Data Management System Selective Copy Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data protection systems face challenges in efficiently managing large amounts of data, leading to increased costs and time required for data recovery, as they often result in cumbersome secondary copies that slow down the restoration process and impact system availability.
Innovation Solution
A data management system that creates and manages primary and secondary copies of data, utilizing snapshot operations, encryption, and a metabase to store information about data copies, allowing for efficient retrieval and selection of the best copy to satisfy data requests, thereby reducing the impact on critical systems and enhancing availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional backup systems create secondary copies of all data, then data protection is improved, but storage costs and recovery time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into different categories (critical, important, standard, archive) and creates backup copies selectively based on data classification. This allows the system to protect critical data with multiple copies while using less frequent or no backups for standard data, thereby reducing overall storage requirements and recovery time while maintaining adequate protection levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the backup frequency and copy creation parameters dynamically based on data classification and system conditions. Critical data receives frequent backups with multiple copies, while standard data receives less frequent backups or no copies. This parameter adjustment optimizes the balance between data protection reliability and recovery efficiency.
2Reliability
If more secondary copies are created, then data protection is improved, but system resources and availability are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into classification categories and applies different backup strategies to each segment. Critical data that requires high protection receives multiple secondary copies, while standard and archive data receive fewer or no copies. This segmentation ensures that system resources are not consumed by creating unnecessary copies of all data, thereby maintaining system availability while providing adequate protection where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial backup action by creating secondary copies only for specific data categories that require protection, rather than backing up all data uniformly. This selective approach reduces the overall backup workload and resource consumption, maintaining system productivity while providing necessary data protection for critical information.
3Reliability
If full secondary copies are maintained, then data recovery completeness is improved, but storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into classification categories (critical, important, standard, archive) and maintains secondary copies selectively based on the category. Critical data maintains full secondary copies for complete recovery capability, while standard and archive data use reduced backup strategies. This segmentation achieves cost-effective storage utilization while ensuring recovery completeness for data that requires it.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes backup parameters including copy frequency, retention period, and copy creation based on data classification. This dynamic parameter adjustment optimizes storage capacity utilization by maintaining full recovery capability only for data where it is necessary, thereby reducing overall storage costs while preserving data recovery completeness for critical information.
4Productivity
If backup operations are performed during business hours, then data availability is improved, but system performance is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of data into categories during normal operations, and pre-identifies which data requires immediate backup capability. This preliminary action allows the system to prioritize backup operations for critical data while deferring or reducing backups for standard data, thereby maintaining data availability without significantly impacting system performance during business hours.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial backup action during business hours by creating secondary copies only for critical data that requires immediate protection, while reducing or deferring backups for standard and archive data. This selective approach maintains data availability for critical operations while minimizing the performance impact on the overall system during productive hours.
Data Source
AI summary
A method in a computer system for retrieving data from one of multiple copies of the data is provided, referred to as the data management system. The data management system receives a request identifying a data object to be accessed. Then, the data management system queries a metabase to locate data copies that contain the identified data object, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data, and wherein for each data copy the metabase contains an indication of the availability of the copy relative to other copies. Next, the data management system determines one of the located data copies to use to access the identified data object, wherein the determination is made based on the indicated availability contained in the metabase for each of the located data copies. Then, the data management system accesses the identified data object using the determined one of the located data copies.