Secondary Storage Data Sharing via Partial File Restore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems face challenges in efficiently restoring and sharing files from secondary storage, as existing user interfaces are not intuitive, and restoring large amounts of data consumes significant time and resources, while existing methods require switching between different applications and interfaces.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an information management system that allows users to access and share secondary storage data through a native file system browser, enabling partial file restore and sharing by using index data and metadata to map application offsets to secondary copy offsets, facilitating efficient communication and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If users access secondary storage data through existing interfaces, then data can be restored, but the process consumes large amounts of time and system resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file restoration process by allowing users to select and restore only specific portions of files from secondary storage, rather than restoring entire files. This is achieved through a file system browser that displays secondary storage data and enables partial file selection, thereby reducing the time and resources required for restoration operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial action by enabling users to restore only the necessary portions of files from secondary storage. Instead of performing a complete file restoration, users can select specific ranges or segments of files they need, which significantly reduces the restoration time and system resource consumption while still meeting the user's data recovery needs.
2Ease of operation
If users access secondary storage data through existing interfaces, then data can be restored, but the user interface is not intuitive or user friendly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using the existing file system browser interface that users are already familiar with for accessing both primary and secondary storage data. The same interface paradigm handles different storage types transparently, eliminating the need for users to learn specialized interfaces for secondary storage access and thereby improving ease of operation without adding complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The file system browser acts as an intermediary layer between the user and the complex secondary storage system. It abstracts the underlying storage complexity and presents a unified, intuitive interface that users can interact with using familiar file browsing operations, thereby hiding the device complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
3Reliability
If users share entire secondary storage files, then complete data is shared, but the amount of data transferred and stored is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments files into shareable portions, allowing users to select and share only specific parts of secondary storage files rather than entire files. The system divides files into manageable segments that can be independently selected, transferred, and stored, reducing the total data volume while maintaining the completeness of the shared information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial action in data sharing by enabling users to transfer and store only the necessary portions of files. Instead of sharing complete files, users can select specific segments they need to share, which reduces the quantity of data transferred and stored while still achieving the sharing objective with sufficient completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
An information management system according to certain aspects allows users to share a portion of a file (e.g., a document) stored in secondary storage. The user may specify a portion of a secondary storage file to share and send a link to the portion to another user. The other user can access the shared portion from the link, and just the shared portion may be restored from secondary storage. The system according to certain aspects provides a native view of secondary storage data on a client computing device. The index data and/or metadata relating to secondary storage data may be stored in native application format for access via the native source application.