Serverless backup for virtual volumes

1. A method comprising:

storing a plurality of backup policies, each backup policy specifying a backup frequency based on a range of input/output (IO) rates, the backup frequency corresponding to a recovery point objective;

gathering, from a storage array, an identification of a logical unit number (LUN) to which a virtual volume of a virtual machine has been mapped, and an IO rate of the LUN, the IO rate of the LUN comprising a percentage of time the LUN is in use;

selecting a backup policy having a range of IO rates that correspond to the IO rate of the LUN gathered from the storage array; and

backing up the virtual volume according to a particular backup frequency as specified in the selected backup policy, the backup policy thereby having been selected without querying a host computer hosting the virtual machine, or a virtual machine management center managing the virtual machine.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising:

storing a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on a first range of IO rates; and

storing a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on a second range of IO rates, wherein the second range of IO rates is higher than the first range of IO rates, and the second backup frequency specifies more frequent backups than the first backup frequency.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the selecting a backup policy comprises:

comparing the IO rate of the LUN to a first range of IO rates of a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency;

determining that the IO rate of the LUN falls outside the first range of IO rates;

comparing the IO rate of the LUN to a second range of IO rates of a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency; and

determining that the IO rate of the LUN falls within the second range of IO rates, the second backup policy thereby being the selected backup policy,

wherein the first range of IO rates of the first backup policy is different from the second range of IO rates of the second backup policy, and the first backup frequency is different from the second backup frequency.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising:

querying the storage array according to a pre-determined schedule to gather a first current IO rate of the LUN;

selecting a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on the first current IO rate of the LUN falling within a first range of IO rates of the first backup policy;

backing up the virtual volume according to the first backup frequency as specified in the first backup policy;

after the backing up according to the first backup frequency, querying the storage array according to the pre-determined schedule to gather a second current IO rate of the LUN;

selecting a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on the second current IO rate of the LUN falling within a second range of IO rates of the second backup policy; and

backing up the virtual volume according to the second backup frequency as specified in the second backup policy, wherein the second backup frequency is different from the first backup frequency, the second range of IO rates is different from the first range of IO rates, and the second current IO of the LUN is different from the first current IO of the LUN.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the method comprises:

backing up the first virtual volume according to a first backup frequency; and

backing up the second virtual volume according to a second backup frequency, different from the first backup frequency.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the method comprises:

backing up the first virtual volume a first number of times within a time period; and

backing up the second virtual volume a second number of times within the time period, wherein the second number of times is different from the first number of times.

7. A system for backing up a virtual volume of a virtual machine, the system comprising:

a processor-based system executed on a computer system and configured to:

store a plurality of backup policies, each backup policy specifying a backup frequency based on a range of input/output (IO) rates;

gather, from a storage array, an identification of a logical unit number (LUN) to which a virtual volume of a virtual machine has been mapped, and an IO rate of the LUN, the IO rate of the LUN comprising a percentage of time the LUN is in use;

select a backup policy having a range of IO rates that correspond to the IO rate of the LUN gathered from the storage array; and

backup the virtual volume according to a particular backup frequency as specified in the selected backup policy, the backup policy thereby having been selected without querying a host computer hosting the virtual machine, or a virtual machine management center managing the virtual machine.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

store a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on a first range of IO rates; and

store a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on a second range of IO rates, wherein the second range of IO rates is higher than the first range of IO rates, and the second backup frequency specifies more frequent backups than the first backup frequency.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

compare the IO rate of the LUN to a first range of IO rates of a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency;

determine that the IO rate of the LUN falls outside the first range of IO rates;

compare the IO rate of the LUN to a second range of IO rates of a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency; and

determine that the IO rate of the LUN falls within the second range of IO rates, the second backup policy thereby being the selected backup policy,

wherein the first range of IO rates of the first backup policy is different from the second range of IO rates of the second backup policy, and the first backup frequency is different from the second backup frequency.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor-based system is configured to:

query the storage array according to a pre-determined schedule to gather a first current IO rate of the LUN;

select a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on the first current IO rate of the LUN falling within a first range of IO rates of the first backup policy;

backup the virtual volume according to the first backup frequency as specified in the first backup policy;

after the backup according to the first backup frequency, query the storage array according to the pre-determined schedule to gather a second current IO rate of the LUN;

select a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on the second current IO rate of the LUN falling within a second range of IO rates of the second backup policy; and

backup the virtual volume according to the second backup frequency as specified in the second backup policy, wherein the second backup frequency is different from the first backup frequency, the second range of IO rates is different from the first range of IO rates, and the second current IO of the LUN is different from the first current IO of the LUN.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the processor-based system is configured to:

backup the first virtual volume according to a first backup frequency; and

backup the second virtual volume according to a second backup frequency, different from the first backup frequency.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the processor-based system is configured to:

backup the first virtual volume a first number of times within a time period; and

backup the second virtual volume a second number of times within the time period, wherein the second number of times is different from the first number of times.

13. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by one or more processors to implement a method comprising:

storing a plurality of backup policies, each backup policy specifying a backup frequency based on a range of input/output (IO) rates, the backup frequency corresponding to a recovery point objective, and indicating a rate at which a backup occurs;

gathering, from a storage array, an identification of a logical unit number (LUN) to which a virtual volume of a virtual machine has been mapped, and an IO rate of the LUN, the IO rate of the LUN comprising a percentage of time the LUN is in use;

selecting a backup policy having a range of IO rates that correspond to the IO rate of the LUN gathered from the storage array; and

backing up the virtual volume according to a particular backup frequency as specified in the selected backup policy, the backup policy thereby having been selected without querying a host computer hosting the virtual machine, or a virtual machine management center managing the virtual machine.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the method comprises:

storing a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on a first range of IO rates; and

storing a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on a second range of IO rates, wherein the second range of IO rates is higher than the first range of IO rates, and the second backup frequency specifies more frequent backups than the first backup frequency.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the selecting a backup policy comprises:

comparing the IO rate of the LUN to a first range of IO rates of a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency;

determining that the IO rate of the LUN falls outside the first range of IO rates;

comparing the IO rate of the LUN to a second range of IO rates of a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency; and

determining that the IO rate of the LUN falls within the second range of IO rates, the second backup policy thereby being the selected backup policy,

wherein the first range of IO rates of the first backup policy is different from the second range of IO rates of the second backup policy, and the first backup frequency is different from the second backup frequency.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the method comprises:

querying the storage array according to a pre-determined schedule to gather a first current IO rate of the LUN;

selecting a first backup policy specifying a first backup frequency based on the first current IO rate of the LUN falling within a first range of IO rates of the first backup policy;

backing up the virtual volume according to the first backup frequency as specified in the first backup policy;

after the backing up according to the first backup frequency, querying the storage array according to the pre-determined schedule to gather a second current IO rate of the LUN;

selecting a second backup policy specifying a second backup frequency based on the second current IO rate of the LUN falling within a second range of IO rates of the second backup policy; and

backing up the virtual volume according to the second backup frequency as specified in the second backup policy, wherein the second backup frequency is different from the first backup frequency, the second range of IO rates is different from the first range of IO rates, and the second current IO of the LUN is different from the first current IO of the LUN.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the method comprises:

backing up the first virtual volume according to a first backup frequency; and

backing up the second virtual volume according to a second backup frequency, different from the first backup frequency.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the virtual machine is associated with a first virtual volume, and a second virtual volume, and the method comprises:

backing up the first virtual volume a first number of times within a time period; and

backing up the second virtual volume a second number of times within the time period, wherein the second number of times is different from the first number of times.