Persistent Reference Objects for Incremental Database Backup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing database systems are inefficient in backing up and restoring software records or objects in relation to a specific time or as part of a federated database, either in isolation or within a larger database system.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating persistent reference objects during database backups, organizing records into pages and containers, and using a backup event process to create incremental backups by storing updated pages with specific identifiers, allowing for efficient restoration of databases by referencing these backups.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If incremental backups are performed continuously to capture only changed data, then storage efficiency and backup speed are improved, but the complexity of tracking and managing changes across multiple incremental backups increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the database into pages and further into containers, with each page and container receiving unique identifiers. This segmentation allows incremental backups to track changes at the page level without managing entire database structures, reducing the complexity of tracking changes across multiple incremental backups while maintaining backup speed efficiency.
2Reliability
If full backups are performed periodically to ensure complete data recovery, then data completeness and reliability are improved, but the time and storage resources required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by assigning unique identifiers to pages and containers during normal database operations, and maintains a backup event counter that tracks changes. This preliminary tracking infrastructure is established before failures occur, enabling rapid incremental backups that capture only changed pages without requiring time-consuming full database scans, thus reducing backup time while maintaining complete data recovery capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If detailed tracking of all database changes is maintained for accurate incremental backups, then backup accuracy and restoration precision are improved, but the overhead of tracking and storage management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the change tracking function from the overall backup system by using a separate backup event counter and unique page identifiers. Instead of complex dependency tracking across entire database objects, the system extracts and tracks only the essential change information (page-level modifications) in a simplified manner, reducing tracking overhead while maintaining restoration precision through the unique identifier system.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, computer-readable media and method for backup one or more databases and restoring one or more databases using incremental backups are provided. Persistent collection objects are generated in the process of performing a database backup. A collection objects may order records, e.g., objects, in relation to and within pluralities of records. These pluralities of records may be referred to, or organized as, pages or containers of pages, comprising software objects. The persistent database backup collection object may include a time and date of a generation of an incremental backup database by a distinguishable and specific database archiving process (“backup event”), an event number of an incremental backup generation, one or more database identifiers, one or more container identifiers, and/or identifiers of individual records, e.g., object identifiers.