Patent Application

App. No. 14/546,738

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A computerized method of backing up data in network attached storage such that data in the network attached storage can be backed up without a backup device attached directly to the network attached storage, the method comprising:

scheduling, by a copy management data server, a series of successive copy operations over time of at least one file system associated with at least one network attached storage server;

designating for a first backup, by the copy management data server, the at least one file system for mounting on a backup proxy from the network attached server;

presenting, by the copy management data server, at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk for a first backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system, the copied file systems including indexes provided by the backup proxy, the indexes including identifiers associated with the copied files;

designating for a subsequent backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system, by the copy management data server, difference data associated with the at least one file system for mounting on the backup proxy from the network attached server, the difference data comprising changes to the at least one file system between the first backup and the subsequent backup; and

presenting, by the copy management data server, the at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the difference data associated with the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk when receiving the subsequent request for a backup, enabling the backing up of data in network attached storage such that data in the network attached storage can be backed up without a backup device attached directly to the network attached storage.

2 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising sizing the virtual disk proportionally to a size of the at least one file system.

3 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein scheduling a series of successive copy operations further comprises receiving, by the copy management data server, a selection of at least one of a backup dataset and a service level template, the backup dataset comprising a selection of the directories in the at least one file system to back up, the service level template comprising at least one of a backup frequency and a backup retention.

4 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising retrieving, by the copy management data server, a data set associated with the at least one file system based on a request to restore the data set, wherein the request to restore the data set includes a selection of indexes corresponding to the data set.

5 . The computerized method of claim 4 , wherein restoring the data set comprises mounting a backup associated with the data set from the backup proxy without overwriting data in the network attached storage corresponding to the data set.

6 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the difference data associated with the at least one file system comprises changes captured by the network attached server.

7 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the copied files further include metadata associated with the copied files, the metadata comprising at least one of a pathname of the copied files, dates of creation and modification of the copied files, owner of the copied files, and permission settings of the copied files.

8 . A system for backing up data in network attached storage such that data in the network attached storage can be backed up without a backup device attached directly to the network attached storage, the method comprising:

a memory containing instructions for execution by a processor;

the processor configured to:

schedule a series of successive copy operations over time of at least one file system associated with at least one network attached storage server;

designate for a first backup the at least one file system for mounting on a backup proxy from the network attached server;

present at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk for a first backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system, the copied file systems including indexes provided by the backup proxy, the indexes including identifiers associated with the copied files;

designate for a subsequent backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system difference data associated with the at least one file system for mounting on the backup proxy from the network attached server, the difference data comprising changes to the at least one file system between the first backup and the subsequent backup; and

present the at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the difference data associated with the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk when receiving the subsequent request for a backup, enabling the backing up of data in network attached storage such that data in the network attached storage can be backed up without a backup device attached directly to the network attached storage.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to size the virtual disk proportionally to a size of the at least one file system.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein to schedule a series of successive copy operations the processor is further configured receive a selection of at least one of a backup dataset and a service level template, the backup dataset comprising a selection of the directories in the at least one file system to back up, the service level template comprising at least one of a backup frequency and a backup retention.

11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to retrieve a data set associated with the at least one file system based on a request to restore the data set, wherein the request to restore the data set includes a selection of indexes corresponding to the data set.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein restore the data set the processor is further configured to mount a backup associated with the data set from the backup proxy without overwriting data in the network attached storage corresponding to the data set.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the difference data associated with the at least one file system comprises changes captured by the network attached server.

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the copied files further include metadata associated with the copied files, the metadata comprising at least one of a pathname of the copied files, dates of creation and modification of the copied files, owner of the copied files, and permission settings of the copied files.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, instruct a processor to perform processes comprising:

scheduling, by a copy management data server, a series of successive copy operations over time of at least one file system associated with at least one network attached storage server;

designating for a first backup, by the copy management data server, the at least one file system for mounting on a backup proxy from the network attached server;

presenting, by the copy management data server, at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk for a first backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system, the copied file systems including indexes provided by the backup proxy, the indexes including identifiers associated with the copied files;

designating for a subsequent backup from the series of successive copy operations of the at least one file system, by the copy management data server, difference data associated with the at least one file system for mounting on the backup proxy from the network attached server, the difference data comprising changes to the at least one file system between the first backup and the subsequent backup; and

presenting, by the copy management data server, the at least one virtual disk to the backup proxy for copying the difference data associated with the at least one file system from the backup proxy to the at least one virtual disk when receiving the subsequent request for a backup, enabling the backing up of data in network attached storage such that data in the network attached storage can be backed up without a backup device attached directly to the network attached storage.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising sizing the virtual disk proportionally to a size of the at least one file system.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein scheduling a series of successive copy operations further comprises receiving, by the copy management data server, a selection of at least one of a backup dataset and a service level template, the backup dataset comprising a selection of the directories in the at least one file system to back up, the service level template comprising at least one of a backup frequency and a backup retention.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising retrieving, by the copy management data server, a data set associated with the at least one file system based on a request to restore the data set, wherein the request to restore the data set includes a selection of indexes corresponding to the data set.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the difference data associated with the at least one file system comprises changes captured by the network attached server.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the copied files further include metadata associated with the copied files, the metadata comprising at least one of a pathname of the copied files, dates of creation and modification of the copied files, owner of the copied files, and permission settings of the copied files.

Assignments (8)