File deduplication using storage tiers

Abstract

A method and apparatus for removing duplicated data in a file system utilizing the concept of storage tiers. A synthetic namespace is created via file virtualization, and is comprised of one or more file systems. Deduplication is applied at the namespace level and on all of the file systems comprising the synthetic namespace. All files in a file system in a higher storage tier whose contents are identical to at least one other file in the synthetic namespace are moved to a destination file system in a lower storage tier. For each set of duplicated files that are moved from the original servers, a single instance copy of the file is left behind as a mirror copy. Read access to a duplicated file is redirected to its mirror copy. When the first write to a duplicated file is received, the association from the duplicated file stored in the destination server to its mirror copy that is stored in the origin server is discarded. Access to the “modified” duplicated file will then resume normally from the destination server.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to storage networks with two or more tiers of storage servers, and more specifically, relates to a more efficient way of storing files that have identical contents in a storage network.

BACKGROUND

In enterprises today, employees tend to keep copies of all of the necessary documents and data that they access often. This is so that they can find the documents and data easily (central locations tend to change at least every so often). Furthermore, employees also tend to forget where certain things were found (in the central location), or never even knew where the document originated (they are sent a copy of the document via email). Finally, multiple employees may each keep a copy of the latest mp3 file, or video file, even if it is against company policy.

This can lead to duplicate copies of the same document or data residing in individually owned locations, so that the individual's themselves can easily find the document. However, this also means a lot of wasted space to store all of these copies of the document or data. And these copies are often stored on more expensive (and higher performance) tiers of storage, since the employees tend not to focus on costs, but rather on performance (they will store data on the location that they can most easily remember that gives them the best performance in retrieving the data).

Deduplication is a technique where files with identical contents are first identified and then only one copy of the identical contents, the single-instance copy, is kept in the physical storage while the storage space for the remaining identical contents is reclaimed and reused. Files whose contents have been deduped because of identical contents are hereafter referred to as deduplicated files. Thus, deduplication achieves what is called “Single-Instance Storage” where only the single-instance copy is stored in the physical storage, resulting in more efficient use of the physical storage space. File deduplication thus creates a domino effect of efficiency, reducing capital, administrative, and facility costs and is considered one of the most important and valuable technologies in storage.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,389,433 and 6,477,544 are examples of how a file system provides the single-instance-storage.

While single-instance-storage is conceptually simple, implementing it without sacrificing read/write performance is difficult. Files are deduped without the owners being aware of it. The owners of deduplicated files therefore have the same performance expectation as other files that have no duplicated copies. Since many deduplicated files are sharing one single-instance copy of the contents, it is important to prevent the single-instance copy from being modified. Typically, a file system uses the copy-on-write technique to protect the single-instance copy. When an update is pending on a deduplicated file, the file system creates a partial or full copy of the single-instance copy, and the update is allowed to proceed only after the (partial) copied data has been created and only on the copied data. The delay to wait for the creation of a (partial) copy of the single-instance data before an update can proceed introduces significant performance degradation. In addition, the process to identify and dedupe replicated files also puts a strain on file system resources. Because of the performance degradation, deduplication or single-instance copy is deemed not acceptable for normal use. In reality, deduplication is of no (obvious) benefit to the end-user. Thus, while the feature of deduplication or single-instance storage has been available in a few file systems, it is not commonly used and many file systems do not even offer this feature due to its adverse performance impact.

File system level deduplication offers many advantages for the IT administrators. However, it generally offers no direct benefits to the users of the file system other than performance degradation for those files that have been deduped. Therefore, the success of deduplication in the market place depends on reducing performance degradation to an acceptable level.

Another aspect of the file system level deduplication is that deduplication is usually done on a per file system basis. It is more desirable if deduplication is done together on one or more file systems. For example, the more file systems that are deduped together, the more chances that files with identical contents will be found and more storage space will be reclaimed. For example, if there is only one copy of file A in a file system, file A will not be deduped. On the other hand, if there is a copy of file A in another file system, then together, file A in the two file systems can be deduped. Furthermore, since there is only one single-instance copy for all of the deduplicated files from one or more file systems, the more file systems that are deduped together, the more efficient the deduplication process becomes.

SUMMARY

Thus, it is desirable to achieve deduplication with acceptable performance. It is even more desirable to be able to dedupe across more file systems to achieve more deduplication efficiency.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention there are provided a method and an apparatus for deduplicating files in a file storage system having a primary storage tier and a secondary storage tier. In such embodiments, file deduplication involves identifying a plurality of files stored in the primary storage tier having identical file contents; copying the plurality of files to the secondary storage tier; storing in the primary storage tier a single copy of the file contents; and storing metadata for each of the plurality of files, the metadata associating each of the file copies in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents stored in the primary storage tier.

In various alternative embodiments, identifying the plurality of files stored in the primary storage tier having identical file contents may involve computing, for each of the plurality of files, a hash value based on the contents of the file; and identifying the files having identical file contents based on the hash values. Storing the single copy of the file contents in the primary storage tier may involve copying the file contents to a designated mirror server; and deleting the remaining file contents from each of the plurality of files in the primary storage tier. Upon a read access to one of the plurality of files, the read access may be directed to the single copy of the file contents maintained in the primary storage tier. Upon a write access to one of the plurality of files, the association between the file copy in the secondary storage tier and the single copy of the file contents stored in the primary storage tier may be broken the file copy stored in the secondary storage tier may be modified. The modified file copy subsequently may be migrated from the secondary storage tier to the primary storage tier based on a migration policy.

In other embodiments, deduplicating a selected file in the primary storage tier may involve determining whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a previously deduplicated file having a single copy of file contents stored in the primary storage tier; when the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a previously deduplicated file, deduplicating the selected file; otherwise determining whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a non-duplicate file in the first storage tier; and when the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a non-duplicate file, deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file. Determining whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a previously deduplicated file may involve comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to a distinct hash value associated with each single copy of file contents stored in the primary storage tier. Deduplicating the selected file may involve copying the selected file to the secondary storage tier; deleting the file contents from the selected file; and storing metadata for the selected file, the metadata associating the file copy in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents for the previously deduplicated file stored in the primary storage tier. Deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file may involve copying the selected file and the non-duplicate file to the secondary storage tier; storing in the primary storage tier a single copy of the file contents; and storing metadata for each of the first and second selected files, the metadata associating each of the file copies in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents stored in the primary storage tier. Storing the single copy of the file contents for deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file may involve copying the file contents to the designated mirror server; and deleting the remaining file contents from the selected file and the non-duplicate file. Determining whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier may involve maintaining a list of non-duplicate files in the primary storage tier, the list including a distinct hash value for each non-duplicate file; and comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to the hash values associated with the non-duplicate files in the list, and when the file contents of the selected file do not match the file contents of any non-duplicate file, may involve adding the selected file to the list of non-duplicate files (e.g., by storing a pathname and a hash value associated with the selected file). Deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file may further involve removing the non-duplicate file from the list of non-duplicate files.

Deduplication may be implemented in a file switch or other device that manages file storage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of the invention will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary switched file system including a file switch (MFM) as known in the art;

FIG. 2 is a logic flow diagram for file deduplication using storage tiers in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram deduplicating a selected file in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

This patent application relates generally to a method for performing deduplication on a global namespace using file virtualization when the global namespace is constructed from one or more storage servers, and to enable deduplication as a storage placement policy in a tiered storage environment.

A traditional file system manages the storage space by providing a hierarchical namespace. The hierarchical namespace starts from the root directory, which contains files and subdirectories. Each directory may also contain files and subdirectories identifying other files or subdirectories. Data is stored in files. Every file and directory is identified by a name. The full name of a file or directory is constructed by concatenating the name of the root directory and the names of each subdirectory that finally leads to the subdirectory containing the identified file or directory, together with the name of the file or the directory.

The full name of a file thus carries with it two pieces of information: (1) the identification of the file and (2) the physical storage location where the file is stored. If the physical storage location of a file is changed (for example, moved from one partition mounted on a system to another), the identification of the file changes as well.

For ease of management, as well as for a variety of other reasons, the administrator would like to control the physical storage location of a file. For example, important files might be stored on expensive, high-performance file servers, while less important files could be stored on less expensive and less capable file servers.

Unfortunately, moving files from one server to another usually changes the full name of the files and thus, their identification, as well. This is usually a very disruptive process, since after the move users may not be able to remember the new location of their files. Thus, it is desirable to separate the physical storage location of a file from its identification. With this separation, IT and system administrators will be able to control the physical storage location of a file while preserving what the user perceives as the location of the file (and thus its identity).

File virtualization is a technology that separates the full name of a file from its physical storage location. File virtualization is usually implemented as a hardware appliance that is located in the data path between users and the file servers. For users, a file virtualization appliance appears as a file server that exports the namespace of a file system. From the file servers' perspective, the file virtualization appliance appears as just a normal user. Attune System's Maestro File Manager (MFM) is an example of a file virtualization appliance. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary switched file system including a file switch (MFM).

As a result of separating the full name of a file from the file's physical storage location, file virtualization provides the following capabilities:

1) Creation of a Synthetic Namespace

• • Once a file is virtualized, the full filename does not provide any information about where the file is actually stored. This leads to the creation of synthetic directories where the files in a single synthetic directory may be stored on different file servers. A synthetic namespace can also be created where the directories in the synthetic namespace may contain files or directories from a number of different file servers. Thus, file virtualization allows the creation of a single global namespace from a number of cooperating file servers. The synthetic namespace is not restricted to be from one file server, or one file system.

2) Allows Having Many Full Filenames to Refer to a Single File

• • As a consequence of separating a file's name from the file's storage location, file virtualization also allows multiple full filenames to refer to a single file. This is important as it allows existing users to use the old filename while allowing new users to use a new name to access the same file.

3) Allows Having One Full Name to Refer to Many Files

• • Another consequence of separating a file's name from the file's storage location is that one filename may refer to many files. Files that are identified by a single filename need not contain identical contents. If the files do contain identical contents, then one file is usually designated as the authoritative copy, while the other copies are called the mirror copies. Mirror copies increase the availability of the authoritative copy, since even if the file server containing the authoritative copy of a file is down, one of the mirror copies may be designated as a new authoritative copy and normal file access can then resumed. On the other hand, the contents of a file identified by a single name may change according to the identity of the user who wants to access the file.

Deduplication is of no obvious benefit to the end users of a file system. Instead of using deduplication as a management policy to reduce storage space and subsequently cause inconvenience to the end users of the deduplicated files, this invention uses deduplication as a storage placement policy to intelligently managed the storage assets of an enterprise, with relatively little inconvenience to the end users.

In embodiments of the present invention, a set of file servers is designated as tier 1 where data stored in these file servers is considered more important to the enterprise. Another (typically non-overlapping) set of file servers is designated as tier 2 storage where data stored in these file servers is considered less important to the business. By using these two storage tiers to identify data important to the business, the system administrators can spend more time and resources to provide faster access and more frequent backup on the data stored on the tier 1 file servers.

Deduplication typically is treated as one of the storage placement policies that decides where data should be stored, e.g., on a tier 1 or tier 2 file server.

In embodiments of the present invention, duplicated data is automatically moved from tier 1 to tier 2. The total storage space used by the deduplicated data on tier 1 and tier 2 remains the same (or perhaps even increases slightly). However, there is more storage space available on tier 1 file servers as a result of deduplication, since all the duplicated data is now stored on tier 2.

There may be performance differences between tier 1 and tier 2 file servers. However, these differences tend to be small since the relatively inexpensive file servers are still very capable. To maintain the same level of performance when accessing the deduplicated files, as each set of duplicated files is moved from the tier 1 file servers, a single instance copy of the file is left behind as a mirror copy. One of the tier 1 file servers is designated as a mirror server where all of the mirror copies are stored. Read access to a deduplicated file is redirected to the deduplicated file's mirror copy. When the first write to a deduplicated file is received, the association from the deduplicated file stored in a tier 2 server to its mirror copy that is stored in a tier 1 server is discarded. Accesses to the “modified” duplicated file will then resume normally from the tier 2 file server. At a certain time, the “modified” deduplicated file is then migrated back to tier 1 storage.

Extending file virtualization to support deduplication is relatively straight forward. First, a set of tier-1 servers is identified as a target for deduplication, and a set of tier 2 servers is identified for receiving deduplicated data. One of the tier 1 file servers is chosen as the mirror server. The mirror server is used to store the mirror copy of each set of deduplicated files with identical contents.

A background deduplication process typically is run periodically within the file virtualization appliance to perform the deduplication. Exemplary embodiments use a sha1 digest computed from the contents of a file to identify files that have identical contents. A sha1 digest value is a 160-bit globally unique value for any given set of data (contents) of a file. Therefore, if two files are identical in contents (but not necessarily name or location), they should always have the same sha1 digest values. And conversely, if two files are different in contents, they should always have different sha1 digest values.

An exemplary deduplication process for the namespace is as follows:

• • 1) Each file stored in the tier 1 file servers that is idle is inspected. If the file has already been deduped, it is skipped.
  • 2) If the file does not have a sha1 digest value, it is computed and saved in the metadata for the file.
  • 3) A check is made if there is a mirror copy stored in the mirror server. If there is, the file is deduped, and this algorithm loops around again with the next file on the tier 1 file servers.
  • 4) The sha1 digest value and the path name of the file are then added to an internal list. If there is no existing entry in the internal list with an identical sha1 digest value, the entry is added and this algorithm loops around again with the next file on the tier 1 file servers.
  • 5) If there is already an entry in the list with the identical sha1 digest value, the current file, as well as the other file with the same sha1 digest value listed in the internal list, will both be individually deduped and the entry in the internal list is removed. This algorithm then loops around with the next file on the tier 1 file servers.
  • 6) The deduplicated process will continue until all the files in the tier 1 storage are processed.

It is possible that the sha1 digest value for a file marked for deduplication may have changed before it is actually deduped. This case should occur relatively infrequently. If it does occur, essentially the worst that can happen is that a file that really has no duplicate files in tier 1 gets deduplicated and migrated to tier 2. However, the deduplicated file eventually should be migrated back to the tier 1 storage tier.

An exemplary process to dedupe a single file (called from the deduplication process for the namespace) is as follows:

• • 1) A check is made to see if there is a mirror copy with an identical sha1 digest.
  • 2) If there is no mirror copy in the mirror server, a new mirror is made with the sha1 digest and the associated file's contents.
  • 3) If there already is a mirror copy, the file is migrated to a tier 2 file server according to the storage placement policy. The migrated file is marked as deduplicated, and a mirror association is created between the migrated file and its mirror copy.

When a non-deduplicated file that has a sha1 digest is opened for update, its sha1 digest is immediately cleared.

When a deduplicated file is opened for update, its sha1 digest is immediately cleared. The mirror association between the deduplicated copy and the mirror copy is immediately broken. The file is no longer a deduplicated file (its deduplicated flag is cleared), and an entry is added to a to-do list to migrate this file back to tier 1 storage in the future.

When a deduplicated file is open for read, a check is made to see if there is a mirror copy stored in the mirror server. If there is, subsequent read requests on the deduplicated file will be switched to the mirror server for processing. Otherwise, the read request is switched to the tier 2 file server containing the actual data of the deduplicated file.

FIG. 2 is a logic flow diagram for file deduplication using storage tiers in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In block 202, a deduplication device (e.g., a file switch) identifies a plurality of files stored in the primary storage tier having identical file contents. In block 204, the deduplication device copies the plurality of files to the secondary storage tier. In block 206, the deduplication device stores in the primary storage tier a single copy of the file contents. In block 208, the deduplication device stores metadata for each of the plurality of files, the metadata associating each of the file copies in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents stored in the primary storage tier.

FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram deduplicating a selected file in the primary storage tier in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In block 302, the deduplication device, determines whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a previously deduplicated file having a single copy of file contents stored in the primary storage tier. When the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a previously deduplicated file (YES in block 304), then the deduplication device deduplicates the selected file in block 306, for example, by copying the selected file to the secondary storage tier, deleting the file contents from the selected file, and storing metadata for the selected file associating the file copy in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents for the previously deduplicated file stored in the primary storage tier. When the file contents of the selected file do not match the file contents of any previously deduplicated file (NO in block 304), then the deduplication device determines whether the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a non-duplicate file in the first storage tier in block 308. When the file contents of the selected file match the file contents of a non-duplicate file (YES in block 310), then the deduplication device deduplicates both the selected file and the non-duplicate file, for example, by copying the selected file and the non-duplicate file to the secondary storage tier, storing in the primary storage tier a single copy of the file contents, and storing metadata for each of the first and second selected files associating each of the file copies in the secondary storage tier with the single copy of the file contents stored in the primary storage tier. When the file contents of the selected file do not match the file contents of any non-duplicate file (NO in block 310), then the deduplication device may add the selected file a list of non-duplicate files.

It should be noted that file deduplication as discussed herein may be implemented using a file switches of the types described above and in the provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/923,765. It should also be noted that embodiments of the present invention may incorporate, utilize, supplement, or be combined with various features described in one or more of the other referenced patent applications.

It should be noted that terms such as “client,” “server,” “switch,” and “node” may be used herein to describe devices that may be used in certain embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed to limit the present invention to any particular device type unless the context otherwise requires. Thus, a device may include, without limitation, a bridge, router, bridge-router (brouter), switch, node, server, computer, appliance, or other type of device. Such devices typically include one or more network interfaces for communicating over a communication network and a processor (e.g., a microprocessor with memory and other peripherals and/or application-specific hardware) configured accordingly to perform device functions. Communication networks generally may include public and/or private networks; may include local-area, wide-area, metropolitan-area, storage, and/or other types of networks; and may employ communication technologies including, but in no way limited to, analog technologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wireless technologies (e.g., Bluetooth), networking technologies, and internetworking technologies.

It should also be noted that devices may use communication protocols and messages (e.g., messages created, transmitted, received, stored, and/or processed by the device), and such messages may be conveyed by a communication network or medium. Unless the context otherwise requires, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to any particular communication message type, communication message format, or communication protocol. Thus, a communication message generally may include, without limitation, a frame, packet, datagram, user datagram, cell, or other type of communication message.

It should also be noted that logic flows may be described herein to demonstrate various aspects of the invention, and should not be construed to limit the present invention to any particular logic flow or logic implementation. The described logic may be partitioned into different logic blocks (e.g., programs, modules, functions, or subroutines) without changing the overall results or otherwise departing from the true scope of the invention. Often times, logic elements may be added, modified, omitted, performed in a different order, or implemented using different logic constructs (e.g., logic gates, looping primitives, conditional logic, and other logic constructs) without changing the overall results or otherwise departing from the true scope of the invention.

The present invention may be embodied in many different forms, including, but in no way limited to, computer program logic for use with a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, or general purpose computer), programmable logic for use with a programmable logic device (e.g., a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other PLD), discrete components, integrated circuitry (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)), or any other means including any combination thereof. In a typical embodiment of the present invention, predominantly all of the described logic is implemented as a set of computer program instructions that is converted into a computer executable form, stored as such in a computer readable medium, and executed by a microprocessor under the control of an operating system.

Computer program logic implementing all or part of the functionality previously described herein may be embodied in various forms, including, but in no way limited to, a source code form, a computer executable form, and various intermediate forms (e.g., forms generated by an assembler, compiler, linker, or locator). Source code may include a series of computer program instructions implemented in any of various programming languages (e.g., an object code, an assembly language, or a high-level language such as Fortran, C, C++, JAVA, or HTML) for use with various operating systems or operating environments. The source code may define and use various data structures and communication messages. The source code may be in a computer executable form (e.g., via an interpreter), or the source code may be converted (e.g., via a translator, assembler, or compiler) into a computer executable form.

The computer program may be fixed in any form (e.g., source code form, computer executable form, or an intermediate form) either permanently or transitorily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory device (e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-Programmable RAM), a magnetic memory device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), an optical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM), a PC card (e.g., PCMCIA card), or other memory device. The computer program may be fixed in any form in a signal that is transmittable to a computer using any of various communication technologies, including, but in no way limited to, analog technologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wireless technologies (e.g., Bluetooth), networking technologies, and internetworking technologies. The computer program may be distributed in any form as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).

Hardware logic (including programmable logic for use with a programmable logic device) implementing all or part of the functionality previously described herein may be designed using traditional manual methods, or may be designed, captured, simulated, or documented electronically using various tools, such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), a hardware description language (e.g., VHDL or AHDL), or a PLD programming language (e.g., PALASM, ABEL, or CUPL).

Programmable logic may be fixed either permanently or transitorily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory device (e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-Programmable RAM), a magnetic memory device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), an optical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM), or other memory device. The programmable logic may be fixed in a signal that is transmittable to a computer using any of various communication technologies, including, but in no way limited to, analog technologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wireless technologies (e.g., Bluetooth), networking technologies, and internetworking technologies. The programmable logic may be distributed as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the true scope of the invention. Any references to the “invention” are intended to refer to exemplary embodiments of the invention and should not be construed to refer to all embodiments of the invention unless the context otherwise requires. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A method of deduplicating files, the method comprising: accessing, with a file virtualization device, a virtualized environment including one or more primary storage servers operating as a primary storage tier and storing a first plurality of files and one or more secondary storage servers operating as a secondary storage tier and storing a second plurality of files comprising at least a plurality of files not included in the first plurality of files, wherein a global namespace is associated with the first and second pluralities of files stored in the one or more primary and secondary storage servers;identifying, with the file virtualization device, a subset of the first plurality of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents and storing a copy of only the subset of files in the secondary storage tier;storing, with the file virtualization device, a single copy of the contents of each of the subset of files in the primary storage tier and deleting all other files having identical file contents from the primary storage tier; andstoring, with the file virtualization device, metadata associating each of the copies of the subset of files stored in the secondary storage tier with a corresponding one of the single copies stored in the primary storage tier.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the subset of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents comprises: computing, for each of the plurality of files, a hash value based on contents of the file; andidentifying files having identical file contents based on a comparison of the hash values.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein storing the single copy of the contents comprises copying the file contents to a designated mirror server of the primary storage tier.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: upon a read access to one of the plurality of files, directing, with the file virtualization device, the read access to the single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, upon a write access to one of the plurality of files: breaking, with the file virtualization device, the association between the copy in the secondary storage tier and the corresponding single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier;modifying, with the file virtualization device, the copy stored in the secondary storage tier; andmigrating, with the file virtualization device, the modified copy from the secondary storage tier to the primary storage tier based on a migration policy.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising deduplicating, with the file virtualization device, a selected file in the primary storage tier comprising: determining whether contents of the selected file match contents of a previously deduplicated file having a corresponding single copy stored in the primary storage tier;when the contents of the selected file match the contents of a previously deduplicated file, deduplicating the selected file;otherwise determining whether the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier; andwhen the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file, deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein determining whether the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier comprises: maintaining a list of non-duplicate files in the primary storage tier, the list including a distinct hash value for each non-duplicate file;comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to the hash values associated with the non-duplicate files in the list; andwhen the contents of the selected file do not match the contents of any non-duplicate file, adding the selected file to the list of non-duplicate files.

8. A virtualization apparatus for deduplicating files, the apparatus comprising: at least one communication interface for communicating with one or more primary and secondary storage servers; andat least one of configurable hardware logic configured to be capable of implementing or a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory comprising: accessing a virtualized environment including the one or more primary storage servers operating as a primary storage tier and storing a first plurality of files and the one or more secondary storage servers operating as a secondary storage tier and storing a second plurality of files comprising at least a plurality of files not included in the first plurality of files, wherein a global namespace is associated with the first and second pluralities of files stored in the one or more primary and secondary storage servers;identifying a subset of the accessed files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents and storing a copy of only the subset of files in the secondary storage tier;storing a single copy of the contents of each of the subset of files in the primary storage tier and deleting all other files having identical file contents from the primary storage tier; andstoring metadata associating each of the copies of the subset of files stored in the secondary storage tier with a corresponding one of the single copies stored in the primary storage tier.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein identifying the subset of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents further comprises: computing, for each of the plurality of files, a hash value based on contents of the file; andidentifying files having identical contents based on a comparison of the hash values.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein storing the single copy of the contents further comprises copying the file contents to a designated mirror server of the primary storage tier.

11. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising upon a read access to one of the plurality of files, directing the read access to the single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier.

12. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising upon a write access to one of the plurality of files: breaking the association between the copy in the secondary storage tier and the corresponding single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier;modifying the copy stored in the secondary storage tier; andmigrating the modified copy from the secondary storage tier to the primary storage tier based on a migration policy.

13. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising deduplicating a selected file in the primary storage tier comprising: determining whether contents of the selected file match contents of a previously deduplicated file having a corresponding single copy stored in the primary storage tier;when the contents of the selected file match the contents of a previously deduplicated file, deduplicating the selected file;otherwise determining whether the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier; andwhen the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file, deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein determining whether the contents of the accessed file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier further comprises: maintaining a list of non-duplicate files in the primary storage tier, the list including a distinct hash value for each non-duplicate file;comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to the hash values associated with the non-duplicate files in the list; andwhen the contents of the selected file do not match the contents of any non-duplicate file, adding the selected file to the list of non-duplicate files.

15. A system that deduplicates files, the system comprising: one or more primary storage servers operating as a primary storage tier and storing a first plurality of files and one or more secondary storage servers operating as a primary storage tier and storing a second plurality of files comprising at least a plurality of files not included in the first plurality of files, the storage servers storing the first and second pluralities of files in a virtualized environment, wherein a global namespace is associated with the first and second pluralities of files stored in the one or more primary and secondary storage servers;a file virtualization device including at least one of configurable hardware logic configured to be capable of implementing or a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory comprising: identifying a subset of the plurality of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents and storing a copy of only the subset of files in the secondary storage tier;storing a single copy of the contents of each of the subset of files in the primary storage tier and deleting all other files having identical file contents from the primary storage tier; andstoring metadata associating each of the copies of the subset of files stored in the secondary storage tier with a corresponding one of the single copies stored in the primary storage tier.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein identifying the subset of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents further comprises: computing, for each of the plurality of files, a hash value based on contents of the file; andidentifying files having identical contents based on a comparison of the hash values.

17. A system according to claim 15, wherein storing the single copy of the contents further comprises copying the file contents to a designated mirror server of the primary storage tier.

18. A system according to claim 15, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising upon a read access to one of the plurality of files, directing the read access to the single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier.

19. A system according to claim 15, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising upon a write access to one of the plurality of files: breaking the association between the copy in the secondary storage tier and the corresponding single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier;modifying the copy stored in the secondary storage tier; andmigrating the modified copy from the secondary storage tier to the primary storage tier based on a migration policy.

20. A system according to claim 15, wherein at least one of configurable hardware logic further configured to be capable of implementing or the processor is further configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory further comprising deduplicating a selected file in the primary storage tier comprising: determining whether contents of the selected file match contents of a previously deduplicated file having a corresponding single copy stored in the primary storage tier;when the contents of the selected file match the contents of a previously deduplicated file, deduplicating the selected file;otherwise determining whether the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier; andwhen the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file, deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein determining whether the contents of the accessed file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier further comprises: maintaining a list of non-duplicate files in the primary storage tier, the list including a distinct hash value for each non-duplicate file;comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to the hash values associated with the non-duplicate files in the list; andwhen the contents of the selected file do not match the contents of any non-duplicate file, adding the selected file to the list of non-duplicate files.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for deduplicating files comprising machine executable code which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform steps comprising: accessing a plurality of files stored in a virtualized environment including one or more primary storage servers operating as a primary storage tier and storing a first plurality of files and one or more secondary storage servers operating as a secondary storage tier and storing a second plurality of files comprising at least a plurality of files not included in the first plurality of files, wherein a global namespace is associated with the first and second pluralities of files stored in the one or more primary and secondary storage servers;identifying a subset of the accessed files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents and storing a copy of only the subset of files in the secondary storage tier;storing a single copy of the contents of each of the subset of files in the primary storage tier and deleting all other files having identical file contents from the primary storage tier; andstoring metadata associating each of the copies of the subset of files stored in the secondary storage tier with a corresponding one of the single copies stored in the primary storage tier.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 22, wherein identifying the subset of files that are stored in the primary storage tier and have identical file contents further comprises: computing, for each of the plurality of files, a hash value based on contents of the file; andidentifying files having identical contents based on a comparison of the hash values.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 22, wherein storing the single copy of the contents further comprises copying the file contents to a designated mirror server of the primary storage tier.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 22, further having stored thereon instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the processor to perform steps further comprising upon a read access to one of the plurality of files, directing the read access to the single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 22, further having stored thereon instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the processor to perform steps further comprising: breaking the association between the copy in the secondary storage tier and the corresponding single copy of the contents stored in the primary storage tier;modifying the copy stored in the secondary storage tier; andmigrating the modified copy from the secondary storage tier to the primary storage tier based on a migration policy.

27. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 22, further having stored thereon instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the processor to perform steps further comprising deduplicating a selected file in the primary storage tier comprising: determining whether contents of the selected file match contents of a previously deduplicated file having a corresponding single copy stored in the primary storage tier;when the contents of the selected file match the contents of a previously deduplicated file, deduplicating the selected file;otherwise determining whether the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier; andwhen the contents of the selected file match the contents of a non-duplicate file, deduplicating both the selected file and the non-duplicate file.

28. A non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 27, wherein determining whether the contents of the accessed file match the contents of a non-duplicate file in the primary storage tier further comprises: maintaining a list of non-duplicate files in the primary storage tier, the list including a distinct hash value for each non-duplicate file;comparing a hash value associated with the selected file to the hash values associated with the non-duplicate files in the list; andwhen the contents of the selected file do not match the contents of any non-duplicate file, adding the selected file to the list of non-duplicate files.