Smart auto-backup of virtual machines using a virtual proxy
AssigneeEMC IP Holding Company LLC
InventorsSuraj Dayanand Vithalkar, Paloth Parambil Shahid, Sharath Talkad Srinivasan
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Abstract
A method and system for implementing smart auto-backups of virtual machines using a virtual proxy. Specifically, the method and system disclosed herein overcome the potential for data loss when failure events transpire between schedule system-initiated backup operations. Data loss, more specifically, may be averted through the triggering of the smart auto-backups during the period of time elapsed between successive scheduled system-initiated backup operations. Further, the triggering may be based on the meeting of two criterion representative of an input-output (IO) operations threshold and an elapsed time threshold
Claims20
A method for backing up virtual machines, comprising:
- obtaining, for a virtual machine, a last backup timestamp (LBT);
- monitoring disk input-output (IO) operations generated by the virtual machine, to obtain an IO operations metric (IOM);
- making a first determination that the IOM exceeds an IO operations threshold (IOT);
- making a second determination that a difference in time between a current timestamp (CT) and the LBT exceeds an elapsed time threshold (ETT);
- and
- based on the first and second determinations:
- issuing a backup request to perform an auto-backup of the virtual machine.
A system, comprising:
- a computer processor;
- at least one virtual machine executing on the computer processor;
- and
- a virtual proxy executing on the computer processor and operatively connected to the at least virtual machine,
- wherein the virtual machine proxy is programmed to:
- obtain, for the at least one virtual machine, a last backup timestamp (LBT);
- monitor disk input-output (IO) operations generated by the at least one virtual machine, to obtain an IO operations metric (IOM);
- make a first determination that the IOM exceeds an IO operations threshold (IOT);
- make a second determination that a difference in time between a current timestamp (CT) and the LBT exceeds an elapsed time threshold (ETT);
- and
- based on the first and second determinations:
- issue a backup request to perform an auto-backup of the at least one virtual machine.
A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) comprising computer readable program code, which when executed by a computer processor, enables the computer processor to:
- obtain, for a virtual machine, a last backup timestamp (LBT);
- monitor disk input-output (IO) operations generated by the virtual machine, to obtain an IO operations metric (IOM);
- make a first determination that the IOM exceeds an IO operations threshold (IOT);
- make a second determination that a difference in time between a current timestamp (CT) and the LBT exceeds an elapsed time threshold (ETT);
- and
- based on the first and second determinations:
- issue a backup request to perform an auto-backup of the virtual machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.