Elastic virtual backup proxy

1. A method comprising:

storing a plurality of rules, each rule comprising a triggering condition, and an action to be performed when the triggering condition is satisfied, wherein a first action in a first rule comprises automatically commissioning a new virtual backup proxy to backup virtual machines in a computing environment, and a second action in a second rule comprises automatically decommissioning an existing virtual backup proxy in the computing environment, each virtual backup proxy being a virtual machine that is hosted by a host;

receiving from a user a selection of at least one rule to be applied to the computing environment;

polling the computing environment to detect changes in the computing environment;

evaluating the selected at least one rule against a detected change in the computing environment;

based on the evaluating, determining that a triggering condition specified in the at least one rule has been satisfied; and

performing, in response to the triggering condition specified in the at least one rule being satisfied, automatically commissioning the new virtual backup proxy when the selected at least one rule is the first rule or automatically decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy when the selected at least one rule is the second rule to dynamically manage a number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment, the automatically decommissioning comprising purging the existing virtual backup proxy.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the triggering condition in the at least one rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the method comprises:

detecting that a current number of virtual machines in the computing environment exceeds the ratio; and

commissioning one or more new virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the triggering condition in the at least one rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the method comprises:

detecting that a current number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment exceeds the ratio; and

decommissioning one or more existing virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the triggering condition in the at least one rule specifies a number of concurrent backup sessions that a virtual backup proxy is allowed to manage, and the method comprises:

detecting that an existing virtual backup proxy is managing a number of concurrent backup sessions that exceeds the number of concurrent backup sessions allowed; and

commissioning one or more new virtual backup proxies to reduce the number of concurrent backup sessions being handled by the existing virtual backup proxy.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the triggering condition in the at least one rule specifies a threshold duration of time that a virtual backup proxy should be in service, and the method comprises:

detecting that an existing virtual backup proxy has been in service for a period of time that exceeds the threshold duration; and

decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the commissioning a new virtual backup proxy to backup virtual machines comprises:

selecting, from a template repository, a virtual backup proxy template having an operating system image of an operating system that is the same as a virtual machine to be backed up.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically commissioning the new virtual backup proxy in response to the triggering condition being satisfied comprises recording, in a configuration database, a new Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the newly commissioned virtual backup proxy.

8. The method of claim 1 comprising:

displaying, on an electronic screen, a dialog box comprising an option specifying elastic virtual backup proxies;

receiving a selection of the option from a user; and

in response to the user selecting the option for elastic virtual backup proxies, automatically changing the number of virtual backup proxies based on one or more of a plurality of factors, the plurality of factors comprising a first factor indicating a number of virtual machines to backup, a second factor indicating a backup window time, a third factor indicating a duration of time that a virtual backup proxy has been in service, a fourth factor indicating a number of concurrent backup sessions, and a fifth factor indicating a level of service specified in a service level agreement.

9. A system for elastic management of virtual backup proxies, the system comprising: a processor-based system executed on a computer system and configured to:

store a plurality of rules for dynamically managing virtual machine backups in a computing environment, each rule comprising a triggering condition, and an action to be performed when the triggering condition is satisfied, wherein a first action in a first rule comprises automatically decommissioning an existing virtual backup proxy in the computing environment;

poll the computing environment to detect changes in the computing environment;

evaluate the first rule against a detected change in the computing environment;

based on the evaluation, determine that a triggering condition specified in the first rule has been satisfied;

perform, in response to the triggering condition specified in the first rule being satisfied, automatically decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy, the automatically decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy comprising purging the existing virtual backup proxy; and

updating a graphical topology map from a first pictorial representation to a second pictorial representation, different from the first pictorial representation, wherein the first pictorial representation comprises a plurality of virtual machine widgets representing the virtual machines, a first virtual backup proxy widget representing the existing virtual backup proxy, and a plurality of graphical linkages between the virtual machine widgets and the first virtual backup proxy widget, representing an assignment of the existing virtual backup proxy to the virtual machines, and

wherein the second pictorial representation comprises the plurality of virtual machine widgets and does not comprise the first virtual backup proxy widget because the existing virtual backup proxy has been purged.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein a second action in a second rule comprises automatically commissioning a new virtual backup proxy, a triggering condition in the second rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the processor-based system is configured to:

detect that a current number of virtual machines in the computing environment exceeds the ratio;

determine that the triggering condition in the second rule has been satisfied; and

commission one or more new virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio in response to the triggering condition in the second rule being satisfied.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein a second action in a second rule comprises automatically decommissioning an existing virtual backup proxy, a triggering condition in the second rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the processor-based system is configured to:

detect that a current number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment exceeds the ratio;

determine that the triggering condition in the second rule has been satisfied; and

decommission one or more existing virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio in response to the triggering condition in the second rule being satisfied.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein a second action in a second rule comprises automatically commissioning a new virtual backup proxy, a triggering condition in the second rule specifies a number of concurrent backup sessions that a virtual backup proxy is allowed to manage, and the processor-based system is configured to:

detect that an existing virtual backup proxy is managing a number of concurrent backup sessions that exceeds the number of concurrent backup sessions allowed;

determine that the triggering condition in the second rule has been satisfied; and

commission one or more new virtual backup proxies to reduce the number of concurrent backup sessions being handled by the existing virtual backup proxy in response to the triggering condition in the second rule being satisfied.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein a second action in a second rule comprises automatically decommissioning an existing virtual backup proxy, a triggering condition in the second rule specifies a threshold duration of time that a virtual backup proxy should be in service, and the processor-based system is configured to:

detect that an existing virtual backup proxy has been in service for a period of time that exceeds the threshold duration;

determine that the triggering condition in the second rule has been satisfied; and

decommission the existing virtual backup proxy in response to the triggering condition in the second rule being satisfied.

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

select, from a template repository, a virtual backup proxy template having an operating system image of an operating system that is the same as a virtual machine to be backed up.

15. 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 first and second rules for dynamically managing virtual machine backups in a computing environment, each rule comprising a triggering condition, and an action to be performed when the triggering condition is satisfied, a first action in the first rule comprising automatically commissioning a new virtual backup proxy onto a host to backup virtual machines in the computing environment, and a second action in the second rule comprising automatically decommissioning an existing virtual backup proxy in the computing environment;

polling the computing environment to detect changes in the computing environment;

evaluating the first and second rules against a detected change in the computing environment;

when, based on the evaluation, a triggering condition specified in the first rule is satisfied, automatically commissioning the new virtual backup proxy onto the host, thereby increasing a number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment to reduce a backup window time;

when, based on the evaluation, a triggering condition specified in the second rule is satisfied, automatically decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy, thereby reducing the number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment to conserve compute resources, the automatically decommissioning comprising purging the existing virtual backup proxy; and

updating a graphical topology map from a first pictorial representation to a second pictorial representation, different from the first pictorial representation, wherein the first pictorial representation comprises a plurality of virtual machine widgets representing the virtual machines, a first number of virtual backup proxy widgets representing a plurality of virtual backup proxies assigned to backup the virtual machines, and a plurality of graphical linkages, between the virtual machine widgets and the virtual backup proxy widgets, representing assignments of the virtual backup proxies to the virtual machines,

wherein the second pictorial representation comprises the plurality of virtual machine widgets, a second number of virtual backup proxy widgets, different from the first number of virtual backup proxy widgets, and the plurality of graphical linkages,

wherein when the triggering condition specified in the first rule is satisfied, the second number of virtual backup proxy widgets is greater than the first number of virtual backup proxy widgets, and

wherein when the triggering condition specified in the second rule is satisfied, the second number of virtual backup proxy widgets is less than the first number of virtual backup proxy widget.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the triggering condition in the first rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the method comprises:

detecting that a current number of virtual machines in the computing environment exceeds the ratio; and

commissioning one or more new virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the triggering condition in the second rule specifies a ratio comprising a number of virtual backup proxies and a number of virtual machines, and the method comprises:

detecting that a current number of virtual backup proxies in the computing environment exceeds the ratio; and

decommissioning one or more existing virtual backup proxies to comply with the ratio.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the triggering condition in the first rule specifies a number of concurrent backup sessions that a virtual backup proxy is allowed to manage, and the method comprises:

detecting that an existing virtual backup proxy is managing a number of concurrent backup sessions that exceeds the number of concurrent backup sessions allowed; and

commissioning one or more new virtual backup proxies to reduce the number of concurrent backup sessions being handled by the existing virtual backup proxy.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the triggering condition in the second rule specifies a threshold duration of time that a virtual backup proxy should be in service, and the method comprises:

detecting that an existing virtual backup proxy has been in service for a period of time that exceeds the threshold duration; and

decommissioning the existing virtual backup proxy.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the commissioning a new virtual backup proxy to backup virtual machines comprises:

selecting, from a template repository, a virtual backup proxy template having an operating system image of an operating system that is the same as a virtual machine to be backed up.