Backup Slice Prioritization for Faster Restore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional data backup methods for client/server architectures are inefficient, as they lack intelligence in assigning slices to streams and ordering them based on priority, leading to uneven resource utilization and slower backup and recovery processes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves slicing assets into multiple streams based on priority flags, allowing for more homogenous grouping and efficient allocation of resources, with high-priority slices being restored before low-priority ones to ensure quicker and more efficient data recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional backup methods are used without slice prioritization, then all data is backed up uniformly, but backup and restore efficiency is slow and network bandwidth is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments backup data into multiple slices with different priority levels (high, medium, low). This segmentation allows the system to process and transmit critical data first while deferring less important data, thereby improving overall backup and restore efficiency without wasting network bandwidth on non-essential data during time-critical operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different priority characteristics to different slices of data based on their importance. High-priority slices receive preferential treatment in terms of processing and transmission resources, while low-priority slices use remaining resources. This differentiated approach optimizes both backup and restore operations by ensuring critical data is handled with appropriate resource allocation
2Productivity
If all slices are transmitted simultaneously without priority allocation, then network bandwidth is utilized, but resource utilization is uneven and performance is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where the system adjusts the transmission and processing of data slices based on their priority flags. During backup operations, high-priority slices are transmitted first with full network bandwidth allocation. During restore operations, the system dynamically allocates bandwidth to reconstruct high-priority data first. This dynamic approach optimizes resource utilization efficiency while ensuring network bandwidth is used effectively for the most critical data
3Productivity
If traditional backup methods are used, then implementation is simple, but backup and restore processes are slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by assigning priority flags to data slices during the backup process itself. This pre-categorization of data into high, medium, and low priority slices during backup enables the restore operation to quickly identify and reconstruct critical data first without requiring complex real-time analysis during restoration. This preliminary classification significantly improves backup and restore speed while maintaining relatively simple system architecture
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention relate to methods and systems for efficiently backing up a production host. In one or more embodiments, assets are assigned to one or more slices. Depending on the type of assets assigned to a slice such as directory information versus data, the slices are assigned a flag. This flag may then be used to determine which streams a slice should be assigned to and based on the specific flags of the slices assigned to each stream, the order by which the streams are transferred to backup containers located in a backup storage may be determined. This may result in better or more efficient utilization of available connections between the containers and the production host, resulting in better utilization of system and network resources as well as a better backup and recovery performance.