Data storage management operations in a secondary storage subsystem using image recognition and image-based criteria

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a storage manager comprising one or more processors and associated computer memory, cause the storage manager to perform operations based on different image-based criteria, the operations comprising:

• evaluating an image-based criterion for performing one or more storage-management operations upon secondary copies stored in secondary storage of a storage management system managed by the storage manager,
• wherein the image-based criterion comprises an identifier of a first person and a first type of image among a plurality of image types,
• wherein a content policy specifies the image-based criterion and the one or more storage-management operations,
• wherein the secondary copies are based on primary data, and
• wherein each secondary copy comprises one or more images and is in a secondary-copy format that differs from a format of the primary data, and wherein each image is visually perceivable by a human viewer;
• determining whether any thumbnail representations indexed in an image index are of the first type of image and are associated with the first person,
• wherein the image index is stored in a management database associated with the storage manager, which is distinct from the secondary storage,
• wherein the image index tracks thumbnail representations generated from images in the secondary copies,
• wherein the thumbnail representations in the image index are classified into the plurality of image types, and
• wherein the image index comprises associations between each thumbnail representation and respective one or more persons represented thereby, and further comprises associations between each secondary copy and one or more of the thumbnail representations;
• identifying, based on the image index, first secondary copies stored in the secondary storage that satisfy the image-based criterion,
• wherein the identifying is performed without accessing the first secondary copies or any other secondary copies in the secondary storage;
• and
• initiating the one or more storage-management operations to be applied to the first secondary copies, and wherein the storage manager does not initiate the one or more storage-management operations for other secondary copies that according to the image index are one or more of:
• associated with other than the first person, and associated with other than the first type.

A data storage management system for performing storage-management operations based on different types of images in secondary copies, the system comprising:

• secondary storage devices storing secondary copies of primary data, wherein each secondary copy is in a format that differs from a format of the primary data, and wherein each secondary copy comprises one or more images that are visually perceivable by a human viewer;
• a first computing device comprising one or more processors and associated computer memory for storing computer-executable instructions, and further comprising mass storage for storing data;
• wherein the first computing device is programmed to:
• index thumbnail representations generated from images in the secondary copies into an image index,
• store the image index in the mass storage, wherein the image index comprises associations between thumbnail representations representing persons and respective personal identifiers of the represented persons,
• classify the thumbnail representations representing persons into image types, including a first type and a second type,
• associate each secondary copy with one or more of the thumbnail representations,
• use the image index without accessing the secondary storage devices to identify first secondary copies in the secondary storage devices that comprise one or more images of the first type and associated with a first personal identifier, and
• use the image index without accessing the secondary storage devices to identify second secondary copies in the secondary storage devices that comprise one or more images of the second type and associated with the first personal identifier;
• a second computing device comprising one or more processors and associated computer memory for storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the second computing device is programmed to:
• perform a first storage-management operation upon the first secondary copies that comprise one or more images of the first type and associated with the first personal identifier, and
• perform a second storage-management operation upon the second secondary copies that comprise one or more images of the second type and associated with the first personal identifier,
• wherein the second storage-management operation differs from the first storage-management operation;
• and
• wherein the data storage management system applies different storage-management operations to secondary copies comprising different types of image even if associated with the same personal identifier.