Granted Patent B1

US 8,495,026 · App. 13/285,085 · Granted Jul 23, 2013

Inventors: Laxmikant Gunda (Pune, IN); Manoj Chaudhari (Pune, IN)

Assignee: Symantec Corporation

Abstract

Claims (59)

1. A computer-implemented method for migrating archived files, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

identifying a file system comprising a plurality of placeholder files, the placeholder files referencing corresponding archived files stored on a first archival system;

identifying a request to migrate the archived files from the first archival system to a second archival system;

making the second archival system available to the file system for archival;

while both the first archival system and the second archival system are available to the file system:

locating each placeholder file within the plurality of placeholder files on the file system;

for each located placeholder file:

retrieving a corresponding archived file from the first archival system;

archiving the corresponding archived file on the second archival system.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system comprises removing the located placeholder file.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein archiving the corresponding archived file on the second archival system comprises adding a new placeholder file referencing the corresponding archived file on the second archival system.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system comprises attempting to access the corresponding archived file via the located placeholder file on the file system.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving the corresponding archived file and archiving the corresponding archived file comprises maintaining availability to the corresponding archived file on the file system while both the first archival system and the second archival system are available.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system comprises:

identifying an application programming interface for the first archival system;

requesting, via the application programming interface, the corresponding archived file from the first archival system;

receiving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system in response to requesting the corresponding archived file from the first archival system.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying at least one additional archived file stored on the first archival system but without a referencing placeholder file on the file system;

transmitting the additional archived file to the second archival system.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising creating a new placeholder file for the additional archived file stored on the second archival system.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein identifying the additional archived file comprises:

identifying a list of placeholder files within a directory on the file system;

determining that the additional archived file lacks the referencing placeholder file on the file system by determining that the additional archived file does not appear on the list of placeholder files but does appear in a corresponding directory in the first archival system.

10. A system for migrating archived files, the system comprising:

an identification module programmed to:

identify a file system comprising a plurality of placeholder files, the placeholder files referencing corresponding archived files stored on a first archival system;

identify a request to migrate the archived files from the first archival system to a second archival system;

an availability module programmed to make the second archival system available to the file system for archival;

a location module programmed to, while both the first archival system and the second archival system are available to the file system, locate each placeholder file within the plurality of placeholder files on the file system;

a migration module programmed to, for each located placeholder file:

retrieve a corresponding archived file from the first archival system;

archive the corresponding archived file on the second archival system;

at least one hardware processor configured to execute the identification module, the availability module, the location module, and the migration module.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is programmed to retrieve the corresponding archived file from the first archival system by removing the located placeholder file.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is programmed to archive the corresponding archived file on the second archival system by adding a new placeholder file referencing the corresponding archived file on the second archival system.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is programmed to retrieve the corresponding archived file from the first archival system by attempting to access the corresponding archived file via the located placeholder file on the file system.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is programmed to retrieve the corresponding archived file and archive the corresponding archived file by maintaining availability to the corresponding archived file on the file system while both the first archival system and the second archival system are available.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is programmed to retrieve the corresponding archived file from the first archival system by:

identifying an application programming interface for the first archival system;

requesting, via the application programming interface, the corresponding archived file from the first archival system;

receiving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system in response to requesting the corresponding archived file from the first archival system.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the migration module is further programmed to:

identify at least one additional archived file stored on the first archival system but without a referencing placeholder file on the file system;

transmit the additional archived file to the second archival system.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the migration module is further programmed to create a new placeholder file for the additional archived file stored on the second archival system.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the migration module is programmed to identify the additional archived file by:

identifying a list of placeholder files within a directory on the file system;

determining that the additional archived file lacks the referencing placeholder file on the file system by determining that the additional archived file does not appear on the list of placeholder files but does appear in a corresponding directory in the first archival system.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

identify a file system comprising a plurality of placeholder files, the placeholder files referencing corresponding archived files stored on a first archival system;

identify a request to migrate the archived files from the first archival system to a second archival system;

make the second archival system available to the file system for archival;

while both the first archival system and the second archival system are available to the file system:

locate each placeholder file within the plurality of placeholder files on the file system;

for each located placeholder file:

retrieve a corresponding archived file from the first archival system;

archive the corresponding archived file on the second archival system.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions cause the computing device to remove the located placeholder file as a part of retrieving the corresponding archived file from the first archival system.

Assignments (14)