VM Snapshot File Restore Using Internal-to-External Address Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Restoring individual files from virtual machine snapshots is inefficient and costly due to the need to restore the entire disk snapshot, which is time-consuming and resource-intensive, and involves complex navigation through the restored environment, leading to potential errors and extended recovery times.
Innovation Solution
A data management server determines the internal file address of the requested file using an agent virtual machine that processes the client's internal file system, translating it to an external file address for retrieval from the data store, allowing direct access to individual files without restoring the entire virtual machine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the entire disk snapshot is restored to access individual files, then file accessibility is achieved, but recovery time and data transfer costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the disk snapshot into individual file-level addresses within the virtual machine's filesystem. By maintaining a mapping between internal VM filesystem addresses and the actual stored snapshot data, the system allows selective retrieval of individual files rather than restoring the entire disk image, thereby reducing recovery time and data transfer costs while maintaining file accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary file data from the snapshot without restoring the entire virtual machine environment. By separating the file retrieval operation from the full VM restoration process, the system enables direct access to individual files through address translation, eliminating the need to restore unnecessary portions of the disk snapshot.
2Ease of operation
If the entire disk snapshot is restored to access individual files, then file accessibility is achieved, but data transfer costs increase unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the snapshot data into addressable file units within the virtual machine's filesystem structure. By maintaining a mapping mechanism between internal VM addresses and stored data locations, the system enables selective data retrieval for individual files, thereby reducing unnecessary data transfer costs while preserving file accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the specific file data needed from the snapshot rather than transferring the entire disk image. This selective extraction approach minimizes data transfer volume and associated costs while still providing the required file accessibility to users.
3Device complexity
If a single virtual machine is used for backup and restoration, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to handle multiple clients simultaneously may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal virtual machine template that can serve multiple clients through snapshot-based virtualization. By using a single VM architecture that supports multiple snapshot instances and address translation mechanisms, the system achieves multi-functionality, allowing one VM design to handle backup and restoration operations for multiple clients simultaneously without increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a data management server and a data store. The data store uses an external file system to store the data of a client virtual machine (VM) which uses an internal file system. The server comprises an agent VM. Responsive to receiving a request to retrieve a file from a filesystem snapshot, the agent VM determines a path of the internal files system of the client VM and mounts a virtual file system at the agent VM based on the determined path. The virtual file system represents the internal file system of the client virtual machine. The agent VM uses a block device protocol to translate the internal file address to an external file address of the external file system. The agent VM retrieves the file stored in the data store based on the external file address and provides the retrieved file to the target device.