Techniques for automated policy analysis
Techniques for automated policy analysis are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for automated policy analysis comprising processing system configuration information for a system, processing policy configuration information for the system, analyzing at least one policy configuration change to the policy configuration information, recommending the at least one policy configuration change based on the analysis of the at least one policy configuration change, and updating the policy configuration information for the system based on the recommendation of the at least one policy configuration change.
1. A method for automated policy analysis to prevent data loss or degradation of system performance from conflicting backups, comprising:
processing system configuration information for a backup system comprising at least one backup source and a plurality of backup targets;
processing policy configuration information for the backup system and generating a backup policy for scheduling each backup job with a backup time window for each backup back up job;
generating a recommendation including hypothetical adjustments to the backup policy to determine a schedule of backup jobs that is free of conflicting backup jobs by 1) creating, removing, or adjusting backup sources of the backup system to prevent backup conflicts and 2) adjusting the backup policy for scheduling of each backup job and associated backup targets and backup sources to prevent backup conflicts;
generating a graphical user interface having an interactive visualization to display the recommendation, wherein the graphical user interface includes at least a timeline reflecting job scheduling information for the plurality of backup targets;
receiving a user input via the graphical user interface to make an adjustment to the recommendation to form an adjusted recommendation;
updating the policy configuration information for the system based on user input to the graphical user interface of an adjustment by the user to the recommendation and communicating the impact to the graphical user interface to depict to the user whether the adjusted recommendation is recommended; and
receiving a user input, via the graphical user interface, to approve the policy configuration of the recommendation or the adjusted recommendation, as the backup system configuration.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hypothetical adjustments include identifying at least one change to at least one backup window to compensate for time periods when the backup system is underutilized or overutilized.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hypothetical adjustments include analyzing probabilities that individual backup jobs are likely to complete successfully and within an allotted time.
4. A system for automated policy analysis comprising:
one or more processors communicatively coupled to a network; wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
process system configuration information for a backup system comprising at least one backup source and a plurality of backup targets;
process policy configuration information for the backup system;
analyze at least one policy configuration change to the policy configuration information by considering a predicted data growth rate of the at least one backup source and a determination of an average size of multiple portions of data that has changed on the at least one backup source, wherein the at least one policy configuration change resolves at least one backup job conflict with a first backup job by rescheduling the first backup job from a first backup target of the plurality of backup targets to a second backup target of the plurality of backup targets;
generate a recommendation including hypothetical adjustments to the backup policy to determine a schedule of backup jobs that is free of conflicting backup jobs by creating, removing, or adjusting backup sources of the backup system to prevent backup conflicts and adjusting the backup policy based on the analysis of the at least one policy configuration change for scheduling of each backup job and associated backup targets and backup sources to prevent backup conflicts;
generate a graphical user interface to display the recommendation, wherein the graphical user interface has an interactive visualization that includes at least a timeline reflecting job scheduling information for the plurality of backup targets; and
receive a user input via the graphical user interface to make an adjustment to the recommendation to generate an adjusted recommendation;
update the policy configuration information for the system based on user input to the graphical user interface of an adjustment by the user to the recommendation and communicating the impact to the graphical user interface to depict to the user whether the adjusted recommendation is recommended; and
receive a user input, via the graphical user interface, to approve the policy configuration of the recommendation or the adjusted recommendation, as the backup system configuration;
wherein the second backup target of the plurality of backup targets is selected at least based on a reliability of a connection between the second backup target and a network.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the hypothetical adjustments comprise identifying at least one change to at least one backup window to compensate for time periods when the backup system is underutilized or overutilized.
6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the hypothetical adjustments comprise analyzing probabilities that individual backup jobs are likely to complete successfully and within an allotted time.
7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
analyze at least one system configuration change to the system configuration information; recommend the at least one system configuration change based on the analysis of the at least one system configuration change; and
update the policy configuration information for the system based on the recommendation of the at least one system configuration change.
8. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one system configuration change includes adding a new backup target to the backup system.
9. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one backup job conflict comprises a first end time of the first backup job that is later than a second end time of a backup window of the policy configuration information.
10. An article of manufacture for automated policy analysis, the article of manufacture comprising:
at least one non-transitory processor readable storage medium; and instructions stored on the at least one medium;
wherein the instructions are configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate so as to:
process system configuration information for a backup system comprising at least one backup source and a plurality of backup targets;
process policy configuration information for the backup system;
analyze at least one policy configuration change to the policy configuration information by considering a predicted data growth rate of the at least one backup source and a determination of an average size of multiple portions of data that has changed on the at least one backup source, wherein the at least one policy configuration change resolves at least one backup job conflict with a first backup job by rescheduling the first backup job from a first backup target of the plurality of backup targets to a second backup target of the plurality of backup targets;
generate a recommendation including hypothetical adjustments to the backup policy, analyzing probabilities that individual backup jobs are likely to complete successfully and within an allotted time, and determine a schedule of time windows of backup jobs that is free of conflicting backup jobs by creating, removing, or adjusting backup sources of the backup system to prevent backup conflicts and adjusting the backup policy based on the analysis of the at least one policy configuration change for scheduling each backup job and associated backup targets and backup sources to prevent backup conflicts;
generate a graphical user interface to display the recommendation wherein the graphical user interface includes an interactive visualization having at least a timeline reflecting job scheduling information for the plurality of backup targets; and
update the policy configuration information for the system based on user input to the graphical user interface of an adjustment by the user to the recommendation to form an adjusted recommendation and communicating the impact to the graphical user interface to depict to the user whether the adjusted recommendation is recommended;
receive a user input via the graphical user interface to make an adjustment of the recommendation; and
receive a user input, via the graphical user interface, to approve the policy configuration of the recommendation or the adjusted recommendation, as the backup system configuration;
wherein the second backup target of the plurality of backup targets is selected at least based on a reliability of a connection between the second backup target and a network.
11. The article of manufacture of claim 10 , wherein the backup system further comprises at least one backup target pool comprising multiple backup targets of the plurality of backup targets.
12. The article of manufacture of claim 10 , wherein the at least one backup job conflict comprises a first backup time period of the first backup job overlapping a second backup time period of a second backup job.
13. The article of manufacture of claim 10 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to operate further so as to:
analyze at least one system configuration change to the system configuration information;
recommend the at least one system configuration change based on the analysis of the at least one system configuration change; and
update the policy configuration information for the system based on the recommendation of at least one system configuration change.
14. The article of manufacture of claim 10 , wherein the at least one system configuration change includes adding a new backup target to the backup system.
15. The article of manufacture of claim 10 , wherein the at least one backup job conflict comprises a first end time of the first backup job that is later than a second end time of a backup window of the policy configuration information.