Incremental Backup Indexing for Restore Time Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional backup systems face inefficiencies in accessing and retrieving specific files from incremental backup data, as they require lengthy restore operations and consume excessive resources, especially with frequent data generation.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a backup manager to access and compare index data from initial and subsequent snapshots, creating an updated index and snapshot only when data changes, leveraging object stores for efficient data management and reducing the need for costly IO operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If snapshot type backup systems store backup data frequently, then backup frequency is improved, but restore operation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup data into individual snapshot data sets with separate index structures. Each snapshot maintains its own index, allowing the system to directly access specific snapshots without processing or browsing through other snapshots. This segmentation enables frequent backups while maintaining efficient restore operations by isolating data access to only the relevant snapshot.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates and maintains index data structures for each snapshot in advance, before restore operations are needed. These indexes are built during the backup process itself, pre-organizing the data so that restore operations can immediately locate files without traversal or searching. This preliminary indexing action eliminates the time-consuming browse operations that would otherwise be required.
2Reliability
If traditional backup systems copy file systems onto storage media, then data backup is achieved, but backup operation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the changed data blocks between snapshots rather than copying entire file systems. By identifying and storing only the differences (incremental changes) between backup points, the system achieves reliable data backup with significantly reduced backup operation time and storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the backup approach from copying complete file systems to storing only incremental data changes. This parameter change in the backup strategy—focusing on data differences rather than full copies—drastically reduces backup operation time while maintaining data integrity and recoverability.
3Ease of operation
If backup systems traverse file systems to search for files, then file location is found, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-builds and maintains index data structures that map files to their locations within snapshot data sets during the backup process. When a restore operation is needed, the system queries these pre-existing indexes to immediately locate files without traversing or browsing through the snapshot data. This preliminary indexing eliminates resource-intensive file system traversal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an index data structure as an intermediary between the user's file access request and the actual snapshot data. This index acts as a mediator that provides direct paths to files without requiring traversal of the underlying snapshot contents. The index translates high-level file queries into efficient data location operations, dramatically reducing resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of managing backup data. The method includes accessing, via a backup manager, index data of an initial snapshot and accessing, via the backup manager, index data of a subsequent snapshot. The method further includes determining, via the backup manager, whether the index data of the subsequent snapshot is different from the index data of the initial snapshot. Responsive to a determination that the index data of the subsequent snapshot is different from the index data of the initial snapshot, creating an updated index data and creating an updated snapshot with the updated index data.