Proxy Files for Fast Disaster Recovery from Backup Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud computing environments face challenges in providing seamless failover capabilities during events like power outages or component failures without incurring the high costs of fully redundant cluster resources, while maintaining minimal user disruption.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of tiered storage systems, where primary storage is backed up to a remote second-tier storage, and proxy files are generated to facilitate fast retrieval of files from slower backup storage, allowing for seamless access and restoration with reduced redundancy costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fully redundant cluster resources are used for failover, then reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments backup storage into tiered levels (fast storage and slower storage) with proxy files stored on fast storage that point to actual backup data on slower storage. This segmentation allows selective access to backup data without requiring full redundancy on fast storage, reducing cost while maintaining failover capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Proxy files act as intermediaries between the fast storage system and the slower backup storage. These proxy files contain metadata and pointers that enable rapid access to backup data without physically storing duplicate copies on fast storage, thus reducing cost while preserving reliability.
2Quantity of substance
If typical backup restoration techniques are used, then cost is reduced, but performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Proxy files are created and stored on fast storage in advance of any restoration need. These pre-positioned proxy files contain all necessary metadata and location information, enabling immediate retrieval of backup data from slower storage without the performance penalty of traditional backup restoration.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of copying actual backup data to fast storage (which would be expensive), the system creates lightweight proxy file copies that reference the original backup data. These proxy copies provide fast access performance while maintaining low storage costs on the fast tier.
3Reliability
If idle failover resources are maintained, then reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses inexpensive slower storage for actual backup data retention, while employing cheap, easily replaceable proxy files on fast storage for failover access. This approach eliminates the need for expensive permanent redundant resources while maintaining reliable failover capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Actual files, which may comprise objects, are stored from a high-performance cluster storage of a first system to a lower performance storage of a remote second computing system as a backup. A set of proxy files, which point to locations of the actual files within the backup, is created that may be stored to a cluster storage system, or to the lower performance storage, at the remote second computing system. A user, or application, of the first system may access an actual file from the backup that is pointed to in a corresponding proxy file. The actual file accessed from the backup may be stored to a new location at a cluster storage to facilitate future access requests made before the actual file is restored from the backup to the first system. The proxy file corresponding to the accessed file may point to the new location of the retrieved file.