Metadata Segmentation for Backup Live Browse Speed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data storage management systems face challenges in speeding up live browse and file indexing operations due to the burden of large amounts of payload data accompanying metadata in backup copies, leading to slower retrieval times and increased bandwidth and processing cycles.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a live browse cache and pseudo-disk storage area that identifies and flags metadata segments at a more granular level, constructing a bitmap to strip out non-metadata segments and replace them with hole markers, resulting in a sparse extent that occupies less storage space, and pre-fetching metadata to optimize storage usage and retrieval efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If metadata is saved in the live browse cache and pseudo-disk with accompanying payload data, then metadata retrieval is enabled for file indexing and live browse, but storage space consumption increases and retrieval speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments metadata from payload data by identifying metadata sectors within backup extents and storing them separately in the live browse cache. This segmentation allows the cache to contain only metadata (e.g., file attributes, access control lists) without accompanying payload data, reducing storage space consumption while enabling fast metadata retrieval for file indexing and live browse operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts metadata from backup copies by parsing backup metadata structures and identifying sectors containing metadata. These extracted metadata sectors are then stored in the live browse cache, separating them from the original backup data. This extraction process enables the system to retrieve metadata without accessing the full backup copy, improving retrieval speed while the selective caching of only metadata (not payload) reduces storage space requirements.
2Productivity
If extents comprising metadata fill up the live browse cache, then metadata is available for access, but additional retrievals from backup media are required which slows down operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-fetching and caching metadata sectors from backup copies into the live browse cache before they are needed for file indexing or live browse operations. The system identifies which extents contain metadata during backup processing and proactively loads these metadata sectors into the cache, so that when file indexing or live browse operations occur, the metadata is already available in fast cache memory, eliminating the need for slower retrievals from backup media during these operations.
3Reliability
If large amounts of payload data accompany metadata in backup copies, then complete backup data is preserved, but bandwidth and processing cycles increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary metadata components from backup copies, separating them from the payload data. By parsing backup metadata structures and identifying only the sectors containing metadata (such as file attributes, access control lists, and other file-specific metadata), the system transfers and caches only this essential information. This extraction approach preserves the reliability of backup data completeness in the original backup copy while significantly reducing the bandwidth and processing cycles required for metadata operations, as only metadata sectors are cached and accessed during file indexing and live browse.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed enhancements optimize the use of the live browse cache and pseudo-disk storage areas, improving metadata handling so that it can be used more effectively to speed up live browse and file indexing of backup copies in a data storage management system. The enhancements operate granularly to identify within each extent being backed up smaller sectors that comprise metadata. The disclosed approach pre-fetches the metadata of the backup copy before allowing the file scan of the file indexing and/or the live browse operation to proceed. The backup operation, the file indexing operation, and the live browse operation are enhanced to handle the more granular metadata sectors without changing the granularity of the full extents generated and stored in the backup.