Dynamic storage tiering in a virtual environment

摘要

Various systems and methods for performing dynamic storage tiering in a virtual environment. For example, one method can involve identifying a location of a storage object within a virtual machine file, where the virtual machine file includes multiple storage objects. The method then involves detecting whether the storage object meets a criterion of a tiering policy. If the storage object meets the criterion, the storage object is moved from one tier of a multi-tier storage system to another tier of the multi-tier storage system.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a host operating system, information identifying a location of a storage object of a plurality of storage objects in a virtual machine file from a virtual machine operating system, wherein
the virtual machine file and the virtual machine operating system are associated with a virtual machine,the location is identified relative to the virtual machine file,the virtual machine file comprises the plurality of storage objects,the plurality of storage objects are configured to be accessed by the virtual machine,the virtual machine is implemented by a host comprising a host operating system,the plurality of storage objects are not recognized by the host operating system, andthe host is configured to perform storage tiering for storage objects accessible via the host operating system; translating the location to a host-relative location; identifying each storage object of the plurality of storage objects that is subject to a tiering policy, wherein
the identifying comprises comparing metadata associated with the plurality of storage objects with the tiering policy; detecting whether the storage object meets a criterion, wherein
the criterion is specified in the tiering policy; and initiating a move of the storage object from a first storage tier to a second storage tier, wherein
the initiating is performed by the host in response to the detecting.