Virtual Data Files for Unstructured Data Recovery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage and backup solutions incur high costs and extended recovery times due to inefficient handling of unstructured data, particularly inactive data, which delays access to active data during disasters or ransomware attacks, resulting in significant opportunity costs and potential damage to customer relationships.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of Virtual Data Files (VDFs) allows for the storage and retrieval of unstructured data in a cloud-based system, where VDFs represent inactive data, reducing storage needs and enabling rapid recovery by prioritizing the transfer of these files, thereby minimizing downtime and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all unstructured data (including inactive data) is stored using high-cost storage and backup solutions, then data protection is improved, but storage cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments unstructured data into active data and inactive data based on access patterns. Active data is stored in high-cost, high-performance storage systems for immediate access, while inactive data is stored in low-cost, high-capacity storage systems. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by applying different storage strategies to different data types, maintaining data protection for all data while reducing overall storage costs through appropriate tiering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the storage parameters (cost, performance, access speed) based on data activity status. By monitoring data access patterns and dynamically adjusting storage allocation, the system maintains high protection levels for active data while using cost-effective storage for inactive data, thereby resolving the contradiction between data protection and storage cost.
2Reliability
If all unstructured data is restored during a disaster or ransomware attack, then complete data recovery is improved, but recovery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of data into active and inactive categories before disasters occur. During recovery operations, active data can be prioritized for restoration since it is most likely to be needed immediately, while inactive data restoration can be deferred or performed at lower priority. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by enabling selective recovery strategies that maintain complete data recovery capability while reducing recovery time through intelligent prioritization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic recovery strategies where the restoration priority and speed of different data sets can be adjusted based on current business needs and data criticality. During disaster recovery, the system can dynamically prioritize active data restoration while maintaining the capability to restore inactive data subsequently, thereby achieving complete recovery with optimized timeframes.
3Ease of operation
If inactive unstructured data is stored using high-cost storage solutions, then data accessibility is improved, but storage cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data based on access frequency and importance, storing inactive unstructured data in cost-effective storage systems while maintaining the ability to retrieve it when needed. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by ensuring that inactive data is stored economically without compromising accessibility, as the system can retrieve inactive data from low-cost storage when access is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (such as a storage management system or indexing mechanism) that enables efficient access to inactive data stored in low-cost storage systems. This intermediary resolves the contradiction by providing a bridge between the low-cost storage medium and the user's need for data accessibility, allowing inactive data to be retrieved efficiently without requiring it to be permanently resident in high-cost storage.
4Quantity of substance
If Virtual Data Files are used to represent inactive data, then storage consumption is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates Virtual Data Files that are simplified representations or pointers to the actual inactive data stored in low-cost storage systems. These VDFs consume minimal storage space while maintaining the ability to access the underlying data when needed. This copying approach resolves the contradiction by dramatically reducing storage consumption through virtualization while managing system complexity through well-defined abstraction layers and standardized interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A data access recovery apparatus includes: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: receive a request to restore backed-up unstructured data files associated with the request; send active data files, of the backed-up unstructured data files, to a data-access server in response to receiving the request; receive an indication of a particular data file of the backed-up unstructured data files; and send, in response to receiving the indication, the particular data file to the data-access server before the particular data file would be sent, if at all, absent receiving the indication.