Comingling conventional and backup volumes in tiered storage systems

A computer program product for efficiently managing extents of backup volumes in a tiered storage system, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied therein, the computer-usable program code configured to perform the following when executed by at least one processor:

• identify a lifespan associated with a backup volume, the lifespan indicating how long extents of the backup volume are retained in a tiered storage system before they are released;
• assign a temperature value to the extents, the temperature value determining where the extents are stored in the tiered storage system;
• utilize the lifespan to determine the temperature value, wherein the temperature value is inversely proportional to the lifespan;
• and
• place the extents on tiers of the tiered storage system in accordance with their temperature value, such that higher temperature extents are placed on higher tiers of the tiered storage system, and lower temperature extents are placed on lower tiers of the tiered storage system.

A system for efficiently managing extents of backup volumes, the system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• at least one memory device operably coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions for execution on the at least one processor, the instructions causing the at least one processor to:
• identify a lifespan associated with a backup volume, the lifespan indicating how long extents of the backup volume are retained in a tiered storage system before they are released;
• assign a temperature value to the extents, the temperature value determining where the extents are stored in the tiered storage system;
• utilize the lifespan to determine the temperature value, wherein the temperature value is inversely proportional to the lifespan;
• and
• place the extents on tiers of the tiered storage system in accordance with their temperature value, such that higher temperature extents are placed on higher tiers of the tiered storage system, and lower temperature extents are placed on lower tiers of the tiered storage system.