System and method for peer-to-peer grid based autonomic and probabilistic on-demand backup and restore

• US 20060271601A1
• Filed: 05/24/2005
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Goldstein, Colin, Fatula, Joseph J. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,584,226 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A system and method for peer-to-peer grid based autonomic and probabilistic on-demand trackless backup and restore are disclosed. The on-demand trackless backup-restore system includes a plurality of nodes connected to a network communications channel. The plurality of nodes in the on-demand trackless backup-restore system includes at least one node that is a source client configured to initiate a trackless data backup-restore request and includes one or more nodes that are target clients configured to perform the trackless data backup-restore request. Further, the source client in the on-demand trackless backup-restore system is configured to establish direct connections with one or more of the target clients that are available to perform the trackless data backup-restore request.

Claims

1. An on-demand data backup-restore system for backing up and restoring data in a grid computing system, said system comprising:

a network communications channel; and

a plurality of client nodes connected to said network communications channel, at least one of said plurality of client nodes being a source client configured to initiate a data backup-restore request, one or more of said plurality of client nodes being target clients configured to perform said data backup-restore request and at least one of said plurality of client nodes being a super node configured to broker an initial communication between said source client and said target clients.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subscription manager configured to manage a contractual subscription for each of said plurality of client nodes.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a super node list provider for supplying a super node list that includes said at least one super node configured to broker said initial communication.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said super node further comprises:

a communication component that includes a data backup request module, a data retrieval request module, a data restore request module and a list generation module.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of client nodes further comprises:

a global client profile, a local client profile, a data assembly record and a log.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of client nodes further comprises:

an on-demand data backup-restore component that includes a communication module, a profile management module, a list generation module, a data storage module, a data retrieval module, a data restoration module, a data assembly module, a data compression module, a data encryption module, a data redundancy module and a unique file identifier generation module.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data backup-restore request comprises one of:

backing up a data file, backing up one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring a data file, retrieving a data file, retrieving one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring one or more of a plurality of data file fragments and restoring a client that has experienced a loss of data.

8. A method for trackless backup and restoration of data across a cluster of client nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

providing said cluster of client nodes connected to a network communications channel, said cluster of client nodes including a source client configured to initiate a trackless data backup-restore request for one or more data files and a plurality of target clients configured to perform said trackless data backup-restore request for said one or more data files;

seeking available target clients from said plurality of target clients for performing said trackless data backup-restore request;

establishing connections with a subset of said available target clients; and

directing said trackless data backup-restore request by employing said subset of said available target clients without tracking a location of said data.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said establishing step further comprises the steps of:

transmitting said trackless data backup-restore request; and

receiving a response from said available target clients.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein said trackless data backup-restore request comprises one of:

backing up a data file, backing up one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring a data file, retrieving a data file, retrieving one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring one or more of a plurality of data file fragments and restoring a client that has experienced a loss of data.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said trackless data backup-restore request is for backing up said one or more data files, and said directing step further comprises the steps of:

selecting said one or more data files to be backed up;

computing a unique file identifier for each of said one or more data files;

adding redundancy to said one or more data files selected based on a plurality of profile settings;

fragmenting into a plurality of data file fragments each of said one or more selected data files to which redundancy has been added;

encrypting each of said plurality of data file fragments;

sending each of said plurality of data file fragments to be backed up to said subset of available target clients without tracking any location of where said data is sent; and

severing connections with said subset of said available target clients.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein said trackless data backup-restore request is for restoring one or more data files, and said directing step further comprises the steps of:

establishing a predefined restoration level to restore said one or more data files;

selecting said one or more data files to be restored;

transmitting said trackless data backup-restore request to said plurality of target clients along with a unique file identifier corresponding to each of said one or more data files to be restored;

receiving communication from said available target clients that possess one or more data file fragments corresponding to said unique file identifier corresponding to each of said one or more data files;

retrieving said one or more data file fragments from said subset of said available target clients;

assembling said one or more data file fragments retrieved from said subset of said available clients to restore said one or more data files; and

severing connections with said subset of said available target clients.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein said trackless data backup-restore request is for recreating said client that has experienced said loss of data, and said directing step further comprises the steps of:

establishing a predefined restoration level to restore said client;

recovering said client to an initial base state;

restoring a unique identifier list file containing a list of all of a plurality of unique file identifiers corresponding to all of a plurality of data files that said client had backed up prior to said loss of data; and

employing said unique identifier list file to restore all of said plurality of data files that said client had backed up prior to said loss of data.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein said providing step further comprises the step of:

providing said cluster of client nodes that includes at least one super node configured to broker an initial communication regarding said trackless data backup-restore request between said source client and said plurality of target clients.

15. A method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a sufficient number of said one or more data file fragments have been retrieved to restore each of said one or more data files selected to said predefined restoration level; and

if said sufficient number of said data file fragments have not been retrieved, initiating another data backup-restore request for acquiring additional data file fragments to restore each of said one or more data files selected to said predefined restoration level.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein said employing step further comprises the steps of:

transmitting said trackless data backup-restore request to said plurality of target clients along with each of said plurality of unique file identifiers corresponding to said plurality of data files to be restored;

receiving communication from said available target clients that possess one or more data file fragments corresponding to each of said plurality of unique file identifiers transmitted to restore said plurality of data files that said client had backed up prior to said loss of data;

retrieving said one or more data file fragments corresponding to each of said plurality of unique file identifiers;

assembling each of said plurality of data files from said one or more data file fragments retrieved from said subset of said available clients; and

severing connections with said subset of said available target clients.

17. A method according to claim 14, wherein said seeking step further comprises the steps of:

said super node communicating said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients and said super node receiving communication from said available target clients; and

said super node supplying said source client with a list of said available target clients.

18. A method of providing a trackless data backup-restoration service for backing up and restoring data across a plurality of clients in a grid computing system, said method comprising the steps of:

providing said plurality of clients including a source client configured to initiate a trackless data backup-restore request and a plurality of target clients configured to perform said trackless data backup-restore request;

supplying a trackless data backup-restore software to said plurality of clients, said trackless data backup-restore software including a super node list containing at least one super node configured to broker said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients;

communicating said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to a super node on said super node list;

transmitting, by said super node, said data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients; and

said super node forwarding to said source client a list of available target clients that said source client can directly contact for performing said trackless data backup-restore request without said source client tracking any location of said data.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said providing step further comprises the step of:

providing a subscription manager for registering said plurality of clients with said trackless data backup-restoration service.

20. Programmable media containing programmable software to backup-restore data across a plurality of clients in a grid computing network, said programmable software comprising the steps of:

providing said plurality of clients including a source client configured to initiate a trackless data backup-restore request and a plurality of target clients configured to perform said trackless data backup-restore request;

communicating said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients;

establishing connections with a subset of available target clients that respond to said trackless data backup-restore request communicated; and

executing said trackless backup-restore request without tracking any location of said data.

21. The programmable media according to claim 20, wherein said trackless data backup-restore request comprises one of:

backing up a data file, backing up one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring a data file, retrieving a data file, retrieving one or more of a plurality of data file fragments, restoring one or more of a plurality of data file fragments and restoring a client that has experienced a loss of data.

22. The programmable media according to claim 21, wherein said communicating step further comprises the step of:

providing a super node list that includes at least one super node configured to broker said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients, such that said super node communicates said trackless data backup-restore request from said source client to said plurality of target clients and provides said source client with a list of said available target clients that responded to said trackless data backup-restore request communicated.

23. The programmable media according to claim 22, wherein said establishing step further comprises the step of:

establishing, by said source client, direct connections with said subset of said available target clients that responded to said trackless data backup-restore request communicated for execution of said trackless data backup-restore request.