File-Based Backup Writer-Key Table for Bare-Metal Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Block-based backup technologies fail to track which blocks of data belong to which files and/or directories, making it impossible to restore a subset of logical groupings of data during bare-metal recovery (BMR) or system-state recovery (SSR) operations.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that employs file-based backup technology to facilitate BMR and SSR by using a writer-key table and object metadata schema to map VSS writers to recovery-pertinent file-system objects, enabling accurate restoration of data from backup media.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If block-based backup technology is used, then backup efficiency is improved, but the ability to restore specific files and directories is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup system into two distinct components: block-based backup for efficient data capture and a file-system object mapping layer for precise restoration. The writer-key table and object metadata schema divide the monolithic backup process into separable functional units, allowing each to optimize for its specific purpose while working together to resolve the contradiction between backup efficiency and restoration capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mapping layer consisting of the writer-key table and object metadata schema that sits between the block-based backup system and the restoration process. This intermediary maintains the relationships between file-system objects and their corresponding data blocks, enabling selective restoration without compromising the efficiency of the underlying block-based backup mechanism.
2Quantity of substance
If block-based backup is used, then storage space utilization is improved, but file and directory tracking is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of the essential mapping information in the form of the writer-key table and object metadata schema. Rather than storing complete file-system structures, it copies only the critical relationships between file-system objects and data blocks, preserving the necessary information for restoration while maintaining the space efficiency of block-based backup.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by establishing the writer-key table and object metadata schema during the backup process itself. This pre-establishes the mapping relationships between file-system objects and data blocks, so that when restoration is needed, the information is already available without requiring additional storage overhead beyond what is necessary for the mapping structures.
3Measurement precision
If file-based backup technology is implemented, then restoration precision is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complexity into manageable components: the writer-key table handles writer-to-key mappings, while the object metadata schema handles key-to-metadata mappings. This segmentation allows each component to be independently managed and processed, reducing the perceived complexity while achieving precise file-system object restoration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential mapping functionality from the complex file-based backup process and consolidates it into dedicated data structures (writer-key table and object metadata schema). By taking out and isolating the mapping logic, the system achieves restoration precision without the full complexity of traditional file-based backup implementations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for leveraging file-based backups to facilitate bare-metal recovery (BMR) and/or system-state recovery (SSR) operations. In leading to a BMR operation (which may include, but is not limited to, data protected under a SSR operation), logical groupings of data, each including multiple files and/or directories that span across one or more file-systems, may be written to backup media to comply with data backup, archiving, and/or disaster recovery strategies. Backing up said logical groupings of data relies on block-based backup technologies, which upon requiring a subset of a given logical grouping of data to be restored, makes the restoration process impossible to fulfill since determining which blocks of data belong to which files and/or directories are not tracked. Accordingly, the disclosed method and system propose an intelligent scheme through which file-based backup technology may be employed to enable BMR and/or SSR from any single BMR-compliant backup copy.