Incremental Backup for Bare-Metal Recovery via VSS Writer Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing backup solutions for computing systems only support full backup operations, which are time and storage inefficient, failing to provide incremental backup options for bare-metal recovery and system-state recovery data and metadata.
Innovation Solution
A method is proposed that identifies VSS writers on a volume host, determines their incremental backup support, and generates backup containers for each writer, enabling incremental backup operations by writing these containers to a backup target, thus supporting efficient data and metadata recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If full backup operations are performed on all data and metadata, then complete recovery capability is ensured, but backup time and storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The backup system segments data into two categories: cold data (data and metadata that change infrequently and require complete backup for recovery) and hot data (data that changes frequently). By segmenting the backup approach, the system performs full backups only on cold data while using incremental backups on hot data, thereby reducing overall backup time while maintaining complete recovery capability through periodic full backups of critical data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the backup parameter from always performing full backups to dynamically selecting between full and incremental backup operations based on data characteristics and recovery requirements. This parameter change enables the system to optimize backup time by using incremental backups when appropriate while ensuring recovery capability is maintained through strategic full backups of critical data and metadata.
2Reliability
If full backup operations are performed on all data and metadata, then complete recovery capability is ensured, but storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The backup system segments storage requirements by maintaining separate backup strategies for cold data and hot data. Cold data receives full backups ensuring complete recovery capability, while hot data uses incremental backups that store only changes. This segmentation reduces total storage requirements while maintaining the ability to recover critical system state through full backups of essential data and metadata.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the storage parameter by implementing differential backup retention policies. Instead of storing complete full backups of all data indefinitely, the system retains full backups of critical data and metadata while storing incremental backups of less critical data. This parameter change reduces storage requirements while preserving recovery capability for the most important system state information.
3Productivity
If incremental backup operations are implemented, then backup time and storage requirements are reduced, but support for bare-metal recovery and system-state recovery is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The backup system segments recovery capabilities by ensuring that critical data and metadata required for bare-metal recovery and system-state recovery are included in full backup operations. Non-critical data uses incremental backup operations for efficiency. This segmentation enables the system to maintain complete bare-metal recovery capability while achieving backup efficiency through incremental backups of less critical data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing full backup operations on critical data and metadata before incremental backup operations begin. This preliminary full backup establishes a complete recovery baseline that includes all necessary system state information for bare-metal recovery. Subsequent incremental backups then efficiently capture changes while the baseline remains available for complete system restoration when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for enabling incremental backup operations targeting bare-metal recovery and system-state recovery data and metadata. These aforementioned forms of recovery focus on the protection of computing system state, including operating system binaries and configuration, as well as the data, metadata, and/or configuration of software application(s) installed on said computing system(s). Further, the data and/or metadata reflected in said computing system state often remains unchanged unless operating system and/or software application component(s) or feature(s) is/are uninstalled, installed, and/or upgraded. Existing solutions protecting said data and/or metadata tend to only support full backup operations, which are time and storage space inefficient. Ideally, incremental backup operations targeting said data and/or metadata should be provided. Accordingly, one or more embodiments disclosed herein propose(s) a framework for enabling incremental backup operations targeting bare-metal recovery and/or system-state recovery data and/or metadata.