Unified Storage Scan for Backup and Reporting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage management systems require multiple scans of primary storage devices for backup, archive, and reporting operations, leading to time-consuming processes that exceed allocated time frames, impacting productivity and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A data storage system that scans primary storage devices once to identify files for multiple secondary copy operations, including backup and archive, and generates usage reports, allowing for simultaneous analysis and operation execution, thereby reducing scanning time and increasing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple scans of primary storage are performed for backup, archive, and reporting operations, then comprehensive data protection and management are achieved, but scanning time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate scanning operations (backup scan, archive scan, reporting scan) into a single unified scanning operation. The storage management system performs one scan that collects all necessary information for backup identification, archive identification, and usage statistics simultaneously, eliminating redundant scanning of the same storage devices multiple times.
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning system is designed to perform multiple functions during a single scan operation. It identifies files for backup, identifies files for archive, collects usage statistics, and generates reporting data all within the same scanning pass, making the scan operation universal and multi-functional rather than specialized for each task.
2Measurement precision
If multiple separate scanning operations are performed for different storage management tasks, then accurate identification of files for each operation is achieved, but system productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple identification operations are merged into a single scanning process. The system identifies backup files, archive files, and collects usage information all during one scan, maintaining accurate identification while improving system productivity by reducing the number of separate operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning operation continues uninterrupted to collect all necessary information in a single continuous pass through the storage devices. This eliminates the start-stop nature of multiple separate scans, maintaining continuous useful action that improves productivity while preserving identification accuracy.
3Loss of information
If primary storage is scanned multiple times for different operations, then complete usage information is collected, but the time allocated by system administrators is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the collection of usage information with the identification of backup and archive files into a single scanning operation. All information is collected simultaneously during one pass through the storage devices, ensuring completeness while staying within allocated time frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary collection of all necessary information during a single scan before any backup, archive, or reporting operations begin. This preliminary action gathers complete usage statistics, file identifiers, and metadata in advance, eliminating the need for additional scanning time later.
Data Source
AI summary
A data storage system can scan one or more information stores of primary storage and analyze the metadata of files stored in the one or more information stores of primary storage to identify multiple, possibly relevant, secondary copy operations that can be performed on the files. The storage system can also identify primary storage usage information of each file during the scan and use that information to generate reports regarding the usage of the primary storage.