, and store the
second data block in the third partition in response to a
determination that the signature of the second data block does not
match the signature of the first data block; where the first I/O
request is a write request that comprises a second data block, and
wherein sending the first I/O request to the second data storage
computer further comprises sending the first I/O request to the
second data storage computer in a manner that causes the second
data storage computer to: generate a signature of the second data
block, compare the signature of the second data block with the
signature of the first data block, and store a link to the first
data block in the third partition in place of the second data block
in response to a determination that the signature of the second
data block matches the signature of the first data block.
[0395] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first data storage computer
comprising first computer hardware; a first secondary storage
device managed by the first data storage computer, wherein the
first secondary storage device comprises a first hard disk and a
second hard disk; a second data storage computer comprising second
computer hardware; a second secondary storage device managed by the
second data storage computer, wherein the second secondary storage
device comprises a third hard disk and a fourth hard disk; a third
data storage computer comprising third computer hardware, wherein
the third data storage computer is installed in the networked
information management system after the first data storage computer
and the second data storage computer; a third secondary storage
device managed by the third data storage computer, wherein the
third secondary storage devices comprises a fifth hard disk and a
sixth hard disk; and a storage manager comprising computer hardware
configured to: detect that the third data storage computer is
installed in the networked information management system, associate
the first hard disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth hard disk
such that the first hard disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth
hard disk together store data for a first file system, and
associate the second hard disk, the fourth hard disk, and the sixth
hard disk such that the second hard disk, the fourth hard disk, and
the sixth hard disk together store data for a second file system,
where the first data storage computer continues to receive
input/output (I/O) requests for the second hard disk after a
failure of the first hard disk.
[0396] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the storage manager is further configured to
redirect a first I/O request intended for the first data storage
computer and the first file system to one of the second data
storage computer or the third data storage computer after the
failure of the first hard disk; where the second data storage
computer is configured to process the first I/O request using the
third hard disk; where the third data storage computer is
configured to process the first I/O request using the fifth hard
disk; where the storage manager is further configured to direct a
first I/O request intended for the second file system to the first
data storage computer after the failure of the first hard disk,
after a failure of the fourth hard disk, or after a failure of the
sixth hard disk; where the failure of the first hard disk does not
result in a failure of the first data storage computer; and where
the storage manager is further configured to perform a parity
replication operation on the first, third, and fifth hard
disks.
[0397] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for automatically configuring installed
data storage computers. The computer-implemented method comprises:
detecting a presence of a first data storage computer and a second
data storage computer, wherein a first secondary storage device is
managed by the first data storage computer, wherein the first
secondary storage device comprises a first hard disk and a second
hard disk, wherein a second secondary storage device is managed by
the second data storage computer, and wherein the second secondary
storage device comprises a third hard disk and a fourth hard disk;
detecting that a third data storage computer is installed, wherein
the third data storage computer is installed after the first data
storage computer and the second data storage computer, wherein a
third secondary storage device is managed by the third data storage
computer, and wherein the third secondary storage devices comprises
a fifth hard disk and a sixth hard disk; associating the first hard
disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth hard disk such that the
first hard disk, the third hard disk, and the fifth hard disk
together store data for a first file system; and associating the
second hard disk, the fourth hard disk, and the sixth hard disk
such that the second hard disk, the fourth hard disk, and the sixth
hard disk together store data for a second file system.
[0398] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the method further comprises redirecting a first input/output (I/O)
request intended for the first data storage computer and the first
file system to one of the second data storage computer or the third
data storage computer after a failure of the first hard disk; where
the second data storage computer is configured to process the first
I/O request using the third hard disk; where the third data storage
computer is configured to process the first I/O request using the
fifth hard disk; where the method further comprises directing a
first input/output (I/O) request intended for the second file
system to the first data storage computer after at least one of a
failure of the first hard disk, a failure of the fourth hard disk,
or a failure of the sixth hard disk; where a failure of the first
hard disk does not result in a failure of the first data storage
computer; and where the method further comprises performing a
parity replication operation on the first, third, and fifth hard
disks.
[0399] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to automatically configure
installed data storage computers. The networked information
management system comprises: a first secondary storage device
managed by a first data storage computer, wherein the first
secondary storage device comprises a first hard disk and a second
hard disk; a second secondary storage device managed by a second
data storage computer, wherein the second secondary storage device
comprises a third hard disk and a fourth hard disk; a third
secondary storage device managed by a third data storage computer,
wherein the third secondary storage devices comprises a fifth hard
disk and a sixth hard disk; and a storage manager comprising
computer hardware configured to: detect that the third data storage
computer is installed in the networked information management
system, associate the first hard disk, the third hard disk, and the
fifth hard disk such that the first hard disk, the third hard disk,
and the fifth hard disk together store data for a first file
system, and associate the second hard disk, the fourth hard disk,
and the sixth hard disk such that the second hard disk, the fourth
hard disk, and the sixth hard disk together store data for a second
file system.
[0400] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the storage manager is further configured to
redirect a first I/O request intended for the first data storage
computer and the first file system to one of the second data
storage computer or the third data storage computer after a failure
of the first hard disk; where the second data storage computer is
configured to process the first I/O request using the third hard
disk; where the third data storage computer is configured to
process the first I/O request using the fifth hard disk; where the
storage manager is further configured to direct a first I/O request
intended for the second file system to the first data storage
computer after at least one of a failure of the first hard disk, a
failure of the fourth hard disk, or a failure of the sixth hard
disk; and where the storage manager is further configured to
perform a parity replication operation on the first, third, and
fifth hard disks.
[0401] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to identify disk failures.
The networked information management system comprises: a first
secondary storage device comprising a disk; a first data storage
computer comprising first computer hardware, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to: transmit a write request to the
first secondary storage device, wherein the write request comprises
a request to write first data to the disk of the first secondary
storage device, transmit a read request to the first secondary
storage device, wherein the read request comprises a request to
read the first data from the disk of the first secondary storage
device, and determine that the disk of the first secondary storage
device is failing based on results received from the first
secondary storage device in response to the read request, wherein
the results comprise a unique identifier of the disk of the first
secondary storage device; and a storage manager comprising second
computer hardware configured to: receive, from the first data
storage computer, an indication that the disk of the first
secondary storage device is failing and the unique identifier,
identify a location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device based on the unique identifier, generate user interface data
that causes a user device to display a user interface, wherein the
user interface data comprises a graphical representation of
locations of the disk of the first secondary storage device and
other disks of the first secondary storage device, and wherein the
user interface data comprises a notification identifying the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device in the
graphical representation, and transmit the user interface data to
the user device.
[0402] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device comprises an indication of a bay and a slot in the
bay in which the disk of the first secondary storage device is
located; where the notification comprises at least one of a marking
identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device or text identifying the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device; where the method further comprises a
management database configured to store the unique identifier of
the disk of the first secondary storage device and a location of
the disk of the first secondary storage device; where the storage
manager is further configured to query the management database
using the unique identifier received from the first data storage
computer to identify the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device; where the user interface data further
comprises text that instructs a user to replace the disk of the
first secondary storage device; where the first data storage
computer is further configured to periodically check a status of
the first secondary storage device; and where the unique identifier
comprises a serial number of the disk of the first secondary
storage device.
[0403] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a
computer-implemented method for identifying disk failures. The
computer-implemented method comprises: receiving, from a first data
storage computer, an indication that a disk of a first secondary
storage device is failing and a unique identifier of the disk of
the first secondary storage device; identifying a location of the
disk of the first secondary storage device based on the unique
identifier; generating user interface data that causes a user
device to display a user interface, wherein the user interface data
comprises a graphical representation of locations of the disk of
the first secondary storage device and other disks of the first
secondary storage device, and wherein the user interface data
comprises a notification identifying the location of the disk of
the first secondary storage device in the graphical representation;
and transmitting the user interface data to the user device.
[0404] The computer-implemented method of the preceding paragraph
can include any sub-combination of the following features: where
the location of the disk of the first secondary storage device
comprises an indication of a bay and a slot in the bay in which the
disk of the first secondary storage device is located; where the
notification comprises at least one of a marking identifying the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device or text
identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device; where a management database is configured to store the
unique identifier of the disk of the first secondary storage device
and a location of the disk of the first secondary storage device;
where identifying a location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device further comprises querying the management database
using the unique identifier received from the first data storage
computer to identify the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device; where the user interface data further
comprises text that instructs a user to replace the disk of the
first secondary storage device; where the method further comprises
receiving an indication that the disk of the first secondary
storage device is replaced with a second disk, and instructing the
first secondary storage device to perform a repair operation on the
second disk in response to receiving the indication that the disk
of the first secondary storage device is replaced with the second
disk; where the method further comprises receiving an indication
that the disk of the first secondary storage device is replaced
with a second disk, and modifying the user interface data to remove
the notification identifying the location of the disk of the first
secondary storage device in the graphical representation in
response to receiving the indication that the disk of the first
secondary storage device is replaced with the second disk; where
receiving an indication that a disk of a first secondary storage
device is failing further comprises receiving the indication that
the disk of the first secondary storage device is failing as a
result of a periodic check of a status of the disk of the first
secondary storage device by the first data storage computer; and
where the unique identifier comprises a serial number of the disk
of the first secondary storage device.
[0405] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a networked
information management system configured to identify disk failures.
The networked information management system comprises: a first
secondary storage device comprising a disk; a first data storage
computer comprising first computer hardware, wherein the first data
storage computer is configured to receive an indication that the
disk of the first secondary storage device is failing as a result
of a periodic status check performed by the disk of the first
secondary storage device; and a storage manager comprising second
computer hardware configured to: receive, from the first data
storage computer, the indication that the disk of the first
secondary storage device is failing and a unique identifier
associated with the disk of the first secondary storage device,
identify a location of the disk of the first secondary storage
device based on the unique identifier, generate user interface data
that causes a user device to display a user interface, wherein the
user interface data comprises a graphical representation of
locations of the disk of the first secondary storage device and
other disks of the first secondary storage device, and wherein the
user interface data comprises a notification identifying the
location of the disk of the first secondary storage device in the
graphical representation, and transmit the user interface data to
the user device.
[0406] The networked information management system of the preceding
paragraph can include any sub-combination of the following
features: where the notification comprises at least one of a
marking identifying the location of the disk of the first secondary
storage device or text identifying the location of the disk of the
first secondary storage device.
[0407] In other embodiments, a system or systems may operate
according to one or more of the methods and/or computer-readable
media recited in the preceding paragraphs. In yet other
embodiments, a method or methods may operate according to one or
more of the systems and/or computer-readable media recited in the
preceding paragraphs. In yet more embodiments, a computer-readable
medium or media, excluding transitory propagating signals, may
cause one or more computing devices having one or more processors
and non-transitory computer-readable memory to operate according to
one or more of the systems and/or methods recited in the preceding
paragraphs.
Terminology
[0408] Conditional language, such as, among others, "can," "could,"
"might," or "may," unless specifically stated otherwise, or
otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally
intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other
embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or
steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to
imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required
for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments
necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input
or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are
included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
[0409] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout
the description and the claims, the words "comprise," "comprising,"
and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed
to an exclusive or exhaustive sense, i.e., in the sense of
"including, but not limited to." As used herein, the terms
"connected," "coupled," or any variant thereof means any connection
or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more
elements; the coupling or connection between the elements can be
physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the
words "herein," "above," "below," and words of similar import, when
used in this application, refer to this application as a whole and
not to any particular portions of this application. Where the
context permits, words using the singular or plural number may also
include the plural or singular number respectively. The word "or"
in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the
following interpretations of the word: any one of the items in the
list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the
items in the list. Likewise the term "and/or" in reference to a
list of two or more items, covers all of the following
interpretations of the word: any one of the items in the list, all
of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the
list.
[0410] In some embodiments, certain operations, acts, events, or
functions of any of the algorithms described herein can be
performed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left
out altogether (e.g., not all are necessary for the practice of the
algorithms). In certain embodiments, operations, acts, functions,
or events can be performed concurrently, e.g., through
multi-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or multiple
processors or processor cores or on other parallel architectures,
rather than sequentially.
[0411] Systems and modules described herein may comprise software,
firmware, hardware, or any combination(s) of software, firmware, or
hardware suitable for the purposes described. Software and other
modules may reside and execute on servers, workstations, personal
computers, computerized tablets, PDAs, and other computing devices
suitable for the purposes described herein. Software and other
modules may be accessible via local computer memory, via a network,
via a browser, or via other means suitable for the purposes
described herein. Data structures described herein may comprise
computer files, variables, programming arrays, programming
structures, or any electronic information storage schemes or
methods, or any combinations thereof, suitable for the purposes
described herein. User interface elements described herein may
comprise elements from graphical user interfaces, interactive voice
response, command line interfaces, and other suitable
interfaces.
[0412] Further, processing of the various components of the
illustrated systems can be distributed across multiple machines,
networks, and other computing resources. Two or more components of
a system can be combined into fewer components. Various components
of the illustrated systems can be implemented in one or more
virtual machines, rather than in dedicated computer hardware
systems and/or computing devices. Likewise, the data repositories
shown can represent physical and/or logical data storage,
including, e.g., storage area networks or other distributed storage
systems. Moreover, in some embodiments the connections between the
components shown represent possible paths of data flow, rather than
actual connections between hardware. While some examples of
possible connections are shown, any of the subset of the components
shown can communicate with any other subset of components in
various implementations.
[0413] Embodiments are also described above with reference to flow
chart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus
(systems) and computer program products. Each block of the flow
chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of
blocks in the flow chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may
be implemented by computer program instructions. Such instructions
may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, specially-equipped computer (e.g.,
comprising a high-performance database server, a graphics
subsystem, etc.) or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor(s) of the computer or other programmable data
processing apparatus, create means for implementing the acts
specified in the flow chart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
non-transitory computer-readable memory that can direct a computer
or other programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a
particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the
computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture
including instruction means which implement the acts specified in
the flow chart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer
program instructions may also be loaded to a computing device or
other programmable data processing apparatus to cause operations to
be performed on the computing device or other programmable
apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the
instructions which execute on the computing device or other
programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the acts
specified in the flow chart and/or block diagram block or
blocks.
[0414] Any patents and applications and other references noted
above, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing
papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the
invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems,
functions, and concepts of the various references described above
to provide yet further implementations of the invention. These and
other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above
Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain
examples of the invention, and describes the best mode
contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the
invention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may
vary considerably in its specific implementation, while still being
encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,
particular terminology used when describing certain features or
aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the
terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any
specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention
with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms
used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the
invention to the specific examples disclosed in the specification,
unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines
such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention
encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also all
equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under
the claims.
[0415] To reduce the number of claims, certain aspects of the
invention are presented below in certain claim forms, but the
applicant contemplates other aspects of the invention in any number
of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the invention
is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C sec.
112(f) (AIA), other aspects may likewise be embodied as a
means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being
embodied in a computer-readable medium. Any claims intended to be
treated under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112(f) will begin with the words
"means for", but use of the term "for" in any other context is not
intended to invoke treatment under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112(f).
Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to pursue additional
claims after filing this application, in either this application or
in a continuing application.
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