ADMINISTERING A SHARED, ON-LINE POOL OF DATA STORAGE RESOURCES FOR PERFORMING DATA STORAGE OPERATIONS
A data storage system according to certain aspects manages and administers the sharing of storage resources among clients in the shared storage pool. The shared storage pool according to certain aspects can provide readily available remote storage to clients in the pool. A share list for each client may be used to determine where data is stored within the storage pool. The share list may include clients that are known to each client, and therefore, a user may feel more at ease storing the data on the clients in the storage pool. Management and administration of the storage pool and backup and restore jobs can be performed by an entity other than the client, making backup and restore more streamlined and simple for the clients in the pool.
1 . A method of administering a shared pool of storage resources, the method comprising:
electronically distributing data protection software to a plurality of users who each contribute storage resources to a shared pool of storage resources, the data protection software installed on at least one computing device of each user, the computing devices of the plurality of users in networked communication with one another;
for respective users of the plurality of users, maintaining, with a storage manager executing in one or more processors, a first data structure including an indication as to an amount of available storage resources contributed to the shared pool by the individual respective users;
determining, by the storage manager, that a copy operation is to be performed on data stored in primary storage associated with a first user of the plurality of users;
consulting, by the storage manager, the first data structure to identify available storage resources contributed to the shared pool by a second user of the plurality of users; and
instructing the data protection software installed on the computing device of the first user to initiate the copy operation, wherein data involved in the copy operation is communicated to and copied into the contributed storage resources of the second user.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data involved in the copy operation is received by the computing device of the second user and the method further comprises instructing the data protection software installed on the computing device of the second user to convey the received data to the contributed storage resources of the second user.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data involved in the copy operation is received by the computing device of a third user, and the method further comprises instructing the data protection software installed on the computing device of the third user to convey the received data to the contributed storage resources of the second user.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data protection operation comprises a secondary copy operation.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, for each respective user of the plurality of users, maintaining a second data structure listing one or more other users in the pool that are designated for sharing storage resources with the respective user, wherein the second data structure associated with the first user lists at least the second user.
6 . A system for administering a shared pool of networked storage resources, comprising:
one or more computer processors;
a storage manager in networked communication with a shared pool of storage resources and executing in the one or more computer processors, the storage manager configured to:
electronically distribute data protection software to a plurality of users who each contribute storage resources to the shared pool of storage resources, the data protection software installed on at least one computing device of each user, the computing devices of the plurality of users in networked communication with one another;
for respective users of the plurality of users, maintain a first data structure including an indication as to an amount of available storage resources contributed to the shared pool by the individual respective users;
determine that a copy operation is to be performed on data stored in primary storage associated with a first user of the plurality of users;
consult the first data structure to identify available storage resources contributed to the shared pool by a second user of the plurality of users; and
instruct the data protection software installed on the computing device of the first user to initiate the copy operation, wherein data involved in the copy operation is communicated to and copied into the contributed storage resources of the second user.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the data involved in the copy operation is received by the computing device of the second user and the storage manager is further configured to instruct the data protection software installed on the computing device of the second user to convey the received data to the contributed storage resources of the second user.
8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the data involved in the copy operation is received by the computing device of a third user, and the storage manager is further configured to instruct the data protection software installed on the computing device of the third user to convey the received data to the contributed storage resources of the second user.
9 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the data protection operation comprises a secondary copy operation.
10 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to, for each respective user of the plurality of users, maintain a second data structure listing one or more other users in the pool that are designated for sharing storage resources with the respective user, wherein the second data structure associated with the first user lists at least the second user.