US 11,238,173 B2Granted

Automated intelligent provisioning of data storage resources in response to user requests in a data storage management system

AssigneeCommvault Systems, Inc.

InventorsSudha Krishnan Iyer, Duncan Alden Littlefield

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Abstract

A data storage management system comprises enhanced capabilities for automatically discovering operational characteristics of data storage devices installed in the system. A user interface enables end-users to submit requests for storage resources ranging from a simple request for a certain amount of storage space to more complex requests that specify the type of storage technology, the manufacturer, the I/O speed of the storage device, etc. The end-user also may include an expiration timeframe for the requested storage space. The system identifies storage devices that are suitable to the end-user's request, automatically provisions the storage space (e.g., LUN), and assigns it to the requestor. The assigned storage space may automatically expire, based on user-requested or system-provided expiration timeframes. Expired storage space is returned to a logical pool of available resources so that it may be assigned in response to other requests. The system comprises special-purpose policies that govern which data storage devices may be used for users submitting requests and further specify other administrative constraints.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory, cause the computing device to:

execute a storage manager at the computing device, wherein the storage manager is configured to:
manage storage operations in a data storage management system;
cause a media agent to discover operational characteristics of data storage devices that are associated with the media agent, and to further discover allocated data storage space at the data storage devices,
wherein the media agent, which is in communication with the storage manager, executes on another computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory;
import from the media agent the discovered operational characteristics of, and the allocated data storage space at, the data storage devices;
generate a policy that governs provisioning more storage space at, and grant of access to, the data storage devices in response to requests for data storage resources submitted by users of the data storage management system;
receive a request for a first amount of data storage space to be accessed as a data storage resource by a client computing device,
wherein the request comprises an operational characteristic required of a data storage device providing the first amount of data storage space;
based on the policy, identify a first data storage device, from among the data storage devices that are associated with the media agent, that satisfies the first amount of data storage space and the operational characteristic in the request;
instruct the media agent to provision the first amount of data storage space in the first data storage device as the data storage resource for the client computing device;
and
manage storage operations for data stored by the client computing device at the data storage resource in the first data storage device, wherein the storage operations comprise at least one of:
(i) data movement operations, (ii) processing and data manipulation operations, and (iii) analysis, reporting, and management operations.

10 more elements

A method comprising:

by a storage manager that executes on a computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory, using a media agent in communication with the storage manager to discover operational characteristics of data storage devices that are associated with the media agent, and to further discover allocated data storage space at the data storage devices,
wherein the media agent executes on another computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory;
by the storage manager, importing from the media agent the discovered operational characteristics of, and the allocated data storage space at, the data storage devices;
by the storage manager, generating a policy that governs provisioning more storage space at, and granting of access to, the data storage devices in response to requests for data storage resources submitted by users of a data storage management system, which is managed by the storage manager;
by the storage manager, receiving a request for a first amount of data storage space to be accessed as a data storage resource by a client computing device,
wherein the request comprises an operational characteristic required of a data storage device providing the first amount of data storage space;
based on the policy, identifying by the storage manager a first data storage device, from among the data storage devices, that satisfies the request;
by the storage manager, instructing the media agent to provision the first amount of data storage space in the first data storage device as the data storage resource for the client computing device;
and
by the storage manager, managing storage operations for data stored by the client computing device at the data storage resource in the first data storage device, wherein the storage operations comprise at least one of:
(i) data movement operations, (ii) processing and data manipulation operations, and (iii) analysis, reporting, and management operations.

8 more elements

A data storage management system comprising:

a storage manager that executes on a computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory, wherein the storage manager manages storage operations in the data storage management system;
wherein the storage manager is programmed to:
use a media agent to discover operational characteristics of data storage devices that are associated with the media agent, and to further discover allocated data storage space at the data storage devices,
wherein the media agent executes on another computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and computer memory;
import from the media agent the discovered operational characteristics of, and the allocated data storage space at, the data storage devices;
generate a policy that governs provisioning more storage space at, and granting of access to, the data storage devices in response to requests submitted by users of the data storage management system, and wherein the policy limits access granted to the data storage devices and prevents access to other data storage devices in the data storage management system;
receive a request for a first amount of data storage space to be accessed as a data storage resource by a client computing device, wherein the request comprises an operational characteristic required of a data storage device providing the first amount of data storage space;
based on the policy, identify a first data storage device, from among the data storage devices, that satisfies the request;
instruct the media agent to provision the first amount of data storage space in the first data storage device as the data storage resource for the client computing device;
and
manage storage operations for data stored by the client computing device at the data storage resource in the first data storage device, wherein the storage operations comprise at least one of:
(i) data movement operations, (ii) processing and data manipulation operations, and (iii) analysis, reporting, and management operations.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/212,454Filed 6 Dec 2018 · continuation
Priority: 31 Aug 2015
Published: US 2019/0108360 A111 Apr 2019
Granted: 1 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G06F 21/6218
Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules: to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file…
G06F 3/0605
Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management: by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
G06F 3/0631
Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems: by allocating resources to storage systems
G06F 3/0665
Virtualisation aspects: at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes

Family

Application14/841,160Parent of this continuation · filed 31 Aug 2015
US 2019/0108360 A1Pre-grant publication · published 11 Apr 2019
US 10,192,065 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2017/0060918 A1Published application
US 11,238,173 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.