Virtual Failover Volume Differential Backup for Rapid System Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for maintaining virtual failover volumes of target computing systems face challenges in quickly recreating the configuration of the target system during failover events due to the inefficiencies in data backup and restoration processes, particularly in capturing and managing differential changes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves periodically revising a mirror of the target computing system by comparing it to the current configuration, storing changed data blocks as differential files separately, and incorporating these changes into the mirror, allowing for the creation of a bootable image file that can be used by a virtual machine to recreate the target system's configuration at an arbitrary point in time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a complete mirror of the target computing system is periodically copied and stored, then the failover volume is kept updated, but substantial storage space is consumed and the backup process takes significant time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup data into two distinct components: a master mirror containing the base system image and differential files containing only the changed data blocks. This segmentation allows the system to store and transfer only the necessary changes rather than complete system copies, significantly reducing backup time while maintaining failover readiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the changed data blocks from the target computing system and stores them as differential files separate from the master mirror. This extraction approach eliminates the need to backup unchanged data, reducing the time and resources required for maintenance while ensuring the failover volume can be rapidly reconstructed when needed.
2Reliability
If a complete mirror of the target computing system is periodically copied and stored, then the failover volume is kept updated, but substantial storage space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the backup data into a master mirror and separate differential files containing only changed blocks. This segmentation strategy significantly reduces the total storage requirement compared to maintaining complete system mirrors, while ensuring the failover volume can be fully reconstructed by combining the master mirror with the differential files.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and stores only the changed data blocks as differential files rather than storing complete system mirrors. This extraction approach minimizes storage space consumption while maintaining the ability to reconstruct the full system state for failover operations.
3Quantity of substance
If differential files are stored separately from the mirror, then storage space is reduced and data organization is improved, but the complexity of managing and combining these files increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary file system layer that automatically manages the combination of the master mirror and differential files. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of tracking, storing, and combining data blocks from both sources, presenting a simplified interface to the virtual machine while reducing overall storage requirements through differential storage.
4Speed
If the virtual failover volume is maintained in a ready-to-execute state with updated mirrors, then failover speed is improved, but the ongoing maintenance process consumes resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and stores only the changed data blocks as differential files rather than performing complete system mirror updates. This extraction approach significantly reduces the computational resources and energy required for ongoing maintenance while keeping the failover volume ready-to-execute by maintaining an up-to-date master mirror and differential file set.
Data Source
AI summary
Some of the methods provided herein may include periodically revising a mirror of the target computing system, according to a predetermined backup schedule, the mirror being stored on the virtual failover volume resident on an appliance that is operatively associated with the target computing system, by periodically comparing the mirror to a configuration of the target computing system to determine changed data blocks relative to the mirror, storing the changed data blocks as one or more differential files in the virtual failover volume, and incorporating the changed data blocks into the mirror. In some embodiments, the systems and methods may be utilized to resparsify the virtual failover volume.