Virtual Disk Block Consolidation for Backup Storage Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtual machine backup methods are resource-intensive and inefficient in terms of storage space utilization, as they often require managing multiple snapshots and differencing disks, leading to significant disk space requirements for backups.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual disk block consolidation process that merges base and differencing disk chains, allowing for optimized storage space utilization by creating synthetic full backups and identifying common payload blocks across incremental backup chains, thereby reducing the number of resources needed for storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple snapshots and differencing disks are used for virtual machine backups, then backup completeness and recovery capability are improved, but storage space requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple differencing disk chains by identifying and consolidating common payload blocks across incremental backups. Instead of storing separate backup copies for each snapshot chain, the system combines them into a single consolidated backup that shares common data blocks, thereby reducing storage space while maintaining the ability to recover any individual snapshot.
Solution Approach 2:
The consolidated backup structure serves multiple purposes simultaneously: it enables recovery of any individual snapshot, supports incremental backup chains, and provides a space-efficient storage mechanism. A single consolidated backup file can restore multiple different snapshot states, making the backup system more universal and efficient.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional backup methods store separate incremental backups for each snapshot chain, then recovery options are maintained, but resource utilization and storage efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple incremental backup chains into a single consolidated backup structure. By identifying common payload blocks across different snapshot chains and consolidating them, the system reduces the total quantity of backup data stored while preserving the ability to restore any individual snapshot or combination of snapshots.
3Productivity
If full and incremental backups are performed separately for each virtual machine, then backup granularity is maintained, but administrative overhead and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates backup management for multiple virtual machines and their associated snapshot chains into a unified process. The system automatically identifies common payload blocks across different VM backup chains and merges them, reducing administrative overhead while maintaining the ability to perform granular restores of individual files, blocks, or entire VM snapshots.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are directed to a virtual disk block consolidation process and system component that uses certain merging techniques to optimize the amount of disk space used by the incremental backup operations. The process merges the differencing disk at each user snapshot together so that a single backup copy is maintained. This helps reduce the space required to store the backups. A saveset consolidation is then performed so that the differencing disk representing the incremental backups are merged to a single backup that may represent either a synthetic full backup or a virtual full backup.