Backup Storage Optimization via Null Block Metadata Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
During data backup operations, pre-allocated storage units that are empty or contain no data are unnecessarily backed up, leading to inefficient use of storage resources and increased computational costs, as existing methods either compress null blocks with limitations or require deduplication systems to fingerprint null blocks repeatedly.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies null units of storage before a backup operation and inhibits their writing to the backup image, instead creating a map file with metadata that describes these null units, allowing only live data and its information to be backed up, and generating null units on demand during restore operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-allocated storage units are backed up, then complete data protection is achieved, but storage resource efficiency deteriorates due to unnecessary backup of empty null blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates null blocks from the backup process by identifying them through metadata before backup occurs. The system extracts only the metadata information about null blocks rather than backing up the actual null block data, thereby eliminating unnecessary storage consumption while maintaining backup integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary identification of null blocks through metadata before the actual backup operation. By determining which blocks are null in advance, the system can exclude them from the backup process, preventing wasteful storage of empty blocks while ensuring all necessary data is protected.
2Loss of substance
If null blocks are compressed before backup, then storage space is reduced, but computational overhead increases and compression limitations remain
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of compressing null blocks, the patent extracts their metadata information and uses this metadata to represent the null blocks. This approach eliminates the need for computational compression operations while achieving the same goal of reducing backup storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses lightweight metadata structures to represent null blocks instead of storing or compressing actual block data. This metadata is inexpensive to store and process, providing an efficient substitute that avoids the computational costs of compression algorithms.
3Loss of substance
If deduplication is used to eliminate null blocks, then storage efficiency improves, but the system must fingerprint null blocks repeatedly increasing processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary identification of null blocks through metadata before the backup process begins. This preliminary action eliminates the need for repeated fingerprinting operations during deduplication, as the system already knows which blocks are null and can handle them appropriately from the start.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts null block identification information into metadata, separating this information from the actual backup data stream. This extraction allows the system to efficiently track and handle null blocks without requiring repeated computational fingerprinting operations.
4Reliability
If all pre-allocated blocks including null blocks are restored, then data integrity is maintained, but restoration time and computational resources are wasted on empty blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts null block information from metadata and uses this extracted information to reconstruct null blocks during restoration without actually restoring the original null block data. This approach maintains data integrity by recreating the necessary block structure while eliminating wasted restoration operations on empty blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses preliminary metadata information about null blocks to guide the restoration process. By having this information available before restoration begins, the system can efficiently recreate only the necessary blocks and skip unnecessary null block restorations, reducing restoration time while maintaining integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and processes to optimize the storage of pre-allocated units of storage during a backup operation. Null units of storage are identified in pre-allocated units of storage prior to the backup operation. Upon being identified, the null units of storage are inhibited from being written to a backup image during the backup operation.