Virtual Backup Appliance in Data Storage Equipment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data storage systems that include a primary data storage array and a physical backup appliance consume significant resources such as rack space, cooling, power, and Fibre Channel switch/port capacity, imposing a heavy burden on infrastructure and costs, and are inefficient in performing backups due to hardware limitations.
Innovation Solution
Integrating a virtual backup appliance into the same data storage equipment that performs data storage operations, allowing for concurrent data storage and backup functions, leveraging idle capacity for faster parallel backups and reducing resource consumption by eliminating the need for separate backup appliance hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a physical backup appliance is used separately from the primary data storage array, then backup functionality is provided, but resource consumption (rack space, cooling, power, FC switch/port capacity) increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the backup appliance functionality with the primary data storage array by virtualizing the backup appliance and integrating it into the same storage system. This merging eliminates the need for separate physical backup hardware, thereby reducing rack space, cooling requirements, power consumption, and Fibre Channel switch/port capacity while maintaining backup functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The primary data storage array is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as both the production storage system and the backup storage system. By virtualizing the backup appliance and integrating it into the same hardware platform, the system achieves multi-functionality, allowing a single physical infrastructure to support both primary data storage and backup operations.
2Reliability
If a physical backup appliance is used separately, then backup operations can be performed, but backup speed is limited by hardware bottlenecks
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the backup appliance with the primary storage array into a single virtualized system, the patent eliminates the hardware bottlenecks that limit backup speed in traditional separate-appliance architectures. The integrated system can leverage shared resources and parallel processing capabilities to accelerate backup operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtualized backup appliance can operate continuously and concurrently with primary storage operations without being constrained by separate hardware limitations. The system maintains continuous backup operations by efficiently managing I/O requests and utilizing available capacity dynamically, thereby improving overall backup productivity.
3Reliability
If separate physical hardware is used for primary storage and backup, then dedicated backup functionality is achieved, but infrastructure complexity and operational training requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the backup functionality into the primary storage system through virtualization, reducing infrastructure complexity by eliminating separate physical backup appliances. This consolidation simplifies the overall system architecture, reducing the number of components that need to be installed, configured, and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The primary storage array is designed to universally handle both production storage and backup operations. This multi-functionality reduces operational complexity by standardizing hardware and software platforms, thereby reducing the training requirements for operational staff who need to manage different types of storage systems.
4Use of energy by moving object
If a virtual backup appliance is integrated into the same data storage equipment, then resource consumption is reduced, but concurrent data storage and backup operations must be managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtualization technology as an intermediary layer between the physical storage hardware and the backup operations. This virtualization layer abstracts and manages the concurrent operations of primary storage and backup, efficiently allocating resources and coordinating I/O requests to prevent conflicts while maintaining resource efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtualized backup appliance dynamically adjusts its resource consumption based on the workload of the primary storage system. When the primary storage is under light load, the backup operations can consume more resources; when the primary storage is under heavy load, the backup operations automatically scale back. This dynamic behavior allows concurrent operations without requiring complex manual management.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique provides data storage system services in data storage equipment. The technique involves performing, by processing circuitry of the data storage equipment, data storage operations on a production volume in response to data storage commands from a set of application servers (e.g., external host computers). The production volume stores application server data utilized by the set of application servers. The technique further involves running, by the processing circuitry of the data storage equipment, an instance of a virtual backup appliance within the data storage equipment while the data storage operations are performed on the production volume in response to the data storage commands. The technique further involves generating, by the processing circuitry of the data storage equipment, backups of the production volume via the instance of the virtual backup appliance running within the data storage equipment.