Backup System Merging Identical Files to Reduce Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional backup methods require individual users to perform separate backup processes for identical files, leading to increased storage capacity and traffic volume demands, causing communication path congestion.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that identifies and utilizes a network of computers to determine the ease of acquiring identical files, allowing for either a deemed backup or actual backup process based on calculated ease of acquisition, reducing storage and traffic requirements by leveraging social distance and terminal information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual backup processes are executed by each user for identical files, then data backup reliability is improved, but storage capacity requirements and traffic volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual backup processes into a single centralized backup operation. The server consolidates backup requests from multiple users owning identical files and performs one backup operation that serves all users, thereby maintaining backup reliability while reducing storage capacity requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The server implements a universal backup mechanism that handles backup operations for multiple users simultaneously. By identifying that multiple users own identical files, the server performs a single backup that universally serves all users, eliminating redundant storage across individual devices.
2Reliability
If individual backup processes are executed by each user for identical files, then data backup reliability is improved, but traffic volume increases causing communication path congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual backup traffic flows into a single centralized backup operation on the server. By consolidating backup requests from multiple users who own identical files, the system reduces total traffic volume and prevents communication path congestion while maintaining backup reliability.
3Quantity of substance
If deemed backup process is executed to utilize identical files on other computers, then storage capacity requirements are decreased, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that manages the deemed backup process. The server identifies users with identical files, determines backup eligibility, and coordinates the backup operations, thereby reducing storage capacity requirements while managing system complexity through centralized control rather than distributed peer-to-peer complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique to execute a backup process efficiently when an identical file is owned by multiple persons in order to decrease storage capacity and traffic volume requirements. In a backup system including a backup execution terminal, backup destination terminals, and a management server, the backup execution terminal executes a deemed backup process for deeming the file identical to the target file and owned on the backup destination terminals to be a backup duplicate of the target file, or an actual backup process for sending the target file to the management server, each of the backup destination terminals stores the backup execution terminal and the file identical to the target file in association with each other at the time of the deemed backup, and the management server stores the target file sent from the backup execution terminal at the time of the actual backup.