Incremental Block Volume Restore with Sequence-Number Manifests
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current snapshot techniques are resource and time intensive, leading to inefficiencies in generating and restoring block volumes, with issues in identifying changed blocks and requiring unnecessary data reading/writing.
Innovation Solution
The generation of incremental snapshots using manifests that track block sequence numbers, allowing efficient identification of altered blocks and enabling partial or full restoration from these snapshots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional snapshot techniques are used to create a snapshot of data, then data availability and accessibility are improved, but resource consumption and runtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the block volume into individual blocks and tracks changes at the block level using sequence numbers. Instead of creating a complete snapshot of the entire volume, the system identifies and restores only the changed blocks, segmenting the restoration process into discrete unit operations that consume fewer resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial restoration by restoring only the blocks that have changed between snapshots, rather than restoring the entire block volume. This partial action approach reduces the amount of data that must be read, written, and processed during restoration operations.
2Reliability
If traditional snapshot techniques are used to restore data, then data recovery capability is improved, but runtime and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary tracking of block changes by maintaining sequence numbers for each block between snapshots. This preliminary action of monitoring and recording changes enables rapid identification of modified blocks during restoration, eliminating the need to scan the entire volume during the restore process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses manifest information that copies change metadata between snapshots rather than copying actual data blocks. The manifest stores sequence numbers and change information, allowing the system to identify which blocks need restoration without transferring entire blocks, thus reducing restoration time.
3Reliability
If traditional snapshot techniques are used, then complete data backup is ensured, but unnecessary data reading and writing occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary change information from the block volume by tracking sequence numbers and identifying modified blocks. Instead of reading and writing entire blocks during snapshot operations, the system extracts only the metadata about changes, reducing I/O operations and energy consumption while maintaining backup completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of tracking from block-level data to sequence number-level metadata. By using sequence numbers as parameters to track block changes, the system can identify what needs to be restored without actually reading or writing the block data during snapshot creation, reducing unnecessary I/O operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques described include receiving, by a computing system, a request to create a restored storage volume using a storage volume identifier for the storage volume and a first storage volume sequence number corresponding to the storage volume identifier and associated with a first snapshot. The techniques further include receiving, by the computing system, the request to create the restored storage volume using the storage volume identifier for the storage volume, and a second storage volume sequence number corresponding to the storage volume identifier and associated with a second snapshot. The techniques further include determining, by the computing system, whether the second storage volume sequence number is indicative of the storage volume having been altered after the first snapshot was generated. The techniques further include responsive to the determination by the computing system, creating the restored storage volume using at least one of: the first snapshot or the second snapshot.