Data object store and server for a cloud storage environment, including data deduplication and data management across multiple cloud storage sites
Data storage operations, including content-indexing, containerized deduplication, and policy-driven storage, are performed within a cloud environment. The systems support a variety of clients and cloud storage sites that may connect to the system in a cloud environment that requires data transfer over wide area networks, such as the Internet, which may have appreciable latency and/or packet loss, using various network protocols, including HTTP and FTP. Methods are disclosed for content indexing data stored within a cloud environment to facilitate later searching, including collaborative searching. Methods are also disclosed for performing containerized deduplication to reduce the strain on a system namespace, effectuate cost savings, etc. Methods are disclosed for identifying suitable storage locations, including suitable cloud storage sites, for data files subject to a storage policy. Further, systems and methods for providing a cloud gateway and a scalable data object store within a cloud environment are disclosed, along with other features.
1. A method for storing a secondary copy, of an original data set, on a cloud storage site using a cloud gateway, wherein the cloud gateway is coupled between multiple computers and one or more cloud storage sites via a network, the method comprising:
identifying data blocks within a cache of the cloud gateway that satisfy certain criteria,
wherein the original data set comprises data blocks, and
wherein the certain criteria are from a storage policy;
performing block-level deduplication of the identified data blocks to create a deduplicated set of data,
wherein the block-level deduplication includes—
determining a size for a container file to utilize when deduplicating the identified data blocks; and
deduplicating at least some of the identified data blocks to create one or more container files containing deduplicated data,
wherein at least one of the container files has the determined size; and
storing the deduplicated set of data on the cloud storage site by:
buffering data, to a data buffer, for transmission to the cloud storage site;
repeating the following steps while the data buffer is not full:
receiving a file system request to write a group of data to the cloud storage site; and
adding the group of data to the buffer;
converting a file system request to one or more application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site; and
transmitting contents of the data buffer to the cloud storage site using the one or more application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying the cloud storage site on which to store the secondary copy of the original data set by:
identifying two or more candidate cloud storage sites;
accessing a storage policy having a set of preferences and storage criteria,
wherein the set of preferences and storage criteria includes at least two of the following:
one or more preferred cloud storage sites,
one or more preferred classes or quality of cloud storage sites,
requirements regarding deduplication of the original data set,
requirements regarding encryption of the original data set,
requirements regarding compression of the original data set,
quality of a network connection available to the cloud storage site,
one or more data retention periods,
data characteristics of at least some data in the original data set,
estimated or historic usage associated with operating one or more system components,
frequency with which the original data set was accessed or modified during a particular time period,
a specified level of fault tolerance, or
one or more geographical locations or political states in which data storage devices for a cloud storage site exist; and
selecting at least one of the two or more of the candidate cloud storage sites based at least in part on the set of preferences and storage criteria in the storage policy.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the data buffer are transmitted to the cloud storage site using at least one of hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and HTTP over Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the certain criteria include time-based criteria.
5. A system for creating a secondary copy of an original data set using a cloud storage site, the system comprising a memory and processor that are configured to:
identify sub-objects of the original data set that satisfy certain criteria,
wherein the certain criteria are related a storage policy, and
wherein the original data set is received from one or more client computers;
perform deduplication of the identified data sub-objects to create a deduplicated set of data; and,
forward the deduplicated set of data to the cloud storage site, wherein the forwarding includes:
converting file system requests into application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site; and,
forwarding the data to the cloud storage site using the one or more application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the memory and processor are further configured to:
determine a size for a container file and for deduplicating at least some of the data sub-objects to create one or more container files containing deduplicated data, wherein at least one of the container files has the determined size.
7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the forwarding further includes:
buffering data, to a data buffer, for transmission to the cloud storage site by:
receiving a file system request to write a group of data to the cloud storage site; and
adding the group of data to the data buffer.
8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the certain criteria include time-based criteria, wherein the deduplication includes block-level deduplication, and wherein the block-level deduplication includes—
determining a size for a container file to utilize when deduplicating the identified data blocks; and
deduplicating at least some of the identified data blocks to create one or more container files containing deduplicated data,
wherein at least one of the container files has the determined size; and
wherein the container file is forwarded to the cloud storage site.
9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the forwarding further includes:
buffering data, to a data buffer, for transmission to the cloud storage site by repeating the following steps while the data buffer is not full:
receiving a file system request to write a group of data to the cloud storage site; and
adding the group of data to the buffer.
10. A computer-implemented method for copying multiple files at a cloud storage site, wherein the cloud storage site is coupled to a computer executing a file system for accessing a secondary storage computing device, the method comprising:
receiving a copy operation request to copy n number of files at the cloud storage site,
wherein each of the n number of files includes metadata and data, and
wherein the n number of files exceeds a threshold;
establishing a container size determined by one or more factors
processing the n number of files by—
copying the metadata of each of the n number of files to a first container;
copying at least a portion of the data for the n number of files into a second container, wherein the second container is separate from the first container; and
updating a data structure, wherein the data structure—
tracks, for each of the n number of files, a location of the metadata for that file in the first container, and
tracks, for the at least a portion of the data for the n number of files, a location of the data in the second container.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the threshold is a number of files that the file system can operate on without system degradation.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the threshold is related to at least of one of the factors.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the factors include at least one of:
a latency associated with a network connection to the cloud storage site, or
a bandwidth associated with a network connection to the cloud storage site, or
whether the cloud storage site imposes a restriction on a namespace associated with the computer or the file system, or
whether the cloud storage site permits sparsification of data files, or
a pricing structure associated with the cloud storage site, or
a maximum specified container file size, or
a minimum specified container file size.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the size of at least one of the first and second containers is no greater than the established container size.
15. A tangible computer-readable storage medium whose contents cause a data storage system to perform a method of migrating data from local primary storage to secondary storage located on a remote cloud storage site, the method comprising:
identifying no more than n−1 data blocks, located within the local primary storage, that satisfy a criteria,
wherein the n−1 data blocks represent a portion of a data file consisting of n blocks, and
wherein the n blocks contain data written by a file system associated with the local primary storage; and
determining a size for a container file in which to store some or all of the no more than n−1 data blocks;
transferring data contained by the identified no more than n−1 data blocks from the primary storage to the secondary storage located on a cloud storage site,
wherein transferring data includes writing data first to a container file of the determined size; and
updating an index with information associating the transferred data with information identifying blocks within the secondary storage that contain the transferred data,
wherein the information includes at least one uniform resource locator or logical address that identifies at least one logical location from which the transferred data may be accessed.
16. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the index further comprises information associating the transferred data with information identifying tape offsets for secondary storage that contain the transferred data.
17. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising:
receiving a copy operation request to copy m number of files at the cloud storage site,
wherein each of the m number of files includes metadata and data, and
wherein the m number of files exceeds a size threshold.
18. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein determining the size for the container file considers:
a latency associated with a network connection to the secondary storage computing device; or
a bandwidth associated with a network connection to the secondary storage computing device.
19. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein determining the size for the container file considers:
whether the cloud storage site imposes a restriction on a namespace associated with the computer or the file system; or
whether the cloud storage site permits sparsification of data files.
20. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein determining the size for the container file considers:
a pricing structure associated with the cloud storage site;
a maximum specified container file size; or
a minimum specified container file size.
21. A system for storing, on a cloud storage site, a secondary copy of an original data set, the system comprising:
at least one processor;
memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the memory stores contents that, when executed by the at least one processor performs a method of:
identifying a cloud storage site on which to store a secondary copy of a primary data set;
updating an index of content to reflect at least some data content in the primary data set;
deduplicating at least some of the data content in the primary data set;
creating one or more container files containing the deduplicated data; and
transferring the one or more container files to the cloud storage site,
wherein the transferring includes:
converting file system requests into application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site; and,
forwarding the one or more container files to the cloud storage site using one or more application program interface calls associated with the cloud storage site.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the transferring further includes:
buffering the one or more container files, to a data buffer, for transmission to the cloud storage site by repeating the following steps while the data buffer is not full:
receiving a file system request to write a group of data to the cloud storage site; and
adding the group of data to the buffer.
23. The system of claim 21 wherein the memory and processor are further configured to:
determine a size for a container file based on one or more factors,
wherein the factors include at least one of:
a latency associated with a network connection to the secondary storage computing device, or
a bandwidth associated with a network connection to the secondary storage computing device, or
whether the cloud storage site permits sparsification of data files, or
a pricing structure associated with the cloud storage site, or
a maximum specified container file size, or
a minimum specified container file size; and
wherein at least one of the container files has the determined size.