Application Backup via Incremental Log Block Updates
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional backup systems are ineffective and inefficient for generating full backups of applications, as they often fail to account for data stored across multiple files and levels of storage, particularly when recreating previous versions of applications.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize incremental log files to update previous full backups of applications, creating updated full backups by applying changes to data blocks, allowing for the recreation of the most current version of the application, even across different operating systems, and storing both initial and updated backups for recovery purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional backup systems use incremental backup with recovery log files to recreate data sets, then storage space is saved and backup speed is improved, but the system becomes ineffective for applications storing data across multiple files and storage levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the application data into discrete data blocks and tracks changes at the block level rather than treating the entire application as a single unit. This segmentation allows the backup system to efficiently identify and backup only changed blocks while maintaining the ability to reconstruct complete application states across multiple files and storage levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary component that generates and maintains recovery log files specifically tailored for application-level backups. This intermediary translates application changes into a format suitable for incremental backup processing, bridging the gap between application data structures and backup system requirements.
2Reliability
If full backups are created for applications, then complete data protection is achieved, but storage space consumption increases and backup time extends
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by maintaining recovery log files that record changes as they occur during application operation. These logs are generated in advance and organized in a manner that enables rapid reconstruction of full application states without requiring actual full backup operations, thus saving storage space while ensuring complete data protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functionality of incremental backups with application-level tracking by combining recovery log files with full backup capabilities. This integration allows the system to use compact incremental logs for most scenarios while automatically generating full backups when needed, optimizing both storage efficiency and protection completeness.
3Productivity
If incremental backup log files are used to synthesize previous versions of data volumes, then backup efficiency is improved, but the technique fails for applications with multi-file and multi-storage-level structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal backup system that handles multiple data structures through a single mechanism. The recovery log file approach is designed to work with applications storing data in single files, multiple files, and across multiple storage levels, making the system adaptable to various application architectures without requiring structure-specific implementations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the backup approach by shifting from file-level or volume-level tracking to data block-level tracking within applications. This parameter change enables the system to adapt to different application structures by consistently operating at the block level, where data is fundamentally organized regardless of the application's file or storage structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed computer-implemented method for generating full backups of applications may include (1) storing, at a backup server that is remote from an application, an initial full backup of the application that indicates an initial version of each data block within the application, (2) after storing the full backup of the application, receiving, from the application, an incremental log file generated by the application that indicates at least one change made to a data block within the application after the initial full backup of the application was generated, and (3) creating, by applying the change made to the data block within the application to the initial full backup of the application, an updated full backup of the application that indicates the most current version of each data block within the application. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.