CloudAdvisor Terminology

When CloudAdvisor analyzes the files on a VM, it creates a DiscoveryPoint™ using the data in a VMware snapshot or a Veeam Backup and Replication backup file. The DiscoveryPoint contains information about:

• File operations (such as read, write, and delete), along with the users that performed those operations.
• File system information such as file size and owner.

• File content, such as:

  • Words contained in the document.
  • Sensitive information such as social security numbers and credit card numbers.
  • Internal metadata such as bit rate and document title.

Besides providing detailed analytics, a CloudAdvisor DiscoveryPoint also protects your data by allowing you to restore files that have been deleted between DiscoveryPoints as long as the snapshot file or backup file remain accessible to CloudAdvisor.

The frequency with which CloudAdvisor creates a DiscoveryPoint depends on the CloudAdvisor analysis schedule associated with the VM.

• If the VM is associated with a virtualization manager, CloudAdvisor can automatically request that the virtualization manager create a snapshot of the VM on a regular basis. CloudAdvisor then uses those snapshots to create DiscoveryPoints. This schedule is called a Snapshot Schedule, and every VM that is associated with a virtualization manager must have an associated Snapshot Schedule.

  For details about Snapshot Schedules and the out-of-the-box schedules that CloudAdvisor provides, see Snapshot Schedules and DiscoveryPoints.

• If the VM is associated with a backup provider, CloudAdvisor can automatically create a DiscoveryPoint whenever it finds a backup created by the backup provider within a user-defined time span. This type of schedule is called a Backup Discovery Policy, and each VM associated with a backup provider must have an associated Backup Discovery Policy.

  By default, when you add a VM from a backup provider to the CloudAdvisor inventory, CloudAdvisor analyses the most recent backup available and then continues to analyze all future backup files created by the backup provider. If you want CloudAdvisor to only analyze the backup files for a specific time span, you can specify an end date for the Backup Discovery Policy and you can select which of the existing backups CloudAdvisor should analyze. Any backup files created after the end date is reached will be ignored by CloudAdvisor.

  For more information, see Updating a Backup Discovery Policy.