Offset Map for Backup File Block Addressing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data backup systems using sequential formats make it difficult to locate specific data, leading to excessive time and cost when restoring only a subset of large data sets, as the entire data set often needs to be restored due to the encapsulation of data in sequential formats.
Innovation Solution
The creation of an offset map that enables the location and extraction of specific data within a backup, allowing for the restoration of portions of files without restoring the entire backup, by identifying start locations of specific data blocks or records, and enabling sparse file restoration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sequential backup format is used to backup large data sets, then data protection is achieved, but the ability to locate and restore specific data is significantly degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sequential backup stream into individually addressable units by creating an offset map that divides the backup data into logical blocks. Each block is assigned a unique offset identifier, allowing the system to segment and access specific portions of the backup without requiring sequential processing of the entire data set.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset map serves as an intermediary data structure between the sequential backup format and the restore operation. This intermediary layer translates high-level data identifiers into physical locations within the backup stream, enabling efficient data location without direct scanning of the encapsulated sequential format.
2Reliability
If entire data set is restored from sequential backup, then complete data recovery is achieved, but restoration time becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary data blocks from the sequential backup stream based on restore requests. By using the offset map to identify specific blocks needed for restoration, the system extracts and restores only those portions, eliminating the time required to process and restore the entire data set.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial restoration by restoring only the subset of data that is actually needed rather than the complete data set. The offset map enables the restore operation to perform exactly the amount of action required (partial) without over-processing unnecessary data blocks.
3Reliability
If sequential backup format encapsulates data, then data protection is improved, but data accessibility and retrieval efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The offset map is created during the backup process as a preliminary action, storing location information for all data blocks before restoration is needed. This preliminary indexing enables efficient data retrieval during restore operations without requiring real-time analysis of the encapsulated sequential format.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for backing up data and for restoring at least sub-sets of the backed up data or for restoring sub-sets of data from a single file. An offset map is generated when backing up data. The offset map identifies at least starting locations of files and data records in the backup. A request for specific data is accommodated by identified the start locations of the specific data and then extracting the requested data from the backup. The requested data can then be restored independently of the entire backup.