Backup method and system by differential compression, and differential compression method

• US 20040054700A1
• Filed: 08/18/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Okada, Yoshiyuki
• Application Number:
  US10/642,148
• Publication Number:
  US 20040054700A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques

Abstract

A backup method by differential compression back up the data of a client by the server so as to decrease overhead at backup. After the client creates the associated differential compression data before backup, the client connects with the server and transfers the created differential compression data groups and association information to the server, and the server saves the difference compression data groups to a storage medium according to the association information, and disconnects the connection. When the data is restored, the server reads the saved differential compression data groups according to the association information and transfers the data to the client, and the client decompresses and develops the differential compression data groups according to the association information, and rebuilds the data.

Claims

1. A backup method by differential compression for backing up data of a client by a server, comprising the steps of:

creating associated differential compression data groups before backup with a client;

connecting with said server and transferring said differential compression data groups and association information created by said client to said server at backup;

saving said differential compression data groups to a storage medium of said server according to the transferred association information and disconnecting said connection;

reading said saved differential compression data groups according to the association information and transferring the data groups from said server to said client when the data is restored; and

decompressing and developing said differential compression data groups according to the transferred association information and rebuilding data with said client.

2. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 1,

wherein said creating step comprises a step of performing linear difference in the forward direction in time from old data to new data when said client associates the differential compression data.

3. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 1,

wherein said creating step comprises a step of performing linear difference in the backward direction in time from new data to old data when said client associates the differential compression data.

4. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 1,

wherein said creating step comprises a step of creating the differential compression data in batch immediately before backup according to said association.

5. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 1,

wherein said creating step comprises a step of creating the differential compression data non-periodically between backup and backup along with said association.

6. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 4,

wherein said creating step comprises:

a step of creating the differential compression data in the backward direction non-periodically between backup and backup along with said association; and

rearranging the backward difference data in the opposite direction to transfers the data.

7. The backup method by difference compression according to claim 1,

wherein said saving step comprises a step of saving said difference data groups according to forward linear association when said differential compression data groups are saved to a storage medium.

8. The backup method by differential compression according to claim 1,

wherein said saving step comprises a step of saving said difference data groups according to the backward linear association when said differential compression data groups are saved to a storage medium.

9. A backup system using differential compression for a server to backup data of a client, comprising:

a client which creates associated differential compression data groups before backup, then connects with said server, and transfers said created differential compression data groups and association information to said server at backup; and

a server which saves said differential compression data groups to a storage medium according to said transferred association information and disconnects said connection,

wherein, when data is restored, said server reads said saved differential compression data groups according to the association information, transfers said data and information to said client, and

said client decompresses and develops said differential compression groups according to the transferred association information, and rebuilds the data.

10. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 9,

wherein the linear difference in the forward direction in time from old data to new data is determined when said client associates the differential compression data.

11. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 9,

wherein the linear difference in the backward direction in time from new data to old data is determined when said client associates the differential compression data.

12. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 9,

wherein, in order to create the differential compression data, said client creates the differential compression data in batch immediately before backup according to said association.

13. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 9,

wherein, to create the differential compression data, said client creates the differential compression data non-periodically between backup and with said association.

14. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 11,

wherein said client creates said differential compression data in the backward direction between backup and backup along with said association for creation of differential compression data, rearranges the backward difference data in the opposite direction, and transfers the data.

15. The backup system using differential compression according to claim 9,

wherein said server saves said difference data groups according to forward linear association when said differential compression data groups are saved to a storage medium.

16. The backup system by difference compression according to claim 9, wherein said server saves said difference data groups according to backward linear association when said differential compression data groups are saved to a storage medium.

17. A difference compression method for associating data groups which are changed or updated with the difference between new data and old data, comprising:

a step of determining the jump difference in the forward direction from the first tile to the last file; and

a step of determining linear difference in the backward direction from said last file to the file next to said first file.

18. A difference compression method for associating data groups which are changed or updated by the difference between new data and old data, comprising:

a step of determining the jump difference in the backward direction from the last file to the first file; and

a step of determining the linear difference in the forward direction from said first file to the file just before said last file.

19. A difference compression method for associating data groups which are changed or updated by the difference between new data and old data, comprising:

a step of determining the jump difference in the forward direction from the first file to the last file, a step of determining the linear difference in the backward direction from said last file to a mid-way file; and

a step of determining the linear difference in the forward direction from said first file to the file just before said mid-way file.

20. The difference compression method according to claim 19, further comprising a step of defining said midway file by regarding a location where the line difference size is largest as the break point of association.