De-duplicating Backup Files via Data Evolution Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data management technologies manage data at the host level, leading to inefficiencies when users evolve data beyond the original host, resulting in duplicate backup files across different clients, even if the data is identical.
Innovation Solution
A system that de-duplicates backup files based on data evolution by identifying relationships between data objects and linking them to their original versions, allowing for efficient storage and restoration across different hosts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If data is backed up at the host level, then backup simplicity is maintained, but storage efficiency deteriorates when data is evolved across multiple hosts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup process into two levels: host-level backup for simplicity and data-level backup for efficiency. The system maintains host-level backup records while introducing data-level identification through content-addressable storage, allowing the same data to be referenced across multiple hosts without redundant storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universality by making backup records serve multiple functions: they identify both the host and the data, enable restoration at different granularities, and provide data evolution tracking. The content-addressable storage system allows a single backup record to represent data across multiple hosts, eliminating redundancy while maintaining simplicity.
2Loss of time
If incremental backup is used, then backup time is reduced, but data evolution tracking becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses feedback mechanisms where the content-addressable storage system automatically tracks data evolution by comparing checksums or identifiers of data blocks across backup cycles. The system receives feedback about data changes and automatically updates backup records, eliminating the need for complex manual tracking while maintaining incremental backup efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The backup system performs self-service by automatically detecting and tracking data evolution through content-addressable storage. The system monitors data changes, identifies duplicates, and updates backup records without external intervention, simplifying data evolution tracking while maintaining incremental backup performance.
3Reliability
If data is replicated across multiple hosts, then data availability is improved, but backup redundancy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges backup operations across multiple hosts by using a centralized content-addressable storage system that consolidates duplicate data references. Instead of maintaining separate backup records for each host, the system combines them into a unified backup structure where data is stored once and referenced by multiple hosts, reducing redundancy while maintaining availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying through content-addressable storage where data blocks are copied only once and then referenced multiple times. The system creates copies of data at the content level rather than at the host level, allowing multiple hosts to access the same data without creating redundant backup copies, thus reducing storage requirements while maintaining data availability.
Data Source
AI summary
De-duplicating backup files based on data evolution is described. A system determines that a first backup file is created for a first data object, determines that the first data object is based on a second data object, and de-duplicates the first backup file based on a second backup file that was created for the second data object. The system determines that a third backup file is created for a third data object, determines that the third data object is based on the second data object, and de-duplicates the third backup file based on the second backup file that was created for the second data object.