Synthetic full copies of data and dynamic bulk-to-brick transformation

• US 20070156793A1
• Filed: 10/02/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Ravi, T.M., D'Souza, Roy
• Granted Patent: US 8,918,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2041 with more than one idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2046 where the redundant components share persistent storage G06F11/2043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2056 by mirroring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2082 Data synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups

Abstract

Multi-dimensional surrogation systems and methods are provided that generate at least one up-to-date data surrogate using information of data and numerous data changes received from at least one data source, including a production system. Embodiments described further perform bulk-to-brick transformation of the up-to-date data surrogate. Brick-level data, or item data, is further indexed and stored in an application-aware manner. The stored item data is easily accessible by many data management applications for integrated item search and recovery functions, audit functions, monitoring and supervision functions, legal discovery functions, compliance functions, archival functions, backup functions, disaster recovery functions, and more. Bulk-to-brick transformation and access of the stored item data occur off of the production system, thus contributing no performance degradation to the production system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a copy of original data and delta data that includes information of changes to the original data;

generating and maintaining an updated version of the copy by applying the delta data to the copy as the delta data is received; and

dynamically transforming the updated version from a first structure by organizing items of the data into a second structure that preserves the hierarchy of the first structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating and maintaining is asynchronous with the receiving.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying is according to an interval, wherein the interval is based on one or more of time and events.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the delta data includes data of an incremental difference between the original data at a plurality of instances.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the delta data includes data of a differential difference between the original data at a plurality of instances.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising controlling the applying using modified information of a component.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the original data is stored at a first server and the copy is stored at a second server, wherein the component is a component of the second server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first server includes a near-line server.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second server includes one or more of local servers, remote servers, database servers, messaging servers, electronic mail servers, instant messaging servers, voice-over Internet Protocol servers, collaboration servers, messaging and collaboration servers, Exchange Servers, portals, customer relationship management (CRM) servers, enterprise resource planning (ERP) servers, business-to-business servers, and content management servers.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the component includes structural metadata of the copy.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the component includes a log file of the delta data.

12. The method of claim 6, comprising modifying the component.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the component is structural metadata of the copy.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein modifying comprises detecting a first state of the copy, wherein the first state indicates the delta data has been applied to the copy.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying comprises changing the first state to a second state, wherein the second state is a state from which another updated version can be generated by applying additional delta data to the updated version.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein changing the first state to the second state includes modifying the structural metadata of the copy.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the delta data is a plurality of log files, wherein the component is a log file of the plurality of log files.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the applying includes invoking an engine of a first server hosting the original data and the controlling includes stalling the engine.

19. The method of claim 1, comprising determining the first structure, wherein the first structure is a proprietary structure.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising parsing items of the data using information of the first structure.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the parsing includes systematically reading information of the data, the information including one or more of tables and items.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the tables include one or more of a mailbox table, a folder table, a message table, and an attachment table.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the items include one or more of a folder, a mailbox, an electronic mail body, an electronic mail header, and an electronic mail attachment.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the organizing includes indexing items of the data into the second structure.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the organizing includes traversing the first structure and locating information of the items.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the information of the items includes one or more of type and content of the items.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the indexing comprises:

generating indices corresponding to the items; and

associating the items with the indices using the information of the items.

28. The method of claim 25, comprising:

comparing modification information of each item with modification information of a previous instance of the item; and

ceasing the traversing at a current node of the first structure when the modification information shows the item is unmodified since the previous instance.

29. The method of claim 25, comprising:

determining whether an item is a previously-encountered item that has previously been stored in the second structure;

generating a pointer to the previously-encountered item.

30. The method of claim 25, comprising:

comparing modification information of each item with modification information of a previous instance of the item; and

indexing difference information of the item when the modification information shows the item is modified since the previous instance.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the difference information includes information of changes between a current version and at least one previously-modified version of the item.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the organizing comprises hashing information of each instance of the item by generating a checksum.

33. The method of claim 32, comprising determining if the item has been altered since the organizing by comparing checksums of different instances of the item in the second structure, the determining performed in response to a request to retrieve the item from the second structure.

34. The method of claim 32, comprising transferring the checksum to a hash table.

35. The method of claim 25, comprising decomposing the item into at least one component.

36. The method of claim 24, wherein the indexing includes transferring the items into an indexed object repository.

37. The method of claim 24, wherein the indexing includes transferring metadata of the items into a metadata repository.

38. The method of claim 1, comprising providing access to at least a portion of the items in the second structure via a plurality of applications.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein providing access includes providing access using a second protocol that is different from a first protocol used to access the data of the first structure.

40. The method of claim 1, comprising transferring the updated version to an indexed object repository.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating is in near real-time and maintains complete integrity and consistency of the original data.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein the original data includes one or more of application data, databases, storage groups, mailbox data, and server data.

43. The method of claim 1, comprising maintaining the updated version, the maintaining including generating another updated version by applying at least one set of log files to the updated version, the at least one set of log files received later in time than the plurality of log files.

44. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of delta data at a first server, the delta data including information of changes to original data of a second server;

dynamically generating and maintaining an updated version of a copy of the original data at the first server by applying at least one of the plurality of delta data to the copy and controlling the applying using modified information of a component of the first server; and

dynamically transforming the data from a first structure by organizing items of the data into a second structure that preserves the hierarchy of the first structure.

45. Computer readable medium including executable instructions which, when executed in a processing system, support information management by:

receiving a copy of original data and delta data that includes information of changes to the original data;

generating and maintaining an updated version of the copy by applying the delta data to the copy as the delta data is received; and

dynamically transforming the updated version from a first structure by organizing items of the data into a second structure that preserves the hierarchy of the first structure.