Cloud Native Email Data Protection via Object Storage Tiering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data protection systems for cloud-based applications like Microsoft Office365 do not provide efficient Point-in-Time (PIT) backup capabilities, and existing solutions are computationally expensive due to reliance on deduplication technology, which is costly and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A cost-efficient data protection system that leverages cloud storage by using object storage, which is cheaper than compute resources, and employs a lightweight database to manage e-mail messages, allowing for efficient data tiering and minimal compute resource usage, thereby reducing storage and processing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If deduplication technology is used to reduce storage costs, then storage size is optimized, but computational cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the deduplication function from the backup system and implements it in the cloud storage service itself. The backup application sends full data blocks to the cloud, and the cloud service performs deduplication across multiple tenants, eliminating the need for each tenant to perform expensive local deduplication while achieving storage optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud storage service provides universal deduplication capabilities that serve multiple tenants simultaneously. A single deduplication infrastructure benefits all customers using the cloud storage service, distributing the computational cost across many users rather than each user bearing the full cost individually.
2Reliability
If on-premises backup systems are used, then data protection is available, but hardware platform requirements and limited data tiering capabilities increase complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The cloud storage service automatically performs data protection functions without requiring customer hardware or software infrastructure. The service itself manages backup, restore, and data tiering operations, eliminating the need for customers to maintain complex on-premises backup systems while ensuring reliable data protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the backup infrastructure from the customer's on-premises environment to the cloud provider's infrastructure. This dimensional shift transfers hardware complexity from the customer side to the service provider side, who can manage it at scale more efficiently.
3Quantity of substance
If cloud storage is used instead of compute resources, then storage costs are reduced, but data processing efficiency may be impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by sending full data blocks to the cloud in advance. The cloud service then performs deduplication and compression on these pre-sent blocks, reducing the amount of data that needs to be transmitted and stored. This preliminary transmission approach allows expensive compute operations to be performed on already-transferred data rather than on data during critical operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent sends more data to the cloud than immediately needed (full blocks rather than just changed blocks), allowing the cloud service to perform bulk deduplication operations that are more efficient than incremental processing. This excessive initial data transfer enables more efficient subsequent processing and reduces long-term storage requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for a method of storing e-mail messages using a cloud native e-mail data protection process. E-mail messages are first compressed and stored in a container along with selected metadata. An Email Record is created for each e-mail message. A Container Record is created for each newly created container, and a Backup Record is created for each container for each backup. Once the required records are created, the process facilitates the execution of backup operations, such as full or incremental backups of the stored e-mail messages. Data tiering is supported so that low cost object storage in the public cloud is used instead of expensive processing methods, such as deduplication backups.