Systems and methods for migrating components in a hierarchical storage network
System and methods for selectively or automatically migrating resources between storage operation cells are provided. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a management component within the storage operation system may monitor system operation and migrate components from storage operation cell to another to facilitate failover recovery, promote load balancing within the system and improve overall system performance as further described herein. Another aspect of the invention may involve performing certain predictive analyses on system operation to reveal trends and tendencies within the system. Such information may be used as the basis for potentially migrating components from one storage operation cell to another to improve system performance and reduce or eliminate resource exhaustion or congestion conditions.
1. A method of automatically transferring a storage resource from a first storage operation cell to a second storage operation cell, the method comprising:
monitoring a first operational characteristic of a first storage resource in the first storage operation cell wherein the first operational characteristic has an associated first threshold;
copying at least a first portion of the primary data to one or more secondary storage devices to create secondary data of the primary data;
identifying a second storage operation cell comprising a second storage resource having a second operational characteristic that does not exceed a second threshold;
determining whether at least a portion of the first storage resource may be transferred to the second storage operation cell such that the transfer is capable of causing the first operational characteristic to remain within the first threshold;
automatically transferring at least a portion of the first storage resource to the second storage operation cell if the first operational characteristic is near or exceeds the first threshold, and automatically transferring management information associated with the first storage operation cell to the second storage, operation cell; and
determining that the management information associated with the second storage operation cell is incomplete and performing a restore operation from at least a portion of the secondary data stored in the one or more secondary storage devices to restore the copy of the management information stored in association with the second storage operation cell.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the management information is at least one of metadata associated with the group of first resources, media records, archive records, application records, job history, source and target network pathway information, and storage policy criteria.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising verifying the management information transferred from the first storage operation cell.
4. The method claim 1 wherein a copy of the management information remains in the first storage operation cell after the management information is transferred to the second storage operation cell.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising updating the management information in both the first storage operation cell and the second storage information cell when changes occur.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein transferring the management information migrates the management information from the first storage operation cell to the second storage operation cell.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein first operational characteristic is representative of a distribution of storage operations within the first storage operation cell.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first operational characteristic is representative of storage media consumption.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first operational characteristic is representative of overall system performance.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein transferring of the at least a portion of the first storage resource to the second storage operation cell occurs after the transfer of the management information.
11. A storage system that automatically transfers a storage resource from a first storage operation cell to a second storage operation cell, the storage system comprising:
a first storage operation cell comprising computer hardware, the first storage operation cell monitors a first operational characteristic of a first storage resource wherein the first operational characteristic has an associated first threshold, wherein the first storage operation cell copies at least a first portion of the primary data to one or more secondary storage devices to create secondary data of the primary data;
a second storage operation cell comprising computer hardware, the second storage operation cell comprising a second storage resource having a second operational characteristic that does not exceed a second threshold
a storage manager comprising computer hardware, the third storage manager determines whether at least a portion of the first storage resource may be transferred to the second storage operation cell such that the transfer is capable of causing the first operational characteristic to remain within the first threshold, the storage manager automatically transfers at least a portion of the first storage resource to the second storage operation cell if the first operational characteristic is near or exceeds the first threshold, and automatically transfers management information associated with the first storage operation cell to the second storage operation cell;
wherein the second storage operation cell determines that the management information associated with the second storage operation cell is incomplete and performs a restore operation from at least a portion of the secondary data stored in the one or more secondary storage devices to restore the copy of the management information stored in association with the second storage operation cell.
12. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the management information is at least one of metadata associated with the group of first resources, media records, archive records, application records, job history, source and target network pathway information, and storage policy criteria.
13. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the second storage operation cell verifies the management information transferred from the first storage operation cell.
14. The storage system of claim 11 wherein a copy of the management information remains in the first storage operation cell after the management information is transferred to the second storage operation cell.
15. The storage system of claim 14 wherein the management information in both the first storage operation cell and the second storage information cell are updated when changes occur.
16. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the transfer of the management information migrates the management information from the first storage operation cell to the second storage operation cell.
17. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the first operational characteristic is representative of a distribution of storage operations within the first storage operation cell.
18. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the first operational characteristic is representative of storage media consumption.
19. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the first operational characteristic is representative of overall system performance.
20. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the transfer of the at least a portion of the first storage resource to the second storage operation cell occurs after the transfer of the management information.