Backup Server Architecture for Data Consolidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current backup methods are inefficient due to the need to archive large amounts of data, resulting in lengthy processes, high costs, and network overload, and lack effective management tools for consolidating and restoring data across multiple users and computers.
Innovation Solution
A centralized backup system utilizing a backup server that creates images of storage devices for multiple users, stores them in different storage locations controlled by a single server, and allows for consolidation and reorganization of data across various storage types, including hard disk drives, SAN, NAS, and magnetic tape drives, with a client application for managing images and a separate server for access rights management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional full backup methods are used to backup entire hard drives, then complete data protection is achieved, but the backup process becomes lengthy and requires large storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential data blocks that need to be backed up, rather than copying entire hard drives. The system identifies and backs up only changed data blocks using block-level incremental backup technology, significantly reducing backup time while maintaining complete data protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial backup actions by only backing up changed data blocks rather than entire drives. Incremental backups capture only the portions of data that have changed since the last backup, avoiding redundant backup of unchanged data and reducing overall backup time.
2Reliability
If traditional full backup methods are used to backup entire hard drives, then complete data protection is achieved, but storage space requirements and archiving costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and stores only the essential changed data blocks rather than entire hard drive contents. By using block-level incremental backup, only the necessary data portions are archived, significantly reducing storage space requirements while maintaining complete data protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial backup by capturing only changed data blocks. This approach avoids storing redundant unchanged data, reducing the quantity of archived data and associated storage costs while ensuring complete data protection through incremental backup chains.
3Loss of energy
If consolidated backups are created on the server instead of the client, then network bandwidth consumption is reduced, but server processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backup server acts as an intermediary that receives incremental backup data from clients and performs consolidation operations. The server mediates between client backup operations and final consolidated backup creation, reducing network bandwidth consumption by consolidating data locally rather than requiring clients to transfer complete consolidated backups.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of incremental backup data on the server and consolidates these copies locally. By copying and consolidating backup data on the server rather than having clients perform consolidation, network bandwidth is reduced while the server's processing capabilities handle the consolidation load.
4Ease of operation
If multiple backup locations are maintained for different users, then data accessibility and recovery options are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backup server provides universal management capabilities that handle multiple users and multiple backup locations through a single unified interface. The system's multi-functional design allows it to manage diverse storage media (disk, tape, cloud) and serve multiple clients simultaneously, improving data accessibility without proportionally increasing management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments backup management into user-specific backup sets while maintaining centralized control. Each user's backup data is organized into separate manageable units, but all are controlled through a single backup server interface, providing data accessibility while managing complexity through structured segmentation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing archived data includes creating a plurality of images of storage devices of computing systems and for, different users, each image being associated with a restore point of a particular storage device; storing the images for the different users in different storage locations, the storage locations being controlled by a single backup server and belonging to storage pools. Multiple locations of one user are stored in different pools on different storage devices. The method also involves moving contents of locations of one user from one pool to another in predefined direction, simultaneously with reorganizing images within the locations. Each image is a backup of one user's data. At least some of one location's content is frozen so that it is never moved from one pool to another. The storage devices of locations of different pools differ from each other by type, such that storage devices in a first pool are hard disk drives, storage devices in the next pool are SAN, or an NAS, and a storage device in the next pool is a network disk drive accessible through a network and a storage device in the next pool is a magnetic tape drive.