Virtual Drive Mapping for Granular File Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtualization technologies require backing up and restoring entire virtual machine images, making it inefficient to access and restore individual file data within virtual machines.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for mapping virtual drives, which processes and converts file system object locations within a virtual volume into corresponding locations relative to virtual drives, enabling direct access and restoration of individual files without backing up the entire image.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If entire virtual machine images are backed up and restored, then complete virtual machine recovery is ensured, but individual file access and restoration becomes inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the virtual machine image into individual virtual drive components, allowing selective access to specific virtual drives or files rather than requiring restoration of the entire image. The system divides the monolithic backup approach into granular, independently restorable units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts individual file data from within the virtual machine image structure, enabling direct access and restoration of specific files without needing to restore the complete virtual machine image. This extraction capability allows administrators to retrieve only the necessary data portions.
2Reliability
If virtual machine images are fully restored before accessing individual files, then data integrity is maintained, but backup and recovery process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating and maintaining a mapping structure that records the locations of individual files within the virtual machine image before restoration is needed. This pre-established mapping enables direct file access without requiring full image restoration, simplifying the recovery process while preserving data integrity.
3Reliability
If entire virtual machine images are processed for backup, then complete data protection is achieved, but backup efficiency and storage utilization decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup process to operate on individual virtual drives and files rather than requiring complete virtual machine image processing. This segmentation enables selective backup of only the data portions that need protection, improving backup efficiency and storage utilization while maintaining complete data protection for the selected elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for mapping virtual drives is described. In one embodiment, the method for mapping virtual drives comprises processing first locations of a plurality of file system objects within a virtual volume and converting the first locations of the plurality of file system objects within the virtual volume into second locations of the plurality of file system objects relative to a virtual drive of at least one virtual drive, wherein the at least one virtual drive form a portion of the virtual volume.