Unified Storage Inline Analytics Live Restore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage solutions face challenges in efficiently integrating primary storage, data protection, and data analytics, leading to complex backup strategies, resource-intensive data movement, and time-consuming restore operations, with separate systems for each function that do not effectively utilize analytics for real-time data insights and access.
Innovation Solution
A unified system that merges primary storage, data protection, and analytics, using inline data analytics to tag objects with extended metadata for rapid search and restore, allowing near-instantaneous access to data during restore operations without requiring separate backup streams or additional servers, by prioritizing regions of user data based on gathered analytics and maintaining relationships between restored data and its source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is moved to backup and analytics silos, then data protection and analytics are achieved, but resource consumption on primary storage increases and restore operations become time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges backup and analytics functions directly into the primary storage system, eliminating separate data movement operations. The backup engine and analytics engine operate inline with primary storage, allowing data protection and analytics to be achieved without the resource-intensive process of moving data to separate silos.
Solution Approach 2:
The primary storage system is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously - primary data storage, backup operations, analytics processing, and restore operations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, reducing overall resource consumption while maintaining data protection capabilities.
2Reliability
If complete restore operations are performed, then data recovery is achieved, but access to primary data is blocked during the restore process
Solution Approach 1:
The restore operation is segmented into individual file-level operations rather than requiring complete system-level restores. This allows selective restoration of only the files that need to be recovered, significantly reducing the time required and allowing continued access to other data during the restore process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analytics on backup data to identify and prioritize files that are most likely to be needed for restore operations. This preliminary analysis allows the system to pre-prepare and quickly restore only the necessary files, reducing overall restore time while maintaining complete data recovery capability.
3Reliability
If separate backup systems are used, then data protection is achieved, but system complexity and the need for additional infrastructure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines backup systems, analytics systems, and primary storage into a single integrated platform. This merger eliminates the complexity of managing multiple separate systems and their interconnections, while maintaining comprehensive data protection capabilities through the unified architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified storage system performs multiple functions - primary data storage, backup, analytics, and restore operations - all within a single system. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated systems for each function, reducing infrastructure requirements and system complexity while maintaining robust data protection.
Data Source
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AI summary
A single system merges primary data storage, data protection, and intelligence. Intelligence is provided through in-line data analytics, and data intelligence and analytics are gathered on protected data and prior analytics, and stored in discovery points, all without impacting performance of primary storage. Real-time analysis is done in-line with the HA processing, enabling a variety of data analytics that are then used as part of a live restore operation. Data content can be live restored at an object or block level. Data recovery begins with metadata restoration, followed by near-instantaneous access to "hot" regions of data being restored, allowing site operation to continue or resume while a restore is ongoing.