System and method for generating and managing quick recovery volumes

• US 20040010487A1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Schwartz, Jeremy A., May, Andreas, Prahlad, Anand, Alexander, John, Pittaluga, Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 7,346,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1466 to make the backup process non-disruptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The invention relates to computer readable medium storing program code which when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform a method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set used by a first computer in a backup storage system, which includes identifying a snapshot image of the primary data set generated by a snapshot application, creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set and controlling transfer of data from the first computer to an archival storage unit. In one embodiment, the invention provides a method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set that includes creating a snapshot image of the primary data set and creating a quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set. In another embodiment, the invention provides a user interface screen enabling browser style browsing and recovery of quick recovery volumes and snapshot images.

Claims

13. A computer system comprising:

an archival storage unit; and

a programmed computer for controlling data transfer from the computer to the archival storage unit to create a quick recovery volume of a primary data set, the computer providing a snapshot image of the primary data set, and creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image for the primary data set.

14. The computer system of claim 13, the archival storage unit connected to the programmed computer over a communication network.

15. The computer system of claim 14, comprising at least one server computer communicatively coupled to the programmed computer and archival storage unit and programmed for controlling data transfer from the computer to the archival storage unit.

16. A method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set of a first computer, the method comprising:

creating a snapshot image of the primary data set; and

creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set.

1. A computer readable medium storing program code which when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform a method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set used by a first computer in a backup storage system, the method comprising:

identifying a snapshot image of the primary data set generated by a snapshot application, creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set; and

controlling transfer of data from the first computer to an archival storage unit.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the data set comprises at least one of a primary volume and application data.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the quick recovery volume comprises a disk-to-disk data-block-level replication of the data set.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 3, wherein the quick recovery volume comprises an incremental backup of a previous quick recovery volume of the primary data set.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program code comprises an agent module and a storage manager module, wherein the agent module enables data transfer from the first computer to the archival storage unit and the storage agent module interfaces the agent module and the archival storage unit.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the agent module comprises an intelligent agent module, which enables data transfer of the primary data set for a specific application.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program code comprises a quick recovery agent that evokes a snapshot application to create the snapshot image of the primary data set.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the primary data set comprises one of:

a plurality of primary volumes, at least one primary volume and at least one application data set, and a plurality of application data sets, a scope of the primary data set defined as a sub-client of the first computer.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer readable medium stores a quick recovery policy data structure providing details to create the quick recovery volume of the primary data set.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program code causes the first computer to automatically select a destination volume for the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from a pool of available volumes.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the destination volume for the quick recovery policy of the primary data set is selected based on storage space available on an available volume in comparison to storage space needed for the quick recovery volume of the primary data set, the selected volume capacity exceeding that needed for the quick recovery volume of the primary data set and closer to a capacity needed than other available volumes.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set as a disk-to-disk data-block-level replication of the primary data set.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set as an incremental backup of a previous quick recovery volume of the primary data set.

19. The method of claim 16, comprising synchronizing with an operating system to flush all data of the primary data set to an archival storage unit during the creation of the snapshot image of the primary data set.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein synchronizing comprises suspending input to a disk containing the primary data set during the creation of the snapshot image of the primary data set.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein suspending and resuming are accomplished one of automatically, and manually with user-supplied command line commands during presnapshot and post-snapshot phases.

22. The method of claim 16, comprising performing a block-level copy of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set.

23. The method of claim 16, comprising indexing the snapshot image of the primary data set.

24. The method of claim 16, comprising deleting the snapshot image of the primary data set at a selected time, wherein the selected time comprises one of immediately after a copy phase and after a persistence period.

20-1. The method of claim 19, comprising resuming input to the disk containing the primary data set upon creation of the snapshot image of the primary data set.

25. A computer readable medium storing programming code, which when executed causes a computer to present a snapshot manager that interfaces with a backup storage system, the snapshot manager enabling users to browse snapshot images and enabling users to recover snapshot images stored in the backup storage system.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 25, the snapshot manager interfacing with a volume snapshot service for creating a snapshot image.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the stored program code further comprises a snapshot requester program module that packages data for the snapshot image, the packaged data communicated to the volume snapshot service for creating the snapshot image.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 26, comprising a snapshot requester program module, and a snapshot writer program module directed by the snapshot requester program module to package data for the snapshot image, the writer program module packaging data for a specific application, the packaged data communicated to the volume snapshot service for creating the snapshot image.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the snapshot manager program module indexes snapshot images, snapshot indexing enabling at least one of copying, deleting, displaying, browsing, changing properties, and recovering snapshot images.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the indexing comprises indexing in terms of objects native to particular applications.