Retention Lock Audit Log for Backup System Reporting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for generating retention lock reports in large-scale data processing systems are resource-intensive and time-consuming, especially when dealing with hundreds of millions of files.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a retention lock audit log (RLA log) stored in a hidden MTree, which allows for efficient generation and storage of retention lock reports, eliminating the need for iterative file system walks and reducing resource consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If iterative file system walk process is used to generate retention lock reports, then complete file locking history can be obtained, but excessive time and resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating and maintaining an audit log that records file locking history in real-time as files are locked. This pre-computation of the audit log eliminates the need for time-consuming iterative file system walks when generating retention lock reports, as the report can be directly derived from the pre-existing audit log data.
2Measurement precision
If iterative file system walk process is used to generate retention lock reports, then accurate file locking information can be captured, but excessive system resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential file locking information from the file system and stores it in a separate audit log structure. This extraction allows the retention lock report to be generated from the audit log without needing to traverse the entire file system, thereby maintaining measurement precision while significantly reducing system resource consumption during report generation.
3Reliability
If retention lock reports are generated frequently for auditing purposes, then data integrity can be monitored, but system performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By pre-computing and maintaining the audit log in real-time, the system enables frequent retention lock report generation without impacting system throughput. The audit log serves as a pre-prepared data source that can be queried rapidly, allowing frequent auditing while maintaining normal system productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A retention lock report generation process that creates, upon deployment of a backup server in the backup system, a hidden directory structure in local storage of the backup server. Upon retention locking of a file, the process writes details of the file and lock operation to a retention lock audit (RLA) log in the form of a timestamped RLA log file. The RLA log is then stored in the hidden directory structure in the filesystem, and maintained as a rotating log containing only a latest timestamped RLA log file. Previous RLA log files are retention locked and stored differently from the RLA log. In response to a request, the RLA log and the retention lock settings for the locked files including the previous RLA log files are provided to the user, without requiring traversal of the entire filesystem as in present retention lock reporting methods.