Container Data Protection via Cloud Snapshot Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage systems for containerized applications on container orchestration systems face challenges in accessing and backing up data stored on external cloud provider systems, lacking comprehensive data protection operations like compression, deduplication, encryption, and metadata generation, and incurring higher costs compared to traditional secondary storage devices.
Innovation Solution
An information management system that includes a secondary storage computing device capable of communicating with container orchestration systems and cloud providers, allowing for snapshot creation, data access, and storage on low-cost secondary devices, while facilitating data protection methods like compression, deduplication, and encryption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cloud provider system snapshots are used for data backup, then data accessibility is improved, but storage cost increases and comprehensive data protection operations are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that sits between the cloud provider snapshot and the user. This intermediary performs data extraction from cloud snapshots, applies comprehensive data protection operations (compression, deduplication, encryption), and stores the processed data in secondary storage. The intermediary resolves the contradiction by enabling cost-effective storage while maintaining data accessibility through processed copies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates processed copies of cloud snapshot data rather than directly using the original cloud snapshots. By copying data to secondary storage after applying compression and deduplication, the system reduces storage costs while maintaining accessibility to the copied data, thus resolving the cost-accessibility contradiction.
2Device complexity
If cloud provider system snapshots are used for data backup, then data protection is simplified, but comprehensive data protection operations like compression, deduplication, and encryption are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data protection process into distinct stages: cloud snapshot creation (simple operation), data extraction, comprehensive processing (compression, deduplication, encryption), and secondary storage. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple cloud snapshot operations while adding comprehensive data protection operations in the processing stage, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs comprehensive data protection operations (compression, deduplication, encryption) as preliminary actions on extracted snapshot data before final storage. By preparing and processing data in advance, the system ensures complete data protection while maintaining the simplicity of the original cloud snapshot operation.
3Ease of operation
If cloud storage volumes are used for containerized applications, then data accessibility is improved, but data tracking and management become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the intermediary system tracks data extraction from cloud snapshots, monitors processing operations, and maintains metadata about processed data in secondary storage. This feedback loop provides comprehensive data tracking and management information, resolving the contradiction between easy accessibility and manageable complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain embodiments described herein relate to an improved information management system that can perform provider-specific data protection methods for cloud-stored data. In one embodiment, the information management system accesses a pod specification that indicates information usable to execute a containerized application on behalf of a user, and determines the cloud provider system configured to provide one or more computing resources for execution the containerized application. Using a provider-specific interface that is specific to the determined cloud provider system, the information management system creates a snapshot of a cloud storage volume associated with the containerized application and accesses the data inside the snapshot. The accessed data is stored onto a secondary storage device, and the snapshot is removed from the cloud provider system, thereby providing an efficient backup solution for the data used for executing the containerized application on the container orchestrator system.