File System Snapshot Backup Using Block-Level Delta Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data backup methods are inefficient due to their inability to identify fine-granularity changes, such as data block-level changes, in file system volumes, leading to wasteful resource usage as they often provide complete copies of files even for small changes, exacerbating the issue with increasing file sizes and hardware complexity.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves generating snapshots of file system volumes to identify specific changes, using file system extent delta trees to track changes and provide only the necessary block data for backups, thereby reducing storage and resource consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If file-level backup is performed to ensure complete data protection, then data reliability is improved, but resource consumption (energy, bandwidth, storage) increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file system volume into data blocks and organizes them using a B-tree structure. Instead of backing up entire files, the system identifies and backs up only specific data blocks that have changed, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining data protection completeness through fine-grained block-level tracking.
2Reliability
If file-level backup is performed to capture all changes, then data protection is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases due to transferring complete file copies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary changed data blocks from the file system volume using snapshot comparisons and B-tree traversal. By taking out only the specific blocks that need to be backed up rather than transferring complete file copies, bandwidth consumption is significantly reduced while data protection remains complete.
3Reliability
If complete file copies are provided in backup to ensure data integrity, then data reliability is improved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments backup data into individual data blocks organized in a B-tree structure, allowing selective storage of only changed blocks. This segmentation enables data integrity to be maintained through block-level tracking while significantly reducing storage space consumption by avoiding duplication of unchanged file portions.
4Reliability
If file-level granularity backup is performed to capture all modifications, then completeness of backup is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating snapshots of the file system volume before backup and organizing data blocks in a B-tree structure in advance. This preliminary organization enables efficient identification of changed blocks during backup processing, improving processing efficiency while maintaining backup completeness through pre-established data structures.
Data Source
AI summary
The embodiments set forth a technique for carrying out a backup of data managed at a computing device. According to some embodiments, the technique can include the steps of (1) receiving a request to carry out the backup of the data, (2) in response to the request, generating a current snapshot of the data, (3) identifying, in accordance with the current snapshot of the data, block data of at least one data block to be reflected in the backup of the data, wherein the at least one data block is tagged with an identifier of a file node to which the at least one data block corresponds, and (4) providing information to a storage to cause the block data to be reflected in the backup of the data.