Cloud Storage Policy Synchronization for Hybrid ILM
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid cloud storage environments face conflicts between on-premises and cloud storage policies, leading to unexpected recall delays and application hanging due to misalignment of information lifecycle management (ILM) rules, especially when objects are migrated to low-activity cloud storage tiers.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to synchronize storage policies by creating metadata tags that indicate on-premises storage policies, allowing a cloud policy engine to override default cloud storage policies and generate customized policies aligned with on-premises policies, ensuring consistent storage management and avoiding delays during object recall from low-activity tiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If objects are migrated to low-activity cloud storage tiers to reduce cost, then storage cost is reduced, but object recall time increases causing delays and application hanging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring custom storage policies for objects before migration to cloud storage. These policies include pre-defined recall conditions and priority levels that are established in advance, allowing the system to automatically manage object recall without delays when needed, thus preventing application hanging while maintaining cost-effective storage tier placement
2Device complexity
If default cloud storage policies are applied uniformly to all migrated objects, then policy management is simplified, but on-premises ILM policy requirements are not met causing policy misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating customized storage policies tailored to individual objects or object groups based on their specific on-premises ILM requirements. Instead of applying a uniform default policy, the system generates unique policies for each object that reflect its specific retention, access, and recall requirements, ensuring reliable policy alignment while managing complexity through automated policy generation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by replicating on-premises storage policy attributes into the cloud storage environment through metadata tags and custom policy configurations. This copying of policy characteristics ensures that the cloud storage environment mirrors the on-premises ILM requirements, maintaining policy consistency across hybrid storage systems
Data Source
AI summary
One or more computer processors to receive an object to store in a cloud storage environment, wherein the cloud storage environment includes a default storage policy. The one or more processors determine whether the object includes a foreign policy as an attribute of metadata associated with the object. The one or more processors, responsive to determining the object includes the foreign policy as an attribute of the metadata associated with the object, determine whether the foreign policy includes storage rules that differ from the default storage policy of the cloud storage environment, and the one or more processors, responsive to determining the storage rules included in the foreign policy of the metadata of the object differ from the default storage policy of the cloud storage environment, store the object based on the storage rules of the foreign policy, and ignore the default storage policy of the cloud storage environment.