Devices, systems, and methods for transparently intercepting data stored on a storage device and providing services related to the data

1. An intercept engine comprising:

an intercept filter adapted to intercept selected commands transmitted between a file system and a storage device; and

an intercept manager adapted to transmit to the intercept filter one or more primitives, each primitive comprising:

device information specifying a device, wherein a command directed to the specified device is to be intercepted;

command type information specifying a type of command to be intercepted; and

follow-up action information specifying an action to be performed after the command has been intercepted;

wherein the primitive further comprises:

default action information specifying an action to be performed with respect to the command if a communication between the intercept filter and the intercept manager is interrupted.

2. The intercept engine of claim 1 , wherein the intercept engine and the file system reside and operate in a single computer.

3. The intercept engine of claim 2 , wherein the storage device is linked to the computer.

4. The intercept engine of claim 1 , wherein the command type information specifies one of: a read command and a write command.

5. An intercept engine comprising:

an intercept filter adapted to intercept selected commands transmitted between a file system and a storage device; and

an intercept manager adapted to transmit to the intercept filter one or more primitives, each primitive comprising:

device information specifying a device, wherein a command directed to the specified device is to be intercepted;

command type information specifying a type of command to be intercepted; and

follow-up action information specifying an action to be performed after the command has been intercepted;

wherein the follow-up action includes an instruction to perform one of the following actions:

with respect to a command transmitted from the file system to the storage device, hold the command and wait until further instruction is received from the intercept manager;

with respect to a command transmitted from the file system to the storage device, notify the intercept manager and execute the command;

with respect to a command transmitted from the storage device to the file system, hold the command until confirmation that the command has been performed is received from the intercept manager; and

with respect to a command transmitted from the storage device to the file system, hold the command and wait until further instruction is received from the intercept manager.

6. A method comprising:

installing the intercept engine of claim 1 on a computer;

installing on the computer an application adapted to migrate selected data stored the storage device to a second storage device;

copying, by the application, one or more first data blocks associated with the selected data, from the storage device to the second storage device;

intercepting, by the intercept engine, write commands transmitted between a file system of the computer and the storage device;

for each write command intercepted:

allowing, by the intercept engine, the write command to be executed on the storage device; and

recording, by the intercept engine, in a changed data map, a location of the data stored;

copying, by the application, one or more second data blocks from the storage device to the second storage device, based on the changed data map.

7. A device comprising:

a storage device adapted to store data;

a file system adapted to store data in the storage device;

an intercept filter adapted to intercept selected commands transmitted between the file system and the storage device; and

an intercept manager adapted to transmit to the intercept filter one or more primitives, each primitive comprising:

device information specifying a device, wherein a command directed to the specified device is to be intercepted;

command type information specifying a type of command to be intercepted; and

follow-up action information specifying an action to be performed after the command has been intercepted;

wherein the primitive further comprises:

default action information specifying an action to be performed with respect to the command if a communication between the intercept filter and the intercept manager is interrupted.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the command type information specifies one of: a read command and a write command.

9. A device comprising:

a storage device adapted to store data;

a file system adapted to store data in the storage device;

an intercept filter adapted to intercept selected commands transmitted between the file system and the storage device; and

an intercept manager adapted to transmit to the intercept filter one or more primitives, each primitive comprising:

device information specifying a device, wherein a command directed to the specified device is to be intercepted;

command type information specifying a type of command to be intercepted; and

follow-up action information specifying an action to be performed after the command has been intercepted;

wherein the follow-up action includes an instruction to perform one of the following actions:

with respect to a command transmitted from the file system to the storage device, hold the command and wait until further instruction is received from the intercept manager;

with respect to a command transmitted from the file system to the storage device, notify the intercept manager and execute the command;

with respect to a command transmitted from the storage device to the file system, hold the command until confirmation that the command has been performed is received from the intercept manager; and

with respect to a command transmitted from the storage with respect to a command transmitted from the storage device to the file system, hold the command and wait until further instruction is received from the intercept manager.

10. The intercept engine of claim 5 , wherein the intercept engine and the file system reside and operate in a single computer.

11. The intercept engine of claim 10 , wherein the storage device is linked to the computer.

12. The intercept engine of claim 5 , wherein the command type information specifies one of: a read command and a write command.

13. A method comprising: installing the intercept engine of claim 5 on a computer; installing on the computer an application adapted to migrate selected data stored in the storage device to a second storage device; copying, by the application, one or more first data blocks associated with the selected data, from the storage device to the second storage device; intercepting, by the intercept engine, write commands transmitted between a file system of the computer and the storage device; for each write command intercepted: allowing, by the intercept engine, the write command to be executed on the storage device; and recording, by the intercept engine, in a changed data map, a location of the data stored; copying, by the application, one or more second data blocks from the storage device to the second storage device, based on the changed data map.

14. The device of claim 7 , wherein the command type information specifies one of: a read command and a write command.

15. The device of claim 9 , wherein the command type information specifies one of: a read command and a write command.