Virtual Environment Backup Data Segmentation for Granular Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current backup solutions for virtual environments require restoring entire virtual machine (VM) data for granular recovery, leading to wastage of storage space, time, and computing resources, as they interleave data with metadata and necessitate staging during recovery processes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where backup hosts store virtual environment data as binary large objects without metadata intermingling, allowing direct access and non-staged granular recovery by creating mappings between predefined files and data, thus avoiding the need for full VM data restoration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If entire VM data is restored for granular recovery, then data recovery completeness is improved, but storage space and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup data into two distinct components: metadata (stored in interleaved format) and actual data (stored as binary large objects). This segmentation allows the system to restore only the specific data blocks needed for granular recovery operations, rather than restoring the entire VM data. The metadata contains references to the actual data blocks, enabling selective restoration of individual files, folders, or data blocks without affecting storage space or time consumption for unnecessary data restoration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the actual data from the interleaved metadata structure and stores it separately as binary large objects. This extraction allows the recovery process to directly access and restore only the required data blocks without having to process and restore the entire VM data set. The metadata acts as an index that points to the extracted data blocks, enabling efficient granular recovery while minimizing storage and time resources consumed.
2Device complexity
If data is interleaved with metadata, then backup structure is simplified, but recovery process requires staging and increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup storage into two distinct locations: one for metadata (interleaved format) and another for actual data (binary large objects). This segmentation simplifies the recovery process by allowing direct access to specific data blocks through metadata references, eliminating the need for complex staging operations. The metadata structure remains simple for indexing purposes, while the separate data storage enables straightforward retrieval without processing entire VM data sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer in the form of metadata that acts as a reference index between the storage system and the actual data blocks. This intermediary contains references to the binary large objects, enabling the recovery process to directly locate and access specific data without complex staging. The metadata intermediary simplifies the overall recovery operation by providing direct pathways to the required data blocks.
3Reliability
If full VM data is restored, then data availability is ensured, but computational resources are wasted on unnecessary data processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup data into metadata and actual data blocks stored separately. This segmentation enables the system to restore only the specific data blocks required for granular recovery, rather than restoring entire VM data sets. The metadata provides references to the actual data blocks, allowing selective restoration that ensures data availability for recovered files while minimizing computational resources consumed by processing unnecessary data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by restoring only the specific data blocks needed for granular recovery operations, rather than performing excessive full VM data restoration. The metadata references enable the system to identify and restore only the necessary portions of data, ensuring data availability for recovered files while significantly reducing computational resource consumption compared to full restoration approaches.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for creating backup of data of a virtual environment to allow non-staged recovery are described. The described method may include receiving data of a virtual environment through one or more data streams for backup. The method also includes generating metadata corresponding to the received data and storing the received data at a first location of a backup storage unit. Further, the method includes storing the generated metadata at a second location of the backup storage unit, where the second location is different from the first location of the backup storage unit. The method further includes mapping the at least one predefined file to the stored data to create a mapping table to allow direct access to the stored data for non-staged recovery.