Cloud Disaster Recovery Snapshot Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current disaster recovery systems for storage systems are limited in their ability to roll back data to any point in time, especially in cases of data center failures, due to finite retention periods and lack of continuous backup capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The system employs cloud storage to maintain continuous point-in-time snapshots by transferring entire data copies to cloud storage and prohibiting snapshot deletion until the transfer is complete, using TCP/IP, Internet, or dedicated connections, ensuring data availability independent of the data center's operational state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is backed up to cloud storage for disaster recovery, then data availability and rollback capability are improved, but system complexity and data transfer time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud storage intermediary between the storage system and disaster recovery operations. The cloud storage acts as a mediator that receives data copies from the storage system and provides rollback capabilities, thereby improving data availability without significantly increasing the complexity of the core storage system itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the disaster recovery and long-term data retention functions from the primary storage system and places them in cloud storage. This separation allows the storage system to remain simple while the cloud handles the complex tasks of data archiving, management, and recovery operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If continuous snapshots are maintained for rollback capability, then data rollback flexibility is improved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves data from the single dimension of local storage to another dimension by utilizing cloud storage resources. This dimensional shift allows the system to maintain flexible rollback capabilities without being constrained by local storage capacity, as the cloud provides virtually unlimited space for storing historical data versions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by continuously copying data to cloud storage before potential disasters occur. This advance preparation ensures that data is already available in the cloud for immediate rollback operations, eliminating the need for complex real-time data protection mechanisms during disasters.
3Reliability
If data is transferred to cloud storage for backup, then disaster recovery capability is improved, but data transfer time and network bandwidth consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous data transfer operations to the cloud, converting what would be a time-consuming batch operation into an ongoing background process. This continuous action ensures that data is progressively moved to the cloud without interrupting storage system operations, and the transfer time is distributed over an extended period rather than concentrated in a single operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Maintaining versions of data from a storage system includes detecting that a snapshot of the data has been performed at the storage device, transferring a previous version of the data to a cloud storage, and prohibiting deletion of the snapshot until the previous version of the data has been completely transferred to the cloud storage. The data may be a volume on the storage system. The cloud storage may be public cloud storage or part of a private network. The cloud storage may be accessible from any location via the World Wide Web. A connection between the storage device and the cloud storage may be provided by the Internet, a TCP/IP network, a dedicated connection, or a FICON connection. The snapshot may store a log entry in a log device corresponding to a particular point-in-time version of the data prior to data being written to the storage device.