Apparatus and method for copying, backing up and restoring logical objects in a computer storage system by transferring blocks out of order or in parallel backing up and restoring

• US 20050204108A1
• Filed: 05/03/2005
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Bitner, Haim, Kedem, Nadav, Krikler, Samuel, Cakeljic, Zoran, Arnon, Dan, Hirsch, Michael, Ofek, Yuval, Galtzur, Sharon
• Application Number:
  US11/120,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20050204108A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1466 to make the backup process non-disruptive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

Method and apparatus are disclosed for copying and backing up logical objects in a computer storage system. The logical objects are comprised of data blocks. The data blocks may be copied in any order. The data blocks may be copied or written from a storage media, such as a tape, in parallel.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method of restoring a logical object from a copy, the copy being stored in a first portion and a second portion, the method comprising steps of:

providing the first portion;

providing the second portion;

reading data blocks stored in the first portion and data blocks stored in the second portion in parallel; and

restoring the logical object from the read data blocks.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first portion is stored on a first tape and the second portion is stored on a second tape.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of restoring comprises steps of

providing metadata for the read data blocks;

using the metadata to distinguish the location in the logical object of the written logical blocks.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the metadata comprises

a plurality of labels, each label associated with one or more of the data blocks and

a table associating the labels with a relative position in the logical object.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the metadata comprises physical memory addresses corresponding to the location of logical data blocks of the logical object stored in a primary storage device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the metadata comprises

a physical address associated with an extent of physical data blocks storing the logical data blocks, and

a table specifying the relative position of the extents in the logical object.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the first portion and the second portion are a part of an abstract block set.

28. (canceled)