Quorum-Based Bookmark Generation for Partial Disaster Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data protection systems face challenges in ensuring consistency and recovery during partial disasters, as they often require all application nodes to be alive for bookmark generation and replication, leading to data loss and recovery issues.
Innovation Solution
Introducing a mechanism that generates a bookmark even in cases of partial disasters by incorporating knowledge of application availability into data protection agents and appliances, allowing recovery with sufficient data available, even if not all nodes are alive at the replica site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional data protection systems require all application nodes to be alive for bookmark generation, then consistency across replication nodes is maintained, but recovery is impossible during partial disasters causing data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by requiring only a quorum of application nodes (more than half) to be alive for bookmark generation, rather than requiring all nodes. This allows the system to generate bookmarks and enable recovery even when some nodes are unavailable due to partial disasters, thus reducing data loss while maintaining sufficient consistency for recovery operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter from 'all nodes must be alive' to 'quorum of nodes must be alive' for bookmark generation. This parameter change enables the system to operate and recover during partial disasters by accepting that not all nodes need to be available, thereby preventing complete data loss scenarios
2Productivity
If data replication operates at the data block level for efficiency, then replication speed is improved, but ensuring consistency across distributed nodes during partial failures becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by generating bookmarks at application commit points before replication operations proceed. This ensures that replication starts from a known consistent state captured by the bookmark, maintaining consistency across distributed nodes even when operating at the efficient data block level
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback by having application nodes provide information about their availability state to the data protection system. This feedback mechanism allows the system to determine quorum availability and make informed decisions about bookmark generation and replication operations, ensuring consistency while maintaining productivity
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a method includes determining that a first quorum of servers is available at a production site and a target site and generating a group-set bookmark if the first quorum of servers is available. In another aspect, an article includes a non-transitory machine-readable medium that stores executable instructions. The instructions cause a machine to determine that a first quorum of servers is available at a production site and a target site and generate a group-set bookmark if the first quorum of servers is available. In a further aspect, an apparatus includes circuitry configured to determine that a first quorum of servers is available at a production site and a target site; and generate a group -set bookmark if the first quorum of servers available.