Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for creating and managing block-level snapshots. For example, the public snapshot service can create a snapshot based on (i) a specification of a parent snapshot to be used as a basis for a given snapshot, and (ii) a specification of the data blocks to be backed up in the given snapshot. The data blocks in the snapshot may be stored in a specific storage path structure that facilitates computation of a block difference with respect to the parent snapshot.

Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for creating and managing block-level snapshots. For example, the public snapshot service can create a snapshot based on (i) a specification of a parent snapshot to be used as a basis for a given snapshot, and (ii) a specification of the data blocks to be backed up in the given snapshot. The data blocks in the snapshot may be stored in a specific storage path structure that facilitates computation of a block difference with respect to the parent snapshot.

Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for associating a block-level snapshot with certain snapshot properties that indicate a block load order, and creating a block storage volume from the snapshot by loading the blocks in the snapshot onto the block storage volume in the block load order indicated by the snapshot properties associated with the snapshot.

Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for creating and managing block-level snapshots. For example, the public snapshot service can create a snapshot based on (i) a specification of a parent snapshot to be used as a basis for a given snapshot, and (ii) a specification of the data blocks to be backed up in the given snapshot. The data blocks in the snapshot may be stored in a specific storage path structure that facilitates computation of a block difference with respect to the parent snapshot.

Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for creating and managing block-level snapshots. For example, the public snapshot service can create a snapshot based on (i) a specification of a parent snapshot to be used as a basis for a given snapshot, and (ii) a specification of the data blocks to be backed up in the given snapshot. The data blocks in the snapshot may be stored in a specific storage path structure that facilitates computation of a block difference with respect to the parent snapshot.

Abstract: Generally described, one or more aspects of the present application relate to a public snapshot service for creating and managing block-level snapshots. For example, the public snapshot service can create a snapshot based on (i) a specification of a parent snapshot to be used as a basis for a given snapshot, and (ii) a specification of the data blocks to be backed up in the given snapshot. The data blocks in the snapshot may be stored in a specific storage path structure that facilitates computation of a block difference with respect to the parent snapshot.

Abstract: Transferring an application from a first site to a second site includes determining that the second site is a destination site for the application, causing writes by the application at the first site to be propagated synchronously to the second site, transferring storage data from the first site to the second site, suspending operation of the application on the first site, and resuming operation of the application on the second site. The application may be a virtual machine or a host cluster capable of transitioning applications between cluster nodes. The virtual machine may be transferred from the first site to the second site by transferring an image of the virtual machine from the first site to the second site. The destination site may be selected by a user. The second site may be located remotely from the first site across an asynchronous distance.

Abstract: Transferring an application from a first site to a second site includes determining that the second site is a destination site for the application, causing writes by the application at the first site to be propagated semi-synchronously to the second site, transferring storage data from the first site to the second site, suspending operation of the application on the first site, and resuming operation of the application on the second site. The application may be a virtual machine or a host cluster capable of transitioning applications between cluster nodes. The virtual machine may be transferred from the first site to the second site by transferring an image of the virtual machine from the first site to the second site. The destination site may be selected by a user. The second site may be located remotely from the first site across an asynchronous distance.

Abstract: Sharing resources in a virtualized environment includes providing access by a plurality of virtual platform clusters to distributed resources of the virtualized environment, where each of the virtual platform clusters has a director that manages resources for one or more virtual machines in a corresponding one of the virtual platform clusters. Sharing resources also includes dynamically managing sharing of the distributed resources among the plurality of virtual platform clusters according to a sharing arrangement, where the distributed resources include a plurality of objects. A first subset of the plurality of objects is shared among the plurality of virtual platform clusters differently than a second subset of the plurality of objects. At least some of the objects that are shared are also copied locally to different ones of the virtual platform clusters.

Abstract: New and existing virtual machines are dynamically located. Dynamic location can be prompted based on performance degradation, load balancing and other policies. Potential locations include other hosts within a data center and other data centers.

Abstract: Dynamic mobility of virtual data centers and converged infrastructure components, such as Vblocks, may be provided using a virtual platform product that federates and/or coordinates virtual storage. The system described herein enables sharing of distributed resources between multi-connected virtual platform clusters, such as VPLEX clusters, in a dynamic sharing arrangement. A virtual platform cluster may include one or more pairs of directors that enables failover from one director of the pair(s) to the other director of the pair(s) in a cluster in the case of hardware or path failure.

Abstract: A data processing system includes a host computer that executes a storage-aware component which (1) dynamically determines a need of the host computer for data storage resources of a necessary size and a necessary class, and (2) generates a storage allocation request message representing a request by the host computer that data storage resources of the necessary size and the necessary class be allocated to the host computer. The necessary class is one of a set of classes of a predetermined class-of-storage (CoS) scheme by which storage resources in the data processing system are classified. The details and complexity of the CoS scheme may vary from system to system. A data storage system communicatively coupled to the host computer includes available data storage resources of at least the necessary size and the necessary class which can be allocated for use by the host computer.

Abstract: Maintaining data at a failover site includes an application writing data at a primary site corresponding to the failover site, where data is transferred asynchronously from the primary site to the failover site, the application issuing an application check point and initiating a system check point in response to the application issuing the application check point, where the system check point causes data at the failover site to be consistent with the primary site. The application check point may complete only after the system check point completes. The application check point may complete independently of completion of the system check point. The application check point may complete either only after the system check point completes or independently of completion of the system check point according to a specific criteria.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for generating switch-initiated trespass commands. In an exemplary embodiment, a method includes recognizing that a first switch has a first path to a first target, which is coupled to a logical unit, and a second path to a second target, recognizing that a second switch has a first path to the first target and a second path to the second target, the second target being coupled to the logical unit, and determining whether the first switch should issue a trespass command.