Intelligent data inventory and asset management system method and apparatus

• US 20020073106A1
• Filed: 01/25/2002
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Parker, James A., Legner, Gary J., Gunkel, James R., Lima, George, Schwartz, David P.
• Granted Patent: US 6,847,982 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/565 by checking file integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets includes the steps of initially inventorying a plurality of hardware, software, and data files on-site by assigning a hexadecimal signature identifying each file in the database, inventorying the files at a subsequent time by repeating the prior step and comparing the previous and current signatures of the files to determine whether any of the files have been changed, comparing the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file, computing the differences between the two versions by different forward and reverse algorithms to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta, storing the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file, permanently storing off-site the forward deltas of each changed file and a baseline copy of each new file, restoring any requested file, if on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced, or, if off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is reproduced. The inventorying process enables the system to issue warnings for deleted files, possible corruption of files, and unidentified possibly valued asset files.

Claims

1. The computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

inventorying a plurality of files;

assigning a signature in hexadecimal format to the files;

determining a signature for each of the files;

determining which ones of the files have changed based on the signature;

storing a version of each file on-site;

for each changed file, storing a change on-site;

storing a version of each file off-site;

for each of the changed files, storing a change offsite; and

restoring a requested file by reconstructing the requested file by applying a stored change to one of the versions stored on-site or off-site.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein storing a version of each file on-site, storing a change on-site for each changed file, storing a version of each file off-site, and storing a change off-site for each for each of the changed files further comprises computing forward and reverse deltas for each changed file and saving the current version and reverse deltas on-site and the baseline version and forward deltas off-site, and wherein computing the forward and reverse deltas includes comparing a historical and current version of a document.

3. The process of claim 1, further comprising:

computing the differences between a previous version and a current versions to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta;

then, storing the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site while deleting only the last previous on-site version of the changed file; and

storing off-site only the forward delta of the changed file and a baseline copy of each new file.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising storing only a baseline version of a document offsite with all forward deltas and saving only the current version of the document on-site with all reverse deltas.

5. The process of claim 1, further comprising, until the requested file is produced, restoring any requested file:

if it is located on-site, by recovering a current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

if it is located off-site, by recovering a baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto.

6. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

inventory a plurality of files;

assign a signature in hexadecimal format to the files;

determine a signature for each of the files;

determine which ones of the files have changed based on the signature;

store a version of each file on-site;

for each changed file, store a change on-site;

store a version of each file off-site;

for each of the changed files, store a change off-site; and

restore a requested file by reconstructing the requested file by applying a stored change to one of the versions stored on-site or off-site.

7. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

means for inventorying a plurality of files;

means for assigning a signature in hexadecimal format to the files;

means for determining a signature for each of the files;

means for determining which ones of the files have changed based on the signature;

means for storing a version of each file on-site;

means for, for each changed file, storing a change on-site;

means for storing a version of each file off-site;

means for, for each of the changed files, storing a change off-site; and

means for restoring a requested file by reconstructing the requested file by applying a stored change to one of the versions stored on-site or off-site.

8. The computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) at time1 inventorying all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) calculating and assigning to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) at time2 repeating (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) comparing the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) comparing the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(f) computing the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(g) storing on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(h) storing off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(i) storing off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(j) restoring any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein signature comparing further comprises determining whether old files have been deleted or new files have been added.

10. The process of claim 8 wherein a forward delta is a difference between a last previous version and a current version that when added to the last previous version will produce the current version.

11. The process of claim 8 wherein a reverse delta is a difference between a last previous version and a current version that when subtracted from the current version will produce the last previous version.

15. The process of claim 14, further comprising repeating (f)-(i), once for each changed file.

16. The process of claim 14, further comprising repeating (j), once for each new file.

17. The process of claim 14, further comprising issuing a deleted file warning as to any previously inventoried file not found on a next succeeding inventory pass.

18. The process of claim 14, further comprising issuing a possible corruption warning during an inspection pass as to any file whose signature has changed.

19. The process of claim 14, further comprising capturing predetermined files or groups of files at predetermined times.

20. The process of claim 14, further comprising issuing an unidentified possibly valuable asset warning as to changed files not previously inventoried nor on a predetermined ignore table.

21. The process of claim 14, further comprising encrypting files stored off-site.

12. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

(a) at time1 inventory all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) calculate and assign to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) at time2 repeat (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) compare the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) compare the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(f) compute the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(g) store on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(h) store off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(i) store off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(j) restore any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

13. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) means for, at time1, inventorying all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) means for calculating and assigning to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) means for, at time2, repeating (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) means for comparing the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) means for comparing the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(f) means for computing the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(g) means for storing on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(h) means for storing off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(i) means for storing off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(j) means for restoring any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

14. The computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) at time1 inventorying all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) calculating and assigning to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) at time2 repeating (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) comparing the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) repeating (d), once for each file;

(f) comparing the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(g) computing, using different forward direction and reverse direction algorithms, the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(h) storing on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(i) storing off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(j) storing off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(k) restoring any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

22. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

(a) at time1 inventory all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) calculate and assign to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) at time2 repeat (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) compare the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) repeat (d), once for each file;

(f) compare the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(g) compute, using different forward direction and reverse direction algorithms, the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(h) store on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(i) store off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(j) store off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(k) restore any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii). if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

25. The process of claim 24, further comprising:

then, comparing current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files have been changed in any way; and

as to each prior file which has been changed, computing forward and reverse deltas and saving a current file and reverse delta on-site while storing a baseline file and forward deltas off-site.

26. The process of claim 25, further comprising:

then, storing the current file and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file; and

storing off-site the forward delta of the changed file and a baseline copy of each new file.

27. The process of claim 26, further comprising restoring any requested file, if it is located on-site, by recovering the current file and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced, or if it is located off-site, by recovering the baseline file and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

31. The process of claim 30, prior to (a), further comprising:

(a) at time1 inventorying all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) calculating and assigning to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database; and

(c) at time2 repeating (a) and (b) of claim 22 for all of the files.

23. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) means for, at time1, inventorying all files on-site on a selected hard drive inventory path of a database;

(b) means for calculating and assigning to each on-site file a signature which identifies each file in the database;

(c) means for, at time2, repeating (a) and (b) for all of the files;

(d) means for comparing the previous signature of a file to the current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(e) means for repeating (d), once for each file

(f) means for comparing the current version of a changed file to the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(g) means for computing, using different forward direction and reverse direction algorithms, the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas;

(h) means for storing on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file while deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(i) means for storing off-site the forward deltas of the changed file;

(j) means for storing off-site a baseline copy of a new file; and

(k) means for restoring any requested file;

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

(ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

24. The computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

conducting an initial inventory of each file in a database, including calculating and assigning a signature to identify each file in the database; and

then, comparing current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files have been changed in any way.

28. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

conduct an initial inventory of each file in a database, including calculating and assigning a signature to identify each file in the database; and

then, compare current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files have been changed in any way.

29. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

means for conducting an initial inventory of each file in a database, including calculating and assigning a signature to identify each file in the database; and

means for, then, comparing current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files have been changed in any way.

30. The computerized process of managing assets comprising:

(a) comparing a previous signature of a file to a current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(b) comparing the current version of a changed file to a last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(c) computing the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas; and

(d) storing the forward and reverse deltas, a current version of the changed file, and a baseline copy of each new file.

32. The process of claim 30 wherein storing further comprises:

(a) storing on-site the current version and the reverse deltas of the changed file;

(b) storing off-site the forward deltas of the changed file; and

(c) storing off-site the baseline copy of each new file.

33. The process of claim 32, further comprising restoring any requested file:

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or (ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

34. The process of claim 30, further comprising deleting the last previous on-site version of the changed file.

35. The process of claim 30, further comprising restoring any requested file:

(i) if the requested file is on-site, by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or (ii) if the requested file is off-site, by recovering the baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto until the requested file is produced.

36. The process of claim 30 wherein a forward delta is a difference between a last previous version and a current version that when added to the last previous version will produce the current version.

37. The process of claim 30 wherein a reverse delta is a difference between a last previous version and a current version that when subtracted from the current version will produce the last previous version.

42. The process of claim 40, further comprising repeating the computing and storing steps of claim 30 with a new current version of the file.

38. A system of managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

(a) compare a previous signature of a file to a current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(b) compare the current version of a changed file to a last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(c) compute the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas; and

(d) store the forward and reverse deltas, a current version of the changed file, and a baseline copy of each new file.

39. A system of managing assets comprising:

(a) means for comparing a previous signature of a file to a current signature of the file to determine whether the file has been changed;

(b) means for comparing the current version of a changed file to a last previous on-site version of the changed file;

(c) means for computing the differences between the two versions to provide forward deltas and reverse deltas; and

(d) means for storing the forward and reverse deltas, a current version of the changed file, and a baseline copy of each new file.

40. The process of managing assets comprising:

computing the difference between a previous and a current version of a file to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta;

storing the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site; and

storing off-site one of the forward and reverse deltas of the changed file and a version of the file.

41. The process of claim 40, further comprising restoring any requested version of the file by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested version is produced.

43. The process of claim 40 wherein storing offsite comprises storing off-site the previous version and the forward delta.

44. A system of managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

compute the difference between a previous and a current version of a file to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta;

store the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site; and

store off-site one of the forward and reverse deltas of the changed file and a version of the file.

47. The process of claim 46, further comprising if the file exists in the inventory database but does not exist in the inventory path, identifying the file as deleted in the change set database and a historical archive and deleting the file from the inventory database.

48. The process of claim 46, further comprising if the file exists in the inventory database and is also in the inventory path, comparing a previous signature to the current signature to determine whether the file has been changed.

49. The process of claim 48, further comprising if the file has changed, generating a new signature and updating the change set and inventory databases.

50. The process of claim 48, further comprising if the file has not been changed, inspecting each file in the inventory path by generating a new signature for each file and comparing the new signature to the previous signature and issuing a warning of potential corruption as to each file whose signature has been changed.

51. The process of claim 48, further comprising processing each changed file in the inventory path for capture by:

moving to the changed set database all files previously added to a temporary hold table during a prior capture process;

initially evaluating each file in the change set database for capture according to a predetermined qualification set and copying the qualified files to a capture set database;

providing a predetermined data asset table identifying those files by prioritized capture category that must be captured and providing a predetermined ignore table identifying those files of no interest;

comparing each file in the change set database to the data asset table and, if the file is not on the data asset table, further comparing the file to the ignore table and issuing a warning if the file is also not on the ignore table; and

further evaluating each file in the change set database to determine whether it is scheduled for capture by comparing its capture category of the data asset table capture category identified for the inventory in progress and

if so, placing a copy of the file in the capture set for further processing in a scribe processor and,

if not, placing the file in the hold table for capture at the appropriate inventory.

52. The process of claim 51 wherein warning further comprises indicating the file may be an unidentified, but valuable, data asset.

53. The process of claim 46 wherein calculating further comprises calculating the file pate, name, size, date and time of last file save.

45. A system of managing assets comprising:

means for computing the difference between a previous and a current version of a file to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta;

means for storing the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site; and

means for storing off-site one of the forward and reverse deltas of the changed file and a version of the file.

46. The process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising inventorying initially and at scheduled intervals according to predetermined tasks assigned to predetermined groups of files in a host system selected ones of a plurality of hardware, software, and data files in a system by:

creating an inventory path setting for all files residing on a predetermined memory to be inventoried;

comparing each file on the inventory path to an inventory database to determine if the file exists from a previous inventory; and

if not, calculating a signature for the file which identifies the file in the database and adding the file to an inventory database and to a change set database.

54. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising inventorying initially and at scheduled intervals according to predetermined tasks assigned to predetermined groups of files in a host system selected ones of a plurality of hardware, software, and data files in a system by software oeprable to:

create an inventory path setting for all files residing on a predetermined memory to be inventoried;

compare each file on the inventory path to an inventory database to determine if the file exists from a previous inventory; and

if not, calculate a signature for the file which identifies the file in the database and adding the file to an inventory database and to a change set database.

55. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising inventorying initially and at scheduled intervals according to predetermined tasks assigned to predetermined groups of files in a host system selected ones of a plurality of hardware, software, and data files in a system by:

means for creating an inventory path setting for all files residing on a predetermined memory to be inventoried;

means for comparing each file on the inventory path to an inventory database to determine if the file exists from a previous inventory; and

if not, means for calculating a signature for the file which identifies the file in the database and adding the file to an inventory database and to a change set database.

57. The process of claim 56 wherein repeatedly inventorying further comprises inventorying a plurality of hardware, software, and data files.

58. The process of claim 56 wherein repeatedly inventorying further comprises identifying all of the hardware, software, and data files on a computer.

59. The process of claim 56, further comprising storing all changes for all inventories simultaneously off-site.

60. The process of claim 56 wherein repeatedly inventorying further comprises assigning a signature to each file.

61. The process of claim 60 wherein determining which ones of the inventoried files have been changed further comprises comparing current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files has been added, omitted, or changed in any way.

62. The process of claim 60, further comprising issuing a possible corruption warning as to any file whose signature has changed.

63. The process of claim 56 wherein (c) further comprises:

(a) computing a forward delta and a reverse delta for each changed file;

(b) using a stored version and one of the deltas to construct a duplicate of the current version off-site; and

(c) storing the current version and the reverse delta at one of the locations consisting of off-site and on-site.

64. The process of claim 63, further comprising using the stored deltas and the stored versions to recreate a selected version.

56. A computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) repeatedly inventorying a plurality of files;

(b) at each inventory after the first, determining which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) during each inventory, identifying and storing a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site; and

(d) restoring any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version.

65. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

(a) repeatedly inventory a plurality of files;

(b) at each inventory after the first, determine which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) during each inventory, identify and store a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site; and

(d) restore any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version.

66. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) means for repeatedly inventorying a plurality of files;

(b) means for, at each inventory after the first, determining which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) means for, during each inventory, identifying and storing a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site; and

(d) means for restoring any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version.

68. The process of claim 67, further comprising determining whether old files have been deleted or new files have been added.

69. The process of claim 67, further comprising issuing an unidentified possibly valuable asset warning as to changed files neither previously inventoried nor on a predetermined ignore table.

70. The process of claim 67, further comprising encrypting the version stored off-site.

67. A computerized process of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) repeatedly inventorying a plurality of files;

(b) at each inventory after the first, determining which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) during each inventory, identifying and storing a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site;

(d) restoring any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version; and

(e) restoring any requested file by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced.

71. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

software operable to;

(a) repeatedly inventory a plurality of files;

(b) at each inventory after the first, determine which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) during each inventory, identify and store a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site;

(d) restore any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version; and

(e) restore any requested file by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced.

72. A system of intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

(a) means for repeatedly inventorying a plurality of files;

(b) means for, at each inventory after the first, determining which ones of the inventoried files have been changed from previous versions of those files since the previous inventory;

(c) means for, during each inventory, identifying and storing a current version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files on-site and a version of each changed file and the changes since the previous inventory for those files off-site;

(d) means for restoring any requested file by reconstructing a version of the requested file by applying selected stored changes to the current on-site version or the stored off-site version; and

(e) means for restoring any requested file by recovering the current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced.

73. A system for intelligently inventorying data and managing assets comprising:

means for inventorying a plurality of files;

means for determining a signature for each of the files;

means for determining which ones of the files have changed based on the signature;

means for storing a version of each file on-site;

means for, for each changed file, storing a change on-site;

means for storing a version of each file off-site;

means for, for each of the changed files, storing a change off-site; and

means for restoring a requested file by reconstructing the requested file by applying a stored change to one of the versions stored on-site or off-site.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for inventorying comprises means for inventorying a plurality of hardware, software, and data files.

75. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for inventorying comprises means for identifying all of the hardware, software, and data files in a system.

76. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for inventorying further comprises means for assigning a signature in hexadecimal format.

77. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for determining which files have been changed further comprises means for comparing current and previous signatures to determine whether any of the files has been added, omitted, or changed in any way.

78. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for storing a version of each file on-site, storing a change on-site for each changed file, storing a version of each file off-site, and storing a change off-site for each for each of the changed files further comprises means for computing forward and reverse deltas for each changed file and saving the current version and reverse deltas on-site and the baseline version and forward deltas off-site.

79. The system of claim 78, wherein the means for computing forward and reverse deltas further comprises means for comparing a historical and current version of a document.

80. The system of claim 78, further comprising means for repeatedly using the deltas and stored versions to recreate any requested version as it existed at any prior time.

81. The system of claim 78, further comprising means for restoring a particular version of the file by retrieving the original and a selected set of changes to reproduce the version.

82. The system of claim 73, further comprising means for deleting all prior file versions other than an off-site baseline version and an on-site current version.

83. The system of claim 73, further comprising means for storing only a baseline version of a document off-site with all forward deltas and saving only the current version of the document on-site with all reverse deltas.

84. The system of claim 73, further comprising:

means for computing the differences between a previous version and a current versions to provide a forward delta and a reverse delta;

means for then storing the current version and the reverse delta of the changed file on-site while deleting only the last previous on-site version of the changed file; and

means for storing off-site only the forward delta of the changed file and a baseline copy of each new file.

85. The system of claim 73, further comprising, until the requested file is produced, means for restoring any requested file:

if it is located on-site, by recovering a current version and subtracting the appropriate reverse deltas therefrom until the requested file is produced;

or

if it is located off-site, by recovering a baseline version and adding the appropriate forward deltas thereto.