Deduplication Relationship for Remote Data Replication

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data storage systems face inefficiencies in replicating data across storage networks, particularly in scenarios where identical data portions are already stored on the target system, leading to unnecessary data transmission and increased communication bandwidth usage.

Innovation Solution

Establishing a deduplication relationship between logical storage elements on the source and target systems, allowing for replication without transmitting identical data portions by using existing data on the target system, leveraging SCSI protocols and deduplication data structures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If data is replicated from source storage system to target storage system, then data availability is improved, but communication bandwidth usage increases due to unnecessary transmission of identical data portions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata availabilityVSAvoidcommunication bandwidth usage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary deduplication operations on the target storage system before replication occurs. By pre-processing the target storage system to identify existing data portions, the system可以避免 transmitting duplicate data, thus reducing communication bandwidth usage while maintaining data availability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of copying actual data portions, the system copies metadata references (pointers) to existing data portions on the target storage system. This allows the replication process to establish references to already-preserved data without transmitting the data itself, significantly reducing bandwidth consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If data replication is performed across storage networks, then data redundancy is improved, but replication time increases due to transmission of duplicate data portions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata redundancyVSAvoidreplication time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and transmits only the necessary metadata information (pointers and references) rather than the actual data portions. By separating the metadata transmission from data transmission, the system achieves data redundancy without the time penalty of transmitting duplicate data across the network

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The target storage system performs preliminary deduplication operations to identify existing data portions before replication. This pre-processing step enables the system to skip transmission of duplicate data, thereby reducing replication time while maintaining data redundancy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11822808B2Remotely replicating duplicated data

Publication Date: 2023.11.21 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC

AI summary

Data may be replicated from a host storage system to a target storage system. It may be determined to replicate a first logical storage element on the source storage system to a second logical storage element on the target storage system, wherein the first logical storage element defines a first data portion having a first value. It may be determined that a third logical storage element on the target storage system defines a second data portion having the first value. The first logical storage element may be replicated to the second logical storage element by establishing a deduplication relationship between the second logical storage element and the third logical storage element on the target storage system without transmitting the first data portion from the source storage system to the target storage system.