Automatic selection of data movers for protecting virtual machines

1. A method for selecting types of data movers to protect a cluster of virtual machines, the data movers being responsible for backing up the virtual machines to backup storage, the method comprising:

reviewing a backup policy comprising user-configured options for backing up the virtual machines;

obtaining, from a virtual machine manager of the cluster, configuration details for the cluster;

evaluating whether host-level data movers that run inside hypervisors of hosts of the cluster support the user-configured options of the backup policy and the configuration details of the cluster;

if the host-level data movers support the user-configured options in the backup policy and the configuration details for the cluster, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster; and

if the host-level data movers do not support the user-configured options in the backup policy, the configuration details of the cluster, or both, provisioning one or more of in-guest data movers that run as guests inside the virtual machines to be backed up, or backup proxy data movers that run as separate virtual machines and outside the virtual machines to be backed up.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the configuration details comprise identifications of versions of the hypervisors that are running on the hosts of the cluster.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the cluster for changes to the configuration details;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change comprising an upgrade of the hypervisors running on the hosts from an earlier version to a later version, the later version being supported by the host-level data movers; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the later version of the hypervisors, installing the host-level data movers into each hypervisor of the later version now running on the hosts.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the backup policy for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change to a user-configured option;

determining that the host-level data movers now support the user-configured options in the backup policy because of the change; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the user-configured options in the backup policy, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

after the installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster, monitoring the cluster for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, an addition of a new host to the cluster; and

installing a host-level data mover into a hypervisor running on the new host added to the cluster.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the installing the host-level data movers further comprises:

attaching filter drivers to the virtual machines of the cluster to track changes made by the virtual machines to virtual disks owned by the virtual machines, wherein during a backup, the host-level data movers copy the changes to backup storage, and a data path of the backup is from the hosts of the cluster directly to backup storage.

7. A system for selecting types of data movers to protect a cluster of virtual machines, the data movers being responsible for backing up the virtual machines to backup storage, the system comprising: a processor; and memory configured to store one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of:

reviewing a backup policy comprising user-configured options for backing up the virtual machines;

obtaining, from a virtual machine manager of the cluster, configuration details for the cluster;

evaluating whether host-level data movers that run inside hypervisors of hosts of the cluster support the user-configured options of the backup policy and the configuration details of the cluster;

if the host-level data movers support the user-configured options in the backup policy and the configuration details for the cluster, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster; and

if the host-level data movers do not support the user-configured options in the backup policy, the configuration details of the cluster, or both, provisioning one or more of in-guest data movers that run as guests inside the virtual machines to be backed up, or backup proxy data movers that run as separate virtual machines and outside the virtual machines to be backed up.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the configuration details comprise identifications of versions of the hypervisors that are running on the hosts of the cluster.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor further carries out the steps of:

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the cluster for changes to the configuration details;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change comprising an upgrade of the hypervisors running on the hosts from an earlier version to a later version, the later version being supported by the host-level data movers; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the later version of the hypervisors, installing the host-level data movers into each hypervisor of the later version now running on the hosts.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor further carries out the steps of:

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the backup policy for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change to a user-configured option;

determining that the host-level data movers now support the user-configured options in the backup policy because of the change; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the user-configured options in the backup policy, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor further carries out the steps of:

after the installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster, monitoring the cluster for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, an addition of a new host to the cluster; and

installing a host-level data mover into a hypervisor running on the new host added to the cluster.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the installing the host-level data movers further comprises:

attaching filter drivers to the virtual machines of the cluster to track changes made by the virtual machines to virtual disks owned by the virtual machines, wherein during a backup, the host-level data movers copy the changes to backup storage, and a data path of the backup is from the hosts of the cluster directly to backup storage.

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 for selecting types of data movers to protect a cluster of virtual machines, the data movers being responsible for backing up the virtual machines to backup storage, the method comprising:

reviewing a backup policy comprising user-configured options for backing up the virtual machines;

obtaining, from a virtual machine manager of the cluster, configuration details for the cluster;

evaluating whether host-level data movers that run inside hypervisors of hosts of the cluster support the user-configured options of the backup policy and the configuration details of the cluster;

if the host-level data movers support the user-configured options in the backup policy and the configuration details for the cluster, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster; and

if the host-level data movers do not support the user-configured options in the backup policy, the configuration details of the cluster, or both, provisioning one or more of in-guest data movers that run as guests inside the virtual machines to be backed up, or backup proxy data movers that run as separate virtual machines and outside the virtual machines to be backed up.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the configuration details comprise identifications of versions of the hypervisors that are running on the hosts of the cluster.

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

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the cluster for changes to the configuration details;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change comprising an upgrade of the hypervisors running on the hosts from an earlier version to a later version, the later version being supported by the host-level data movers; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the later version of the hypervisors, installing the host-level data movers into each hypervisor of the later version now running on the hosts.

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

after the provisioning one or more of the in-guest data movers or backup proxy data movers, monitoring the backup policy for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, a change to a user-configured option;

determining that the host-level data movers now support the user-configured options in the backup policy because of the change; and

based on the host-level data movers now supporting the user-configured options in the backup policy, installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster.

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

after the installing the host-level data movers into the hypervisors running on the hosts of the cluster, monitoring the cluster for changes;

detecting, from the monitoring, an addition of a new host to the cluster; and

installing a host-level data mover into a hypervisor running on the new host added to the cluster.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the installing the host-level data movers further comprises:

attaching filter drivers to the virtual machines of the cluster to track changes made by the virtual machines to virtual disks owned by the virtual machines, wherein during a backup, the host-level data movers copy the changes to backup storage, and a data path of the backup is from the hosts of the cluster directly to backup storage.