Version Metadata Offset Recovery for Tape Library Space Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing versions of objects in tape libraries are inefficient in terms of space usage and do not effectively allow for disaster recovery, as they often require storing every version of data, leading to excessive storage demands and reduced recovery capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A system that appends changes to a current version object, creating a new current version and a most recent previous version, with retained metadata allowing recovery of previous versions by deleting the most recent previous version and retaining its metadata, and applying retention policies to manage the number of versions stored.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all previous versions of objects are retained for disaster recovery, then data recovery capability is improved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments version data into two parts: the current version object and version metadata. The metadata contains only the offset information needed to recover previous versions, while the actual version data is stored separately. This segmentation allows the system to retain recovery capability without storing complete copies of all previous versions, thus reducing storage space consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces version metadata as an intermediary element that enables recovery of previous versions without storing them directly. The metadata acts as a pointer or reference that allows the system to retrieve previous versions from the current version object using offset information, thereby maintaining recovery capability while minimizing storage requirements.
2Speed
If complete copies of all version objects are stored, then recovery speed is improved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a form of copying where only the essential recovery information (offset in version metadata) is stored rather than complete copies of all previous versions. This allows rapid recovery by directly accessing the current version object at the specified offset, achieving fast recovery speeds without the storage overhead of maintaining full copies of every version.
3Quantity of substance
If version metadata is retained for deleted objects, then space efficiency is improved, but data recovery capability is maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for recovery (the offset value) from the complete version objects and stores it in version metadata. This extraction allows the system to delete the bulky version objects while retaining the compact metadata, achieving high space efficiency while preserving the ability to recover previous versions when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a computer program product, system and method for retaining versions of an object. Changes are appended to a current version object resulting in a new current version object and a most recent previous version object comprising the current version object before the changes were appended. Version metadata, for each previous version object, includes the most recent previous version object, indicating an offset in the new current version object at which the previous version object can be recovered. The most recent previous version object is deleted and the version metadata, for the most recent previous version object after the most recent previous version object is deleted, is retained to allow recovery of a previous version object from the new current version object using the offset in the version metadata.