Migration to cloud storage from backup

Abstract

During a data protection operation, a data storage system can collect computing attributes associated with hosting of an application generating data being backed up and may also obtain information relating to physical characteristics of the computing device hosting the application and the data. At the time of migration to a cloud, the system can use the collected attributes and/or information to provision cloud resources. For instance, the cloud storage system may accept provisioning requests, and may provide several templates which each specify a cloud resource that can be provisioned upon request, such as a cloud computing resource. The system can compare the collected attributes with the attributes of the available templates to determine the best match. Then, the system can issue a provisioning request to the cloud provider according to the best-matched template. After provisioning the resources, the system can restore backup data of the application to the cloud storage system to migrate the data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system configured to migrate an installed application to a cloud location, the system comprising:
 one or more first computing devices comprising computer hardware and in communication with a cloud computing system, where the cloud computing system provides an interface for selecting from a plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources to provision within the cloud computing system,   the one or more first computing devices configured to:
 retrieve one or more computing parameters associated with production data, a client computing device, or a first application,
 wherein the production data was generated by the first application executed by the client computing device within a primary storage subsystem, and stored on one or more storage devices, and 
 wherein a secondary copy of the production data is stored in one or more storage devices within a secondary storage subsystem; 
 
 compare the one or more computing parameters with characteristics associated with one or more cloud computing resources of the plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources; 
 select, based at least in part on the comparison, one of the differently appointed cloud computing resources to be provisioned; 
 request the cloud computing system to provision an instance of the selected cloud computing resource within the cloud computing system; 
 cause installation of an instance of the first application on the provisioned instance of the selected cloud computing resource; and 
 initiate a data restore operation to restore at least a portion of the secondary copy from the one or more storage devices within the secondary storage subsystem to the cloud computing system. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing parameters specify one or more of: a version of application, a type of operating system (OS), a version of operating system (OS), a type of central processing unit (CPU), a type of random access memory (RAM), or an amount of disk storage. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , the characteristics associated with the plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources include one or more of: a version of application, a type of operating system (OS), a version of operating system (OS), a type of central processing unit (CPU), a type of random access memory (RAM), or an amount of disk storage. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more computing parameters has a weight or a ranking associated with the parameter. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a first parameter of the one or more computing parameters specifies a required attribute and a second parameter of the one or more computing parameters specifies a desired attribute. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are further configured to, as part of the comparison, consult a list associated with the first application that specifies the one or more computing parameters. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are further configured to consult a second list stored in association with a second application executing on the client computing device, the second list specifying one or more second computing parameters associated with hosting of the second application. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are further configured to cause installation of an instance of a data agent associated with the first application on the provisioned instance of the selected cloud computing resource. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the instance of the data agent is configured to initiate the data restore operation of the at least a portion of the secondary copy of the production data. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first application is a database application. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are configured to compare the characteristics associated with the plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources with at least the one or more computing parameters based on a matching algorithm. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are further configured to, subsequent to the data restore operation of the at least a portion of the secondary copy, remove the first application from the client computing device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the instance of the first application installed on the provisioned instance of the cloud computing resource is executed by the cloud computing resource. 
     
     
         14 . A system configured to migrate an installed application to a remote location over a wide area network (WAN), the system comprising:
 one or more first computing devices comprising computer hardware and in communication with a remote computing system, where the remote computing system provides an interface for selecting from a plurality of differently appointed remote computing resources to provision within the remote computing system,   the one or more first computing devices configured to:   retrieve one or more computing parameters associated with production data, a client computing device, or a first application,
 wherein production data was generated by the first application executed by the client computing device within a primary storage subsystem, and stored on one or more storage devices, and 
 wherein a secondary copy of the production data is stored in one or more storage devices within a secondary storage subsystem; 
   compare the one or more computing parameters with characteristics associated with one or more remote computing resources of the plurality of differently appointed remote computing resources;   select, based at least in part on the comparison, one of the differently appointed remote computing resources to be provisioned;   request the remote computing system to provision an instance of the selected remote computing resource within the remote computing system;   cause installation of an instance of the first application on the provisioned instance of the selected remote computing resource; and   initiate a data restore operation to restore at least a portion of the secondary copy from the one or more storage devices within the secondary storage subsystem to the remote computing system.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the remote computing system is hosted by an entity different than one or more entities that host the primary storage subsystem and the secondary storage subsystem. 
     
     
         16 . A method of migrating an installed application to a cloud location, the method comprising:
 using one or more first computing devices comprising computer hardware and in communication with a cloud computing system, where the cloud computing system provides an interface for selecting from a plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources to provision within the cloud computing system:
 retrieving one or more computing parameters associated with production data, a client computing device, or a first application,
 wherein the production data was generated by the first application executed by the client computing device within a primary storage subsystem, and stored on one or more storage devices, and 
 wherein a secondary copy of the production data is stored in one or more storage devices within a secondary storage subsystem; 
 
 comparing the one or more computing parameters with characteristics associated with one or more cloud computing resources of the plurality of differently appointed cloud computing resources; 
 selecting, based at least in part on the comparison, one of the differently appointed cloud computing resources to be provisioned; 
 requesting the cloud computing system to provision an instance of the selected cloud computing resource within the cloud computing system; 
 causing installation of an instance of the first application on the provisioned instance of the selected cloud computing resource; and 
 initiating a data restore operation to restore at least a portion of the secondary copy from the one or more storage devices within the secondary storage subsystem to the cloud computing system. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the one or more computing parameters has a weight or a ranking associated with the parameter. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , the method further comprising: installing an instance of a data agent associated with the first application on the provisioned instance of the selected cloud computing resource; the data agent being configured to initiate the restore operation of the at least a portion of the secondary copy of the production data. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the instance of the first application installed on the provisioned instance of the selected cloud computing resource is executed by the cloud computing resource. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , the method further comprising:
 consulting a first list associated with the first application that specifies the one or more computing parameters, and   consulting a second list stored in association with a second application executing on the client computing device, the second list specifying one or more second computing parameters associated with hosting of the second application.