Backup Management Adapting to Power Constraints

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Solution Overview

Problem

Backup clients running on battery power or backup power sources, such as UPS, face challenges in completing data backup within a limited time window due to power constraints, leading to potential job termination and inefficiencies in existing backup management technologies.

Innovation Solution

A method for backup management that involves receiving power level information from clients, determining factors affecting the backup time window, identifying relevant data portions, and providing instructions for backup type and resource allocation based on power levels, network bandwidth, CPU load, disk resources, and priority comparisons.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If backup clients run on battery power or backup power sources, then portability and flexibility are improved, but the backup time window is limited and backup jobs may be terminated prior to completion

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveportabilityVSAvoidbackup time window

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The backup system dynamically adjusts backup parameters including checkpoint intervals, backup types, and data selection based on real-time power level information. When power levels are low, the system reduces checkpoint intervals and selects critical data subsets to ensure completion within the limited time window, while maintaining adaptability to different power sources

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes operational parameters such as backup throughput, checkpoint frequency, and data priority levels based on power conditions. By monitoring power levels and adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system optimizes backup operations to complete within the available time window while maximizing the amount of data backed up

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the backup checkpoint interval is reduced to prevent job termination, then backup reliability is improved, but backup throughput and efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebackup completion reliabilityVSAvoidbackup throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different checkpoint intervals to different data sets based on their priority and size. Critical data receives more frequent checkpoints to ensure completion, while less critical data uses standard intervals, thereby maintaining overall reliability without uniformly reducing throughput across all backup operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Productivity

If backup operations are optimized for limited power windows, then backup efficiency is improved, but the complexity of backup management increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebackup efficiencyVSAvoidbackup management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The backup client autonomously monitors its own power levels and automatically adjusts backup parameters without requiring manual intervention. The system self-regulates checkpoint intervals, data selection, and backup types based on power conditions, reducing management complexity while maintaining optimization efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS9684563B1Techniques for backup management

Publication Date: 2017.06.20 COHESITY INC

AI summary

Techniques for backup management are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for backup management comprising the steps of receiving power level information from a backup client, determining a factor, based at least in part on the power level information, affecting a backup time window for the backup client, identifying a portion of data of the backup client for backup based on the determination, and providing an instruction to the backup client communicating the identified portion of data.