Patents Assigned to Symantec Operation
  • System and method for switching to a new coordinator resource
    Patent number: 7953890
    Abstract: Various embodiments of methods and systems for dynamically switching to a new coordinator resource are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method involves receiving information identifying a new coordinator resource for use by a cluster; detecting whether each of the nodes within the cluster is committing to use the new coordinator resource; and switching from an existing coordinator resource to the new coordinator resource, in response to detecting that each of the nodes within the cluster is committing to use the new coordinator resource. This method can be performed concurrently with normal cluster operations, and thus the cluster need not be disabled to perform the switchover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Amol S. Katkar, Grace Jing Chen, Viraj R. Kamat, Shardul Divatia
  • System and method for assigning symbolic names to data streams
    Patent number: 7953879
    Abstract: Various embodiments of methods and systems for assigning symbolic names to data streams within a file are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method involves receiving a request to access a file that includes multiple data streams and then selecting one of the data streams to be accessed, based on the symbolic name. In response to identifying that one of the data streams is associated with the symbolic name, that data stream is accessed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Sree Hari Nagaralu, Murali Nagaraj, Nookala Sunder Phani Kumar
  • Space-optimized backup set conversion
    Patent number: 7941619
    Abstract: A system for space-optimized backup set conversion may include a backup converter and a first sequence of backup images of a data source. Each backup image may be of a particular backup image type, such as a full image, a differential image, or an incremental image. The backup converter may be configured to convert the first sequence of backup images into a second sequence of backup images by converting a particular backup image of the first sequence into a transformed backup image of a different backup type. For example, a full image may be converted into either a differential image or an incremental image, and a differential image may be converted into an incremental image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventor: Robert P. Rossi
  • Device driver processing for automated system restores
    Patent number: 7941814
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer accessible medium comprises a plurality of instructions which, when executed and if a computer system comprises at least one virtual hardware device, identify the virtual hardware device and a corresponding physical hardware device. The plurality of instructions also capture a device driver associated with the physical hardware device for use as the device driver in an install of an operating system on a second computer system having a same type of physical hardware device. Corresponding computer systems and methods are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Okan Okcu, Nicholas R. Graf
  • Failure handling using overlay objects on a file system using object based storage devices
    Patent number: 7941697
    Abstract: A system and method for data storage in an array. A system includes a client coupled to a storage subsystem including data storage locations addressable as rows and columns in an array. Each column comprises a separate storage device. Each row includes redundant data. For a given row, a coordinating storage device coordinates the computation and storage of redundant data. The system detects a failure of a storage region and in response, configures an overlay storage device to temporarily overlay the failed region, maintains an association between the overlay device and the failed region, and maintains a record of changes made to the overlay device while the region is in a failed state. In response to detecting that the failed region has been restored, the system uses the association to identify the overlay device and uses the record of changes made to the overlay device to resynchronize the failed region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: George Mathew, Craig K. Harmer, Basant Rajan
  • User interfaces for collaborative multi-locale context-aware systems management problem analysis
    Patent number: 7941484
    Abstract: A method to provide user interfaces for multi-locale context-aware systems management problem analysis comprises receiving a request for information associated with a systems management event, dynamically identifying a first locale designation associated with a first user of a systems management tool and a second locale designation associated with a second user of the systems management tool, and the systems management tool concurrently displaying the information according to the first and second locale designations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher James Elphinstone Chandler, Guy Barry Owen Bunker
  • Automatic clusterwide fail-back
    Patent number: 7937617
    Abstract: Systems and procedures may be used to coordinate the fail-back of multiple hosts in environments where the hosts share one or more data-storage resources. In one implementation, a procedure for coordinating fail-backs includes monitoring a failed data path to detect a restoration of the data path, polling remaining nodes in response to the restoration, and allowing the first node to resume communications if access has been restored to the remaining nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Venkata Sreenivasa Rao Nagineni, Siddhartha Nandi, Abhay K. Singh
  • Method and apparatus for file-level restore from raw partition backups
    Patent number: 7937545
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for file-level restore from raw partition backups. A backup mechanism may be provided that is configured to perform raw partition backups to a media server and to support file-level restores from the raw partition backups through, for example, Fibre Channel (FC) or iSCSI Logical Unit (LUN) export of the raw partition backup images to client systems. Once a LUN is exported and mounted on the client system, direct file manipulation using standard file system commands may be performed. Embodiments achieve both fast backup and individual file retrieval without the necessity of understanding native file system formats and without requiring a file system mapping of the source (client) partition. Thus, embodiments may be used in heterogeneous environments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Weibao Wu, Graham Bromley, James P. Ohr
  • Controlling cached write operations to storage arrays
    Patent number: 7930481
    Abstract: An application may issue write operations intended for a SAN via a server cache. Monitoring of the SAN (e.g., the autonomous persistent cache of the storage arrays of the SAN), allows caching performance to be controlled by a write caching policy. The server cache memory may be increased, decreased or eliminated according to the write caching policy. In one embodiment, a storage volume manager may adjust the latency of write operations in the server cache. In some embodiments, the write caching policy may adapt and learn characteristics of the storage environment, which may include calibrated values for messaging timestamps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Jim Nagler, Ramesh Balan
  • System and method for logging and replaying asynchronous events
    Patent number: 7930684
    Abstract: A system, method, and computer-accessible medium for logging and replaying asynchronous events are disclosed. One or more asynchronous events occurring during execution of a first instance of a computer program are logged. In logging the asynchronous events, a respective location in the execution of the first instance at which each of the one or more asynchronous events occurs is determined. A respective synchronous event preceding each asynchronous event is also determined. The asynchronous events are replayed during execution of a second instance of the computer program. In replaying each asynchronous event, the second instance is instrumented at the respective location during the execution of the second instance after detecting the preceding synchronous event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Guenter E. Roeck, Serge Pashenkov, Serge Shats
  • System and method for domain failure analysis of a storage area network
    Patent number: 7930583
    Abstract: Systems, methods, apparatus and software can implement a SAN monitoring scheme for determining changes in SAN topology, such as device failure and state changes. These changes are recorded in a SAN topology data structure. Information in the SAN topology data structure is used, for example, to identify a suspect path or set of paths, and to make decisions about communications pathways used by a multipath device driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Hari Krishna Vemuri, Venkata Sreenivasa Rao Nagineni, Siddhartha Nandi
  • Method and appartus for detecting an application process failure
    Patent number: 7925932
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting an application process failure is described. In one embodiment, a process membership manager is opened with a first process. This action by the first process causes an instance indicia associated with the process membership manager to be assigned a first predefined value. The first process (i.e., parent process) then forks (or creates) a second process (i.e., child process). Once the second process is created, the instance indicia is changed to a second predefined value. In the event the second process fails, the second predefined value will change to reflect the process failure. Consequently, this change of the second predefined value causes a message, which provides notice of the second process failure, to be sent to a process membership manager.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventor: Veeral Prabodhachandra Shah
  • Fibre accelerated pipe data transport
    Patent number: 7925758
    Abstract: A system and method for managing data transfers. A system comprises a plurality of nodes and a fabric including at least a first link interconnecting the plurality of nodes. The system allocates a first pipe having a unique first pipe identifier and a second pipe having a unique second pipe identifier within the first link. A first initiator node uses the first link and the first pipe identifier to communicate with a first target node. A second initiator node uses the first link and the second pipe identifier to communicate with a second target node. The system allows concurrent data exchanges via the first and second pipes. The first link comprises a Fibre Channel link. The first and second initiator nodes each comprise at least one SCSI initiator and the first and second target nodes each comprise one or more SCSI logical units coupled to a physical storage medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventor: Craig E. Bridge
  • System and method for dynamic storage device expansion support in a storage virtualization environment
    Patent number: 7921262
    Abstract: It has been discovered that systems, methods, apparatus and software can accommodate the addition or removal of available physical storage (storage “expansion”) in a storage virtualization environment while virtual storage devices remain online and generally available to users. When a change to the available storage has occurred, new storage device geometry and configuration information reflecting the change is obtained and/or calculated. This new information is used to update mapping information used by virtualization software and/or to update information used by an operating system to manage storage devices. Such updating occurs while some or all of the virtual storage devices associated with the physical storage devices remain available to users. In some cases, I/O operations targeting a physical device are held, in a manner transparent to a user, while updating occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Prasanta Dash, Michael Wahl
  • File-system-independent malicious content detection
    Patent number: 7917481
    Abstract: The present invention enables a large number of files to be processed for evidence of malicious content, independently of the file system that maintains the files. The processed files can be obtained from live data or a point-in-time copy (e.g., a snapshot) of the data, based on mapping information that maps the files to the physical storage device. In one embodiment, a method involves accessing mapping information corresponding to a set of data. The mapping information maps at least a portion of a file to a physical storage location. The portion of the file can be read from the physical storage location using the mapping information, without accessing a file system. The portion of the file can then be analyzed for evidence of malicious content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Sanjay Ramchandra Kale, Kuldeep Sureshrao Nagarkar, Abhay Harishchandra Marode, Michael P. Spertus
  • Method and apparatus for configuring a user interface
    Patent number: 7917855
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for configuring a user interface is disclosed. The method and apparatus allow for the determination of a function provided by the user interface using a skin. Such a skin includes information regarding an object, where the object represents an entity managed using the user interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Vekeepuram R. Satish, Manish Manhar Parekh, Shailendra Itnal, Darshana Ashok Daga, Ronald S. Karr, Amol Narayan Godbole
  • System and method for archival of messages in size-limited containers and separate archival of attachments in content addressable storage
    Patent number: 7913053
    Abstract: A method for archival of messages in content addressable storage can be provided. The method can comprise identifying a plurality of messages for archival. The identified messages can be subjected to extraction of attachments therefrom. The messages, minus any removed attachments, can then be concatenated into a container file. Finally, the container file and the extracted attachments are stored in a content addressable storage system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventor: Richard Newland
  • System and method for detecting and storing file identity change information within a file system
    Patent number: 7912866
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting and storing file identity change information within a file system. In one embodiment, the system may include a storage device configured to store a plurality of files and a file system configured to manage access to the storage device. The file system may be configured to detect an operation to modify an identity of a first file stored on the storage device and, subsequent to detecting the operation, store a record of the operation associated with the first file, where the record includes a signature corresponding to the first file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Dhrubajyoti Borthakur, Nur Premo
  • High availability cluster with notification of resource state changes
    Patent number: 7913105
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting a state change of a resource in a high availability (HA) cluster are disclosed. The method comprises registering to receive notification when the resource changes state. The method further comprises receiving a notification of a state change of the resource and automatically performing one or more actions to ensure high availability of the first resource in response to the notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Anantharaman Ganesh, Kalyani Sundaralingam
  • In-place splitting and merging of files
    Patent number: 7908302
    Abstract: A method, computer program product, and apparatus providing a means to split files and to merge files without the need for duplicating all of the data of the original files is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Sree Hari Nagaralu, Sunder Phani Kumar, Anand Apte