Authoritative and Non-Authoritative Data Restore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data restoration techniques often fail to accurately restore data to its pre-failure state due to missing changes, leading to costly and time-consuming processes, and may inappropriately revert data to a previous version when synchronizing with disparate replicas.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that include a restoration component to restore data items with associated metadata, enabling authoritative and non-authoritative restores, which synchronize items with replicas by updating them to converge to the desired restoration state, accounting for changes such as create, delete, update, and move operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional backup restoration techniques are used, then data can be restored from backup media, but the restored data differs from the pre-failure version due to missing changes made after the backup
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and logging all data changes (creates, deletes, updates, moves) in a change log before media failure occurs. This change log is stored separately from the backup media, enabling the restoration process to replay all changes after backup to achieve complete pre-failure data recovery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a change log as an intermediary component that bridges the gap between backup data and the current data state. The change log captures all modifications made after backup and provides this information to the restoration process, enabling accurate reconstruction of pre-failure data without requiring the original media to be intact.
2Ease of operation
If data is restored to pre-restore version using conventional techniques, then data can be reverted, but the restoration may be inappropriate when data is synchronized with disparate replicas
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms during the restoration process by comparing the restored data with synchronized replicas and change logs. This feedback enables the system to determine whether restoration is appropriate and to identify which replicas should be updated, preventing inappropriate restorations when data has been synchronized across multiple locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The restoration process is made dynamic by allowing the system to adapt its behavior based on the state of synchronized replicas. The system can choose to update replicas, abort restoration, or modify the restoration scope based on real-time information about data synchronization status, making the process both simple to initiate and intelligent in its execution.
3Reliability
If changes made after backup are replayed to restore pre-failure data, then complete restoration can be achieved, but this process is costly in terms of user time, effort, and system resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-capturing and organizing all data changes in a structured change log during normal operation. This preliminary capture of change information eliminates the need for time-consuming manual tracking or analysis during restoration, allowing the system to quickly replay changes using pre-recorded information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating and maintaining a change log that is a separate copy of all data modifications. This change log copy can be replayed during restoration without affecting the original backup media or requiring access to the failed system, enabling efficient and independent restoration operations.
4Reliability
If metadata including synchronization history is restored with backup items, then synchronization partners can converge after restoration, but the backup and restoration process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The change log serves multiple functions: it acts as a backup component, a synchronization mechanism, a recovery tool, and an audit trail. By making the change log multi-functional, the system avoids adding separate complex mechanisms for each function, thereby reducing overall system complexity while still achieving reliable synchronization convergence after restoration.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject invention relates to systems and/or methods that perform an authoritative and/or a non-authoritative restore of items in a data store. Backups are provided that include data associated with items and metadata related to the items that can include a history of operations and previous synchronizations to enable replications to converge after restoration. The operations that can be performed on the items include, for example, create, delete, update, move, etc. The items in the backups can be restored along with the metadata, which can be utilized to enable synchronization partners to converge based on a desired type of restoration.