THE ASSIGNMENT OF DATA AGENT PROXIES FOR EXECUTING VIRTUAL-MACHINE SECONDARY COPY OPERATIONS INCLUDING STREAMING BACKUP JOBS

摘要

A comprehensive approach to streaming backups for virtual machines (“VMs”) in a storage management system comprises improvements to the assignment of data agent proxies for VM secondary copy operations. New considerations in performing a VM streaming backup job include without limitation: determining and enforcing a system-wide per-proxy limit of concurrent data streams; generating an ordered priority list of the VMs to be backed up as a basis for choosing which proxies will back up the respective VM, though the illustrative system may not strictly adhere to the priority list based on further considerations; identifying a next available proxy based on data stream utilization at the proxy; and dynamically re-generating the priority list and re-evaluating considerations if some VMs become “stranded” due to a failure to be backed up. Secondary copy operations are distributed to proxies in ways that improve the chances of successfully completing VM streaming backups.

主权项

1. A method for determining a per-proxy limit of data streams allowed for backup operations in a storage management system, the method comprising:
designating, by a storage manager component of the storage management system, a first data agent to act as coordinator of a first backup job,
wherein the first backup job is configured to perform secondary copy operations for a first set of virtual machines in the storage management system,wherein the coordinator data agent executes on a first virtual machine, and wherein the first virtual machine is designated a first proxy, andwherein the first virtual machine executes on a first computing device having one or more processors and non-transitory computer-readable memory; designating, by the storage manager, a second data agent to act as controller in the first backup job,
wherein the controller data agent executes on a second computing device having one or more processors and non-transitory computer-readable memory, and wherein the second computing device is designated a second proxy; collecting, by the coordinator data agent, information about operational properties of the first proxy and the second proxy; determining, by the coordinator data agent, a respective maximum limit of data streams assignable to each of the first proxy and the second proxy,
wherein the respective maximum limit of data streams is based on the operational properties of each respective proxy; and wherein each proxy may concurrently use no more than the respective maximum limit of data streams in the course of performing one or more backup jobs in the storage management system, including while performing the first backup job.