Inter-cloud shared content data management

A method comprising:

• receiving a request to store a content object on a first storage facility on a first cloud of a data warehouse spanning the first storage facility on the first cloud and a second storage facility on a second cloud, wherein the first cloud comprises at least a first controller, the first storage facility, and first deduplication metadata, the request to store the content object is received by the first controller, the content object comprises at least one candidate deduplication chunk, and the second cloud comprises at least a second controller, the second storage facility, and second deduplication metadata;
• responsive to receipt of the request to store the content object comprising the at least one candidate deduplication chunk:
• transmitting, by the first controller on the first cloud, a first message to the second controller on the second cloud as part of an inter-cloud deduplication protocol, wherein the inter-cloud deduplication protocol exchanges one or more messages between the first controller on the first cloud and the second controller on the second cloud to determine whether a candidate deduplication chunk of a data item is already stored in the second storage facility on the second cloud;
• receiving, at the first controller on the first cloud, a second message from the second controller on the second cloud as part of the inter-cloud deduplication protocol, wherein the second message indicates that the candidate deduplication chunk of the data item is already stored in the second storage facility on the second cloud;
• and
• storing, by the first controller on the first cloud, a reference to a second location at the second cloud as an already stored location of a bit sequence corresponding to the candidate deduplication chunk in response to the second message from the second controller on the second cloud.

A system comprising:

• a storage medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions;
• and
• a processor that executes the sequence of instructions to cause the processor to perform acts comprising,
• receiving a request to store a content object on a first storage facility on a first cloud of a data warehouse spanning the first storage facility on the first cloud and a second storage facility on a second cloud, wherein the first cloud comprises at least a first controller, the first storage facility, and first deduplication metadata, the request to store the content object is received by the first controller, the content object comprises at least one candidate deduplication chunk, and the second cloud comprises at least a second controller, the second storage facility, and second deduplication metadata;
• responsive to receipt of the request to store the content object comprising the at least one candidate deduplication chunk:
• transmitting, by the first controller on the first cloud, a first message to the second controller on the second cloud as part of initiating an inter-cloud deduplication protocol, wherein the inter-cloud deduplication protocol exchanges one or more messages between the first controller on the first public cloud and the second controller the second storage facility on the second publie-cloud to determine whether a candidate deduplication chunk of a data item is already stored in the second storage facility on the second cloud;
• receiving, at the first controller on the first cloud, a second message from the second controller on the second cloud as part of the inter-cloud deduplication protocol, wherein the second message indicates that the candidate deduplication chunk of the data item is already stored in the second storage facility on the second cloud;
• and
• storing, by the first controller on the first cloud, a reference to a second location at the second publie-cloud as an already stored location of a bit sequence corresponding to the candidate deduplication chunk in response to the second message from the second controller on the second cloud.