SSD Cache Backup and Restore for Continuous Data Replication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data protection systems fail to effectively backup and restore SSD cache data, leading to performance degradation during recovery as the cache must be rebuilt, resulting in lost performance benefits and increased recovery time.
Innovation Solution
A method for managing cache backup and restore using continuous data replication and protection, where I/O operations are quiesced to create snapshots of storage and SSD cache objects, combined into a single backup image, and sent to a data protection appliance for recording, allowing for efficient preservation and restoration of cache data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional data protection systems are used to backup storage data, then data protection is provided, but SSD cache performance is lost during recovery because the cache must be rebuilt
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the backup of storage data and SSD cache data into a single integrated backup operation. By combining these previously separate backup processes, the system ensures that both storage and cache data are preserved together, eliminating the need to rebuild the cache during recovery and maintaining cache performance while providing data protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by backing up the SSD cache data before recovery operations are needed. By proactively creating and storing cache backups alongside storage backups, the system prepares the cache data in advance, so that during recovery, the cache can be instantly restored without rebuilding, thus maintaining productivity and performance.
2Speed
If SSD cache is used to improve data access speed, then data access performance is improved, but recovery time is increased because the cache must be rebuilt from scratch
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by backing up SSD cache data in advance during normal operations. This pre-backup of cache data ensures that when recovery is needed, the cache can be instantly restored from the backup rather than being rebuilt from scratch, significantly reducing recovery time while maintaining the speed benefits of SSD cache during normal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a backup copy of the SSD cache data and storing it separately. This copy serves as a ready-to-restore version that can be quickly deployed during recovery operations, eliminating the time-consuming process of rebuilding the cache and reducing overall recovery time while preserving the performance advantages of SSD cache.
3Reliability
If separate backup operations are performed for storage and cache, then complete data protection is achieved, but backup complexity and time are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate backup operations for storage and SSD cache into a single unified backup operation. This integration maintains complete data protection by backing up both storage and cache data, while simultaneously reducing backup complexity and time by executing them together rather than separately, thus resolving the contradiction between completeness and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies universality by creating a unified backup system that handles both storage data and SSD cache data through a single backup operation. This multi-functional approach ensures complete data protection for both types of data while simplifying the backup process, making it more efficient and less complex than performing separate backup operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is used for managing cache backup and restore for continuous data replication and protection. I/O operations are quiesced at a cache module. A first snapshot of a storage object and a second snapshot of an SSD cache object are taken. The I/O operations at the cache module are unquiesced. A single backup image comprising the first snapshot and the second snapshot is created. The single backup image is sent to a first data protection appliance (DPA) and recorded in a journal.