Using a snapshot as a data source
First Claim
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1. A method for use with a physical data storage system to create a backup copy of a data set, the method comprising:
- performing a snapshot copy of a data set,wherein the snapshot copy is a point in time representation of the data set;
storing the snapshot copy of the data set to secondary storage media;
wherein the snapshot copy is created using pointers, without creating another physical copy of all the data, andwherein the pointers map to specific disk blocks of the data set;
generating a data structure associated with the snapshot copy of the data set,wherein the data structure includes an index of application specific context information for data objects within the snapshot copy, including;
information identifying the data objects within the snapshot copy of the data set,information identifying secondary copies associated with the data objects, andidentity of an application that created the data objects; and
storing the data structure to the secondary storage media along with the snapshot copy of the data set to create a backup copy of the data set within the secondary storage media,wherein the data structure permits granular recovery of data objects by permitting access to portions of individual data objects within secondary copies.
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Abstract
A system and method for using a snapshot as a data source is described. In some cases, the system stores a snapshot and an associated data structure or index to storage media to create a secondary copy of a volume of data. In some cases, the associated index includes application specific data about a file system or other application that created the data to identify the location of the data. The associated index may include three entries, and may be used to facilitate the recovery of data via the snapshot.
241 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for use with a physical data storage system to create a backup copy of a data set, the method comprising:
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performing a snapshot copy of a data set, wherein the snapshot copy is a point in time representation of the data set; storing the snapshot copy of the data set to secondary storage media; wherein the snapshot copy is created using pointers, without creating another physical copy of all the data, and wherein the pointers map to specific disk blocks of the data set; generating a data structure associated with the snapshot copy of the data set, wherein the data structure includes an index of application specific context information for data objects within the snapshot copy, including; information identifying the data objects within the snapshot copy of the data set, information identifying secondary copies associated with the data objects, and identity of an application that created the data objects; and storing the data structure to the secondary storage media along with the snapshot copy of the data set to create a backup copy of the data set within the secondary storage media, wherein the data structure permits granular recovery of data objects by permitting access to portions of individual data objects within secondary copies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method performed by a data storage system for restoring a data object, the method comprising:
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receiving a request to restore at least a portion of a data object; identifying the data object via a snapshot containing an image of the data object at a point in time, wherein the snapshot is created using pointers, without creating another physical copy of all the data, wherein the pointers are associated with disk blocks, and wherein the snapshot is stored in secondary storage media; parsing an index, stored along with the snapshot in the secondary storage media and logically associated with the snapshot, to retrieve a location of a copy of the data object, wherein the index contains application specific context information for the data objects within the snapshot, including; information identifying data objects within the snapshot that contains the image of the data object, information identifying secondary copies associated with the data objects, and identity an application that created the data objects; and retrieving the data object using the retrieved location from the index logically associated with the snapshot, wherein the index permits granular recovery of data objects by permitting access to portions of individual data objects within data copies. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for creating a backup copy of a primary volume of data, the method comprising:
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creating a full backup of a primary volume of data using a snapshot mechanism, wherein the snapshot mechanism creates a snapshot of the primary volume of data, wherein an associated index contains application specific context information related to a location of resources used to create the snapshot of the primary volume of data, wherein the snapshot is created using logical pointers, without creating another physical copy of the primary volume of data, and wherein the index permits granular recovery of data objects by permitting access to portions of individual data objects based on the snapshot; creating one or more incremental backups using a data storage operation different from a snapshot; and storing, as the backup copy of the primary volume of data, the full backup created using the snapshot mechanism, the one or more incremental backups, and the index associated with the snapshot to physical storage media, wherein the index associated with the snapshot includes identity of a hardware-based snapshot mechanism that performed the snapshot and identity of a mount point at which the snapshot was performed. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A system for restoring a data object, the system comprising:
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at least one hardware-implemented processor; at least one non-transitory memory, coupled to the at least one hardware-implemented processor and storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one hardware processor, perform a process, the process comprising; receiving a request to restore a data object; identifying the data object via a snapshot containing an image of the data object at a point in time, wherein the snapshot is created using pointers, without creating another physical copy of all the data, wherein the pointers are associated with disk blocks, and wherein the snapshot is stored in secondary storage media; parsing an index, stored along with the snapshot in the secondary storage media and logically associated with the snapshot, to retrieve a location of a copy of the data object, wherein the index contains application specific context information, including; information identifying data objects within the snapshot that contains the image of the data object, information identifying secondary copies associated with the data objects, and identity of an application that created the data objects; and retrieving the data object using the retrieved location from the index logically associated with the snapshot, wherein the index permits granular recovery of data objects by permitting access to portions of individual data objects within data copies. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification