CONTENT-AWARE AUTOMATED STORAGE HIERARCHY SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to a content-aware automated storage tiering system (100) and method in which multiple storage media (70) with different security, compliance, performance, and cost characteristics are managed over a unified storage tier (10). The system (100) includes a content analysis module (20) that analyzes the file content and a data collection module (30) that collects metadata and contextual data related to the file. Using the collected data, a file risk score (96) is generated for the file, and a storage trust score (97) is generated for each storage media by evaluating the security, compliance, performance, and cost characteristics of the storage media (70). The decision module (40) evaluates the file risk score (96) and the storage trust scores (97) together to determine the storage media (70) where the file will be placed, and the placement and transport orchestrator (50) ensures that the file is written to or moved to the determined storage media.The system (100) also enables the re-evaluation of the file upon changes in file or storage medium properties or system policies and, if necessary, its automatic transfer to a different storage medium.