Continuous Backup Storage Subdivision and Time-Indexed Data Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data backup systems only allow recovery of data at periodic intervals, making it impossible to retrieve data from specific points in time between backups, leading to increased storage and complexity when trying to recover intermediate versions of data.
Innovation Solution
The system subdivides storage devices into subsections with a time indicator that modifies periodically, allowing for continuous backup by maintaining data overwritten at specific times, constructing linked lists of variable-sized data portions, and combining data from write operations to restore the storage device to any previous state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data backup frequency is increased to enable recovery of intermediate versions, then data recovery capability is improved, but storage requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device is subdivided into multiple subsections, with each subsection dedicated to storing backup data for a specific point in time. This segmentation allows the system to track and retrieve data from specific time points without requiring complete backups at every interval, thereby improving recovery capability while managing storage and complexity efficiently.
2Reliability
If data backup frequency is increased to enable recovery of intermediate versions, then data recovery capability is improved, but storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each subsection of the storage device is assigned a specific time point and stores only the data relevant to that time point. This local quality approach ensures that storage space is utilized efficiently by maintaining data from specific time points rather than duplicating entire datasets at every backup interval, thus improving recovery capability while controlling storage requirements.
3Volume of stationary object
If periodic backups are performed, then storage requirements are reduced, but data recovery from specific time points is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining data from specific time points in subsections before it is needed for recovery. By pre-storing data at designated time points in the subsections, the system enables immediate retrieval of data from any previous time point without requiring manual reconstruction, thus improving recovery capability while maintaining efficient storage utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
Providing continuous backup of a storage device includes subdividing the storage device into subsections, providing a time indicator that is modified periodically, and, in response to a request to write new data to a particular subsection of the storage device at a particular time, maintaining data being overwritten by the new data according to the particular subsection and according to a value of the indicator at the particular time. The subsections may be tracks. Maintaining the data being overwritten may include constructing a linked list of portions of data for each of the subsections. The portions of data may have variable sizes. In response to two data write operations to a particular subsection at a particular value of the indicator, data being written for each of the two data write operations may be combined if data for the second data write operation is a subset of data for the first data write operation. Providing continuous backup of a storage device may also include restoring the storage device to a state thereof at a particular point in time by writing the maintained data to the storage device. Writing the maintained data to the storage device may include constructing subsections of the data by combining separate portions thereof corresponding to the same subsection.