Targetless Snapshot Scheduling for Storage Resource Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
High capacity data storage systems face resource constraints in creating and managing snapshots, as traditional snapshot methods require significant resources and lack discoverability without a snap volume, limiting their accessibility to host servers.
Innovation Solution
A targetless snapshot scheduler that uses policy objects to define schedules for creating and managing snapshots, allowing for independent snapshot creation, metadata association, and resource management to optimize snapshot retention and discard processes, ensuring efficient resource utilization and discoverability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard volume-based snapshots are used, then snapshots are discoverable and accessible to host servers, but significant memory and other resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the snapshot data from a dedicated target volume and stores it inline within the source volume's data structure. This allows snapshots to be accessible through the existing volume interface while eliminating the need for separate snap volume resources, thus resolving the contradiction between discoverability and resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The source volume's data structure is designed to serve multiple functions: storing current data and storing snapshot data simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows the same storage space to provide both primary storage and snapshot capabilities, reducing overall resource requirements while maintaining accessibility.
2Reliability
If multiple concurrent snapshot schedules are created, then comprehensive data protection is achieved, but resource consumption and management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple snapshot schedules into a unified management structure where all snapshots share the same inline storage mechanism. This consolidation allows the system to manage multiple concurrent schedules without proportionally increasing complexity, as the underlying storage and retrieval processes remain standardized and unified.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback mechanisms that monitor snapshot creation, storage capacity, and schedule compliance. This feedback enables the system to automatically adjust and manage multiple concurrent schedules, reducing manual intervention and simplifying complexity while maintaining comprehensive data protection.
3Quantity of substance
If snapshot count is limited per schedule, then resource usage is controlled, but snapshots may be discarded before recovery is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic snapshot retention where the system continuously monitors actual storage capacity availability and adjusts snapshot retention policies in real-time. This dynamic approach allows the system to retain more snapshots when capacity is available and automatically discard them when limits are approached, ensuring both resource control and reliable retention without arbitrary fixed limits.
Data Source
AI summary
Targetless snapshot schedules are defined by policy objects that include a snap creation interval, maximum snap count, and schedule ID. Multiple schedule IDs can be associated with a single storage object to implement different concurrent targetless snapshot schedules with a single storage object. Multiple storage objects may use the same targetless snapshot schedule independently. Because the targetless snapshot schedules are implemented independently, discard of old snapshots to maintain a snap count for a first storage object does not cause discard of snapshots for a second storage object. Further, discard of old snapshots to maintain a snap count for a first schedule does not cause discard of snapshots for a second schedule applied to the same storage object.