Pre-validated Database Snapshots for Virtual Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing database technologies face challenges in efficiently managing and provisioning virtual databases, leading to increased complexity, resource requirements, and prolonged backup and recovery operations due to the need for redundant hardware and time-consuming data copying processes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves pre-provisioning validated database snapshots by creating multiple recovery milestones and applying transaction logs in advance, using a database storage system that decouples physical and logical database implementations, allowing for efficient storage and sharing of database blocks across virtual databases, and validating snapshots to ensure data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If database snapshots are provisioned on-demand after receiving requests, then hardware resources can be optimized, but provisioning time becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating and validating database snapshots in advance before actual provisioning requests are received. Snapshots are pre-created at regular intervals and validated for data integrity, so when a provisioning request arrives, the system can immediately provide a ready-to-use snapshot without time-consuming creation and validation processes.
2Reliability
If multiple redundant database copies are maintained for different lifecycle stages, then data availability is improved, but infrastructure complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual copies of database snapshots that can be used across multiple lifecycle stages without requiring separate physical infrastructure for each stage. These snapshot copies are validated to ensure data integrity, providing reliable data availability while reducing infrastructure complexity through shared storage resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The snapshot validation mechanism serves multiple functions: it ensures data integrity for provisioning, validates snapshots for backup purposes, and verifies database consistency across different lifecycle stages. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate validation processes for each use case.
3Use of energy by moving object
If database snapshots are created and validated upon request, then resource usage is optimized, but operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs snapshot creation and validation operations periodically at predetermined intervals rather than waiting for individual requests. This periodic batch processing approach improves operational efficiency by amortizing validation overhead across multiple potential provisioning requests, while still optimizing resource usage by maintaining a limited set of pre-validated snapshots.
Data Source
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AI summary
Virtual databases are provisioned using point-in-time copies of a source database. Transaction logs received from the source database are applied to a point-in-time copy of the source database to create recovery milestones comprising database blocks that can be used to provision virtual databases. The recovery milestones are created in advance of receiving a request to provision a virtual database. Each recovery milestone is validated to determine that a consistent database snapshot can be created using the recovery milestone. If a problem is identified that prevents creation of a consistent database snapshot, the problem is fixed before creating the next recovery milestone. In response to receiving a request to provision a virtual database corresponding to a point in time, a recovery milestone is identified and transaction logs applied to the recovery milestone to create a database snapshot corresponding to the requested point in time.