VM Image Backup Exclusion Using File System Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Hyper-V backup solutions lack the capability to exclude unwanted data such as swap files and folders during backup generation, leading to inefficient use of resources and prolonged backup windows.
Innovation Solution
The method leverages file system metadata to identify and exclude unwanted assets from Hyper-V image backups, optimizing backup processes by minimizing time and resource consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all data including unwanted files is backed up, then complete data protection is achieved, but backup time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by obtaining file system metadata and identifying files to exclude before the actual backup process begins. The data protection agent queries the metadata repository to determine which files should be excluded, allowing the backup process to skip these files from the start rather than processing and then discarding them later.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts unwanted files from the backup set by using file system metadata to identify and exclude specific files such as swap files and folders. The data protection agent compares the list of files to exclude against the metadata and skips writing these extracted files to backup storage, thereby removing them from the backup process entirely.
2Reliability
If all data including unwanted files is backed up, then complete data protection is achieved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by obtaining file system metadata and identifying files to exclude before the actual backup process begins. The data protection agent queries the metadata repository to determine which files should be excluded, allowing the backup process to skip these files from the start rather than processing and then discarding them later.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts unwanted files from the backup set by using file system metadata to identify and exclude specific files such as swap files and folders. The data protection agent compares the list of files to exclude against the metadata and skips writing these extracted files to backup storage, thereby removing them from the backup process entirely.
3Productivity
If exclusion of specific files is implemented, then backup efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary component - the file system metadata repository - that stores pre-computed information about files and their locations. The data protection agent queries this metadata repository to identify files to exclude, rather than scanning the entire file system during backup. This intermediary metadata layer simplifies the exclusion process by providing ready-made information about file structures.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques described herein relate to a method for performing backups of virtual machines on a host. The method includes obtaining a full image backup generation request associated with a virtual machine (VM) of the host; obtaining a list of files to exclude from the full image backup from the data protection manager; obtaining file system metadata associated with the VM; identifying an exclusion portion of the list of files; selecting a first file of files associated with the VM; making a first determination that the first file is included in the exclusion portion; skipping file data corresponding to the first file; selecting a second file of the files associated with the VM; making a second determination that the second file is not included in the exclusion portion of data runs; writing file data corresponding to the second file to backup storage to generate the full image backup.