Pseudosnapshots for Continuous Data Protection Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data backup and recovery systems face challenges in efficiently managing and restoring data due to increasing data volumes and complexity, particularly in maintaining data integrity and reducing resource consumption for snapshot storage.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a continuous data protection (CDP) system that creates pseudosnapshots and surfaces copies for replication operations, allowing for efficient data recovery and reduced storage requirements by using event markers to mark datasets at specific points in time, enabling numerous snapshots to be stored with minimal resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional snapshot storage is used to maintain data at specific points in time, then data recovery capability is improved, but storage resource consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines continuous data protection (CDP) technology with snapshot technology to create pseudosnapshots. Instead of storing separate snapshot data, the system merges CDP's continuous change tracking with snapshot's point-in-time representation, allowing pseudosnapshots to be derived from the continuous protection data without duplicating storage resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous data protection system serves multiple functions: it provides both continuous data protection capabilities and snapshot-like point-in-time recovery capabilities through pseudosnapshots. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated snapshot storage systems, reducing overall storage resource consumption while maintaining both continuous protection and point-in-time recovery capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If numerous snapshots are stored to enable recovery at multiple points in time, then data recovery flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the snapshot management into two parts: event markers are stored in the continuous protection data structure, while actual snapshot data is derived on-demand. This segmentation allows the system to maintain flexibility for multiple recovery points without storing all snapshot data permanently, reducing system complexity by only maintaining lightweight event markers rather than full snapshot copies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically creates pseudosnapshots from the continuous protection data as needed, rather than statically storing all snapshots. This dynamic approach allows the system to provide flexible recovery capabilities at multiple points in time while maintaining a simpler underlying data structure, as pseudosnapshots are generated on-demand from the continuous protection stream rather than being pre-stored.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for performing replication operations on a continuous data protection system. Exemplary methods include identifying a series of transactions in a continuous data protection system, identifying an event marker indicating a point in time in the series of transactions, copying at least a portion of the series of transactions up until the point in time of the event marker from the continuous data protection system, and presenting the copy of at least a portion of the series of transactions such that the surfaced copy can be read in a subsequent replication operation.