Single Step Virtual Hard Disk Chain Merging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current backup systems for virtual hard disk (VHD) networks face inefficiencies in merging differencing disks during recovery, leading to performance issues and data inconsistency due to the iterative process of checking each block across a potentially vast chain of checkpoints.
Innovation Solution
A single-step merging process that identifies and merges changed sectors across differencing disks in a bottom-up approach, creating a unified disk image, eliminating the need for iterative checks and optimizing recovery operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an iterative process is used to check each block across a chain of differencing disks during recovery, then data consistency can be maintained, but the recovery time and computational overhead increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing the merging of differencing disks during the backup operation itself, rather than waiting until recovery time. The backup system merges the base disk with all differencing disks in the chain and stores the merged result, so that recovery can be performed directly from the pre-merged disk without iterative checking during the recovery process.
2Productivity
If multiple differencing disks are maintained in a chain structure, then incremental backup efficiency is improved, but the complexity of managing and merging these disks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining all differencing disks in the chain with the base disk into a single merged disk image. The system identifies changed sectors across multiple differencing disks and merges them bottom-up, consolidating the entire chain into one unified disk structure that eliminates the need for complex chain management during recovery operations.
3Reliability
If a vast chain of checkpoints is maintained for comprehensive data protection, then recovery options are increased, but the number of blocks that need to be checked during merging increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies extraction by identifying and extracting only the changed sectors from each differencing disk in the chain, rather than processing entire disks. The system extracts modified block information and uses this selective data to perform the merge operation, significantly reducing the computational complexity even when dealing with long chains of checkpoints.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for a method of backing up virtual hard disks by: parsing a list of base parent and differencing disks to identify disk parameters and child disks of immediate parent disks; creating a differencing disk chain in reverse time order of modification of the base parent disk starting from the base parent disk to a latest child differencing disk; identifying changed sectors in each child disk starting from the latest child differencing disk; creating a list detailing a respective differencing disk, sector offsets and logical data sector index for each changed sector; iteratively adding updated sectors to the list for latest changed sectors that were not previously added to the list by a later child disk by reading the changed sectors from their respective child disk; and merging, in a single step, the changed sectors read from their respective child disks into the base parent disk.