Systems and methods for granular resource management in a storage network

Abstract

In accordance with some aspects of the present invention, systems and methods are provided for dynamically and/or automatically selecting and/or modifying data path definitions that are used in performing storage operations on data. Alternate data paths may be specified or selected that use some or all resources that communicate with a particular destination to improve system reliability and performance. The system may also dynamically monitor and choose data path definitions to optimize system performance, conserve storage media and promote balanced load distribution.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for consolidating storage policies within a storage operation network, the method comprising:
 automatically evaluating with one or more computer hardware processors, first and second storage policies to determine that the first and second storage policies use first and second storage operation paths to conduct data from a first client to a first storage device;   consolidating the first and second storage policies into a comprehensive storage policy, wherein the comprehensive storage policy associates at least the first and second storage operation paths to conduct data from the first client to the first storage device;   generating a forecast of at least one prediction of how one or more future network operating conditions may impact future storage operations; and   automatically adding at least a third storage operation path to the comprehensive storage policy based on the at least one prediction of how the one or more future network operating conditions may impact future storage operations, wherein the third storage operation path is an alternate data path that is different than the first and second storage operation paths.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein a first media agent transfers the data via the first storage operation path and a second media agent transfers the data via the second storage operation path. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the first client comprises at least one sub client. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the one or more future network operating conditions comprise at least one of the group consisting of: data transfer rate, network usage, load balancing, resource exhaustion, transmission congestion, or performance optimization. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2  wherein automatically evaluating the first and second storage policies is based at least in part whether the first and second storage policies share a common element. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2  wherein information about the first and second storage operation paths is obtained from an index cache. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2  wherein information about the first and second storage operation paths is obtained from a metabase. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2  wherein automatically evaluating the first and second storage policies is based at least in part on one of the group consisting of: origination point, destination point, transmission resources scheduled to be involved, and a process-based netlist. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2  wherein automatically evaluating the first and second storage policies is based at least in part on which storage operation paths are likely to experience an adverse impact due to changing conditions. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2  wherein dynamically adding the third storage operation path is based at least in part on preventing a predicted failover condition. 
     
     
         12 . A storage operation system comprising:
 a plurality of storage devices; and   a storage manager executing in one or more computer processors, the storage manager configured to:
 automatically evaluate first and second storage policies to determine that first and second storage policies use first and second storage operation paths to conduct data from a first client to a first storage device; 
 consolidate the first and second storage policies into a comprehensive storage policy, wherein the comprehensive storage policy associates at least the first and second storage operation paths to conduct data from the first client to the first storage device; and 
 generate a forecast of at least one prediction of how one or more future network operating conditions may impact future storage operations; and 
 automatically add at least a third storage operation path to the comprehensive storage policy based on the at least one prediction of how the one or more future network operating conditions may impact future storage operations, wherein the third storage operation path is an alternate data path that is different than the first and second storage operation paths. 
   
     
     
         13 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to direct a first media agent to transfer the data via the first storage operation path and a second media agent to transfer the data via the second storage operation path. 
     
     
         14 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the first client comprises at least one sub client. 
     
     
         15 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the one or more future network operating conditions comprise at least one of the group consisting of: data transfer rate, network usage, load balancing, resource exhaustion, transmission congestion, or performance optimization. 
     
     
         16 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to automatically evaluate the first and second storage policies based at least in part on whether the first and second storage policies share a common element. 
     
     
         17 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to obtain information about the first and second storage operation paths from an index cache. 
     
     
         18 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to obtain information about the first and second storage operation paths from a metabase. 
     
     
         19 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to automatically evaluate the first and second storage policies based at least in part one of the group consisting of: origination point, destination point, transmission resources scheduled to be involved, and a process-based netlist. 
     
     
         20 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to automatically evaluate the first and second storage policies based at least in part on which storage operation paths are likely to experience an adverse impact due to changing conditions. 
     
     
         21 . The storage operation system of  claim 12  wherein the storage manager is configured to dynamically add the third storage operation path based at least in part on preventing a predicted failover condition.