Abstract: An apparatus in one embodiment comprises a storage system having at least first and second storage tiers each comprising a plurality of storage devices. The first storage tier implements a file system having a user visible name space and a corresponding hidden data store. The second storage tier implements a cloud-based object store. The storage system is configured to controllably relocate files from the hidden data store of the file system of the first storage tier to the cloud-based object store of the second storage tier. In conjunction with the relocation of a given one of the files, the given file is replaced in the hidden data store with a corresponding stub providing user access via the user visible name space to an object comprising the given file in the cloud-based object store of the second storage tier. The controllable relocation is illustratively performed in accordance with one or more configured policies.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and computing system for locally processing a plurality of data files stored on a local data storage system to identify an archivable file for storage on a remote data storage system. A remote tiering appliance is enabled to obtain the archivable file, wherein the remote tiering appliance stores the archivable file at a defined remote address on the remote data storage system. An identifier is received from the remote tiering appliance that locates the archivable file at the defined remote address on the remote data storage system. The identifier is stored on the local data storage system.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises a storage system comprising a plurality of storage nodes each comprising one or more storage devices. Each of the storage nodes further comprises a network protocol target configured to receive delivery of input-output (IO) operations from a network protocol initiator of a host device, a data server configured to execute the IO operations on a given storage node, and a data client configured to communicate the IO operations to at least one of the data server on the given storage node and one or more data servers corresponding to one or more additional ones of the plurality of storage nodes. The data client has knowledge of a distribution of data across the plurality of storage nodes.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and computing system for storing a plurality of identifiers on a local data storage system. The plurality of identifiers locate a plurality of archived files at a plurality of defined remote addresses on a remote data storage system. The deletion of at least one of the plurality of identifiers is sensed, thus defining at least one deleted identifier. Temporal information of the at least one deleted identifier is compared to temporal information for a data protection operation performed on at least a portion of the local data storage system.

Abstract: A technique for managing storage of directories in a file system performs a testing operation on a file-system block of a directory file. The testing operation determines whether the file-system block contains any directory element that identifies a currently-present content object in the directory. In response to the testing operation determining that the file-system block contains no directory element that identifies any currently-present content object, the file system performs a hole-punching operation on the file-system block, removing the block from the directory file and freeing the block for other use.

Abstract: A technique for managing cloud storage provides a unified framework that supports both block-type data, such as LUNs (Logical UNits) and volumes, and file-type data, such as files, and expresses both types of data in the form of objects, which form a common base for both types of data. The framework includes a single API (application program interface) for managing storage and retrieval of block-derived objects and file-derived objects from the cloud, e.g., from a cloud-based data store.

Abstract: A technique for processing IO (Input/Output) requests includes executing a first set of instructions for processing an IO request using a first thread on a CPU core and providing the first thread with an option, based on how busy the CPU core is, either (i) to execute a second set of instructions for further processing the IO request itself or (ii) to pass the IO request to a second thread on the CPU core, such that the second thread executes the second set of instructions instead of the first thread.

Abstract: A technique for managing data storage provides multiple physical computing machines and block storage arranged in a NAS (network attached storage) cluster. The physical computing machines run NAS servers, with each NAS server including an FSDB (file system database) that identifies a set of file systems that belong to the NAS server. LUNs (Logical UNits) in the block storage provide backing store for the set of file systems of each NAS server. In response to a request to move operation of a NAS server from a first physical computing machine to a second physical computing machine, the second physical computing machine accesses the FSDB of the NAS server, identifies the set of file systems that belong to that NAS server, and acts to provide host access to the identified set of file systems.

Abstract: Shipping local snapshots of logical units of data storage (LUNs) to cloud storage, wherein the local snapshots reside on local physical storage of a data storage system, includes replicating a baseline local snapshot of a LUN to a cloud-backed LUN backed by cloud physical storage of cloud storage system, and taking a first snapshot of the cloud-backed LUN to establish a baseline cloud-backed snapshot. For a subsequent local snapshot of the LUN, the method (1) identifies data content differences between the subsequent local snapshot and the baseline local snapshot, (2) updates the cloud-backed LUN by applying the data content differences, and (3) takes a second snapshot of the cloud-backed LUN, the second snapshot being a cloud-backed copy of the subsequent local snapshot and containing, in the cloud physical storage, (a) first blocks unique to the second snapshot and (b) second blocks shared with the baseline cloud-backed snapshot.

Abstract: A block I/O request processing threads executes only on a processor core to which it is assigned. After it executes for a period of time, the block I/O request processing thread yields its assigned processing core to another type of thread that is runnable on the processing core, such as a file I/O request processing thread. When there are no block I/O requests for a block I/O request processing thread to process, it is suspended from being executed. A monitor thread running on another processing core detects that a newly received block I/O request is available for processing, and makes the block I/O request processing thread runnable again. The block I/O request processing thread may be assigned a higher priority than file I/O request processing threads, and preempt any runnable file I/O request processing threads when it is made runnable to process the newly received block I/O request.

Abstract: A technique for operating a file system in a NAS (network attached storage) cluster deploys a file system on a thin LUN in block storage and unilaterally provisions storage space to the file system without extending provisioning activities to the LUN. Rather, the file system proceeds as if the storage space is available from the LUN without reserving space or confirming availability.

Abstract: A data processing system archives local snapshots of a primary storage object to cloud storage by dividing an address space of the snapshots into sequential chunks, and organizing the cloud storage into archived snapshots including sets of cloud objects created from respective modified chunks of local snapshots. The archived snapshots are organized into families each having a full snapshot and incremental snapshots. A new family is started by creating a synthesized full snapshot from the archived snapshots of a preceding family, which includes (1) for chunks whose data is contained within one cloud object of the preceding family, logically incorporating the cloud object into the synthesized full snapshot, and (2) for chunks whose data is contained within multiple cloud objects of the preceding family, coalescing the data of the cloud objects into a new cloud object and logically incorporating the new cloud object into the synthesized full snapshot.

Abstract: A technique for restoring NAS (network attached storage) servers that have been archived to the cloud includes querying, by a local data storage system, a cloud-based data store to identify a set of cloud-backed volumes that belong to an archived NAS server to be restored. The technique further includes rendering the identified cloud-backed volumes as respective writable LUNs (Logical UNits), accessing the writeable LUNs by the local data storage system, and processing data on the writeable LUNs to operate file systems of the NAS server that are stored in the writeable LUNs.

Abstract: A technique for replicating file systems to any number of targets includes obtaining a writeable snapshot of a file system on a source, performing cloud tiering of files in the snapshot, replacing the file contents of the snapshot with stubs pointing to the cloud, and generating a namespace backup of the snapshot that includes directories and stubs. The source system ships the namespace backup to the cloud, allowing any authorized target system to restore from the namespace backup to a local file-system replica, such that contents of the cloud-tiered files are made accessible on the target system from the restored namespace via the stubs.

Abstract: A technique for managing data objects in a data storage cluster realizes an application-accessible data object within a file that belongs to an internal file system. The internal file system runs on a computing node of the cluster and is backed by a LUN realized in block storage. The storage cluster achieves snapshots of the data object at the level of the file system, e.g., by snapshotting the file, such that the data object and its snapshots are all backed by the same LUN in the block storage.

Abstract: A block I/O request processing threads executes only on a processor core to which it is assigned. After it executes for a period of time, the block I/O request processing thread yields its assigned processing core to another type of thread that is runnable on the processing core, such as a file I/O request processing thread. When there are no block I/O requests for a block I/O request processing thread to process, it is suspended from being executed. A monitor thread running on another processing core detects that a newly received block I/O request is available for processing, and makes the block I/O request processing thread runnable again. The block I/O request processing thread may be assigned a higher priority than file I/O request processing threads, and preempt any runnable file I/O request processing threads when it is made runnable to process the newly received block I/O request.

Abstract: Techniques are presented for dynamically allocating memory between containers.

Abstract: A data processing system archives local snapshots of a primary storage object to cloud storage by dividing an address space of the snapshots into sequential chunks, and organizing the cloud storage into archived snapshots including sets of cloud objects created from respective modified chunks of local snapshots. The archived snapshots are organized into families each having a full snapshot and incremental snapshots. A new family is started by creating a synthesized full snapshot from the archived snapshots of a preceding family, which includes (1) for chunks whose data is contained within one cloud object of the preceding family, logically incorporating the cloud object into the synthesized full snapshot, and (2) for chunks whose data is contained within multiple cloud objects of the preceding family, coalescing the data of the cloud objects into a new cloud object and logically incorporating the new cloud object into the synthesized full snapshot.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and computing system for identifying a failing virtualized object within a virtualized computing environment, wherein the failing virtualized object executes one or more server objects. Other virtualized objects included within the virtualized computing environment are analyzed to identify one or more target virtualized objects. The one or more server objects are reassigned from the failing virtualized object to the one or more target virtualized objects.

Abstract: Improved techniques for managing snaps of a data object hosted by a source data storage system (source) involve specifying, by the source, a set of policies for snaps of the data object that are stored on a destination data storage system (destination). The technique includes transferring the set of policies from the source to the destination, to enable the destination to implement the specified set of policies on the snaps at the destination.