International Business Machines Corporation

Christopher Zaremba

Gregory Tad Kishi

Joseph W Dain

Osnat Shasha

James Patrick Smith

Colin Scott Dawson

Avishai Haim Hochberg

David Maxwell Cannon

Michael Allen Kaczmarski

Oliver Augenstein

Neeta Garimella

Robert Clair Edwards, Jr

Zhengwen He

Mark L Yakushev

Neil Gregory Rasmussen

Kala Dutta

Choonsu Peter Park

Mandeep Kaur Jandir

Eran Raichstein

Stefan Bender

Christian Bolik

Glen Hattrup

William Roy Yonker

David George Derk

Thomas Franklin Ramke, Jr

Vadzim Ivanovich Piletski

Kenneth Eugene Hannigan

Asaf Yeger

Omar Bond Vargas

Michael S Fruchtman

Ofer Peretz

Joseph T Wissmann

Peter Tanenhaus

Albert Silliman

Peter C Kim

Lu Nugyen

Donald Warren

Buford L Bruce

Michael Levi

Provided are techniques for providing and managing data protection by using incremental forever for storage to cloud object stores. An incremental offload is performed by using one or more extents to identify blocks of data for a version of a virtual machine in operational recovery storage to be offloaded to a cloud object store, wherein each of the one or more extents identifies locations of the blocks of data. The blocks of data are converted to objects in an incremental forever data format. The objects are offloaded to the cloud object store. The details of the offloading of the objects are stored in a local database in the operational recovery storage. The local database is copied from the operational recovery storage to the cloud object store as a database copy.

Providing and managing data protection by using incremental forever for storage to cloud object stores

An apparatus, method and computer program product are disclosed. The apparatus includes a strategy module that determines restore information, writes the restore information into a restore information file, and writes the restore information file to a master volume containing target data; a snapshot module that creates a snapshot backup of the master volume; and a restoration module that restores the target data and restore information file, and restores application consistency of the target data. The method includes determining restore information, writing restore information to a file, writing the file to a volume containing data, backing up data by a snapshot backup of the volume, restoring data and the file, and restoring application consistency of the data. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium that stores code to perform determining a backup strategy, backing up data, and restoring data.

Snapshot backup with unified restore information

A new target volume for a new FlashCopy backup is dynamically allocated by performing at least one attempt to reuse an existing FlashCopy target volume containing older FlashCopy backups that have been previously ingested into a repository and are not currently being used as a source for at least one of a mount task, a clone task, and a restore task. If the at least one attempt to reuse the existing FlashCopy target volume fails, the new target volume is dynamically allocated from a global pool of FlashCopy backup target volumes.

Efficient FlashCopy backup target volume allocation with reuse and a shared resource pool

For efficient Flashcopy backup and mount, clone, or restore collision avoidance with reuse using dynamic volume allocation, performing at least one attempt to reuse an existing FlashCopy target volume that is not currently being used for at least one of a mount task, a clone task, and a restore task at the same time for a FlashCopy backup. If the at least one attempt to reuse the existing FlashCopy target volume fails, dynamically allocate a new Flashcopy target volume for the Flashcopy backup.

Efficient Flashcopy backup and mount, clone, or restore collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation with reuse

For efficient Flashcopy backup and a mount, clone, instant restore, and/or file level restore task collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation with reuse and from a shared resource pool, performing at least one attempt to reuse an existing FlashCopy target volume in a Flashcopy chain of target volumes that is not currently being used for at least one of the mount task, the clone task, instant restore task, and/or file level restore task at the same time for a FlashCopy backup. If the at least one attempt to reuse the existing FlashCopy target volume fails, dynamically allocate a new Flashcopy target volume for the Flashcopy backup from a global pool of Flashcopy backup target volumes shared by a plurality of device classes.

Efficient Flashcopy backup and mount, clone, or restore collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation with reuse and from a shared resource pool

For efficient Flashcopy backup and a mount, clone, or restore task collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation with reuse and from a shared resource pool, dynamically using a Flashcopy target volume for the Flashcopy backup from a global pool of Flashcopy backup target volumes shared by a plurality of device classes for avoiding a collision between the Flashcopy backup and the mount, the clone, or the restore task.

Efficient flashcopy backup and mount, clone, or restore collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation from a shared resource pool

Dynamically allocates a new Flashcopy backup target volume within the single repository for executing a new Flashcopy backup to avoid a collision with one of a mount operation, a restore operation, and a clone operation when dynamically allocating the new Flashcopy target volume for the new Flashcopy backup.

Collision avoidance using dynamic target volume allocation in a single repository

Dynamically reuse an existing Flashcopy target volume containing an older Flashcopy backup and a consistency group for one of a mount operation, a restore operation, and a clone operation.

Collision avoidance using dynamic volume allocation with reuse

For efficient FlashCopy backup target volume allocation, a target volume is dynamically allocated for a new FlashCopy backup by reusing an existing FlashCopy target volume containing older FlashCopy backups that have been previously ingested into a repository and are not currently being used as a source for at least one of a mount task, a clone task, and a restore task.

Efficient flashcopy backup target volume allocation

A collision is avoided between a new Flashcopy backup and an existing Flashcopy target volume containing an older Flashcopy backup being ingested during one of a mount operation, a restore operation, and a clone operation by dynamically allocating a new Flashcopy target volume for the new Flashcopy backup.

Collision avoidance using dynamic target volume allocation

Dynamically manages a creation and a destruction of a plurality of Flashcopy resources and the target volumes using configurable high-water marks and maximum values.

Efficient use of Flashcopy resources and target volumes for dynamic target volume allocation

Embodiments of the present invention provide efficient and cost-effective systems and methods for backing up and recovering a virtual machine and application data therein. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to satisfy near-zero RPOs by providing more recovery points for backups in virtual machine environments, while also providing increased granularity for recovery (i.e., single virtual disk, single file, etc.) and maintaining central management capabilities and back up efficiencies offered by virtual machine-level backups.

Back up and recovery in virtual machine environments

Dynamically reuse from a global pool of allocated resources an existing Flashcopy target volume containing an older Flashcopy backup and a consistency group for one of a mount operation, a restore operation, and a clone operation when dynamically allocating a new Flashcopy target volume for the new Flashcopy backup.

Collision avoidance using dynamic target volume allocation from a shared resource pool

Upon an indication that a Flashcopy backup is not to be ingested, ingesting changed grains and/or a Flashcopy Map (fcmap) of the Flashcopy backup into a repository and dynamically marking the Flashcopy backup for collapse from a first repository into a second repository without breaking a flashcopy chain.

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Endicott, NY, United States of America

Christopher Zaremba