SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR BACKING UP DATA FILES
First Claim
1. A system for backing up at least one source data file, the system comprising:
- a data server having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file;
a back up server having storage for at least one back up file; and
a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the journal file for modifying the at least one back up file based on the journal file.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides systems and methods for continuous back up of data stored on a computer network. To this end the systems of the invention include a synchronization process that replicates selected source data files data stored on the network and to create a corresponding set of replicated data files, called the target data files, that are stored on a back up server. This synchronization process builds a baseline data structure of target data files. In parallel to this synchronization process, the system includes a dynamic replication process that includes a plurality of agents, each of which monitors a portion of the source data files to detect and capture, at the byte-level, changes to the source data files. Each agent may record the changes to a respective journal file, and as the dynamic replication process detects that the journal files contain data, the journal files are transferred or copied to the back up server so that the captured changes can be written to the appropriate ones of the target data files.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system for backing up at least one source data file, the system comprising:
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a data server having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file;
a back up server having storage for at least one back up file; and
a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the journal file for modifying the at least one back up file based on the journal file. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for backing up at least one source data file maintained by a computer system, the method comprising:
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employing the computer system to dynamically detect changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, employing the computer system to generate a first journal file readable by the computer system and corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
employing the computer system to modify at least one back up file readable by the computer system and corresponding to the at least one source data file based on the corresponding first journal file. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A processor program for backing up at least one source data file, the processor program being tangibly stored on a processor-readable medium and comprising instructions operable to cause a processor to:
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dynamically detect changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, generate a first journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
modify at least one back up file corresponding to the at least one source data file based on the corresponding first journal file.
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11. A method for backing up at least one source data file, the method comprising:
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synchronizing the at least one source data file and at least one back up file corresponding to the at least one source data file;
during synchronization, dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, generating a first journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
modifying the corresponding at least one back up file based on the corresponding first journal file. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A processor program for backing up at least one source data file, the processor program being tangibly stored on a processor-readable medium and comprising instructions operable to cause a processor to:
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synchronize the at least one source data file and at least one back up file corresponding to the at least one source data file;
during synchronization, dynamically detect changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, generate a first journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
modify the corresponding at least one back up file based on the corresponding first journal file.
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20. A method for backing up at least one source data file, the method comprising:
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providing at least one back up file corresponding to the at least one source data file;
during a synchronization of the at least one source data file and the at least one corresponding back up file, dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, generating a first journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
after synchronization, modifying the corresponding at least one back up file based on the corresponding first journal file.
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21. A processor program for backing up at least one source data file, the processor program being tangibly stored on a processor-readable medium and comprising instructions operable to cause a processor to:
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provide at least one back up file corresponding to the at least one source data file;
during a synchronization of the at least one source data file and the at least one corresponding back up file, dynamically detect changes to the at least one source data file;
based on the dynamically detected changes, generate a first journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file; and
after synchronization, modify the corresponding at least one back up file based on the corresponding first journal file.
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22. A method for accessing at least one back up file corresponding to at least one source data file included in a source data file structure, the method comprising:
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replicating the source data file structure to generate at least one back up data file structure corresponding to the source data file structure; and
generating an index for accessing the at least one source data file in the at least one corresponding back up data file structure, the index including metadata representative of the access rights associated with the at least one source data file in the source data file structure. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A processor program for accessing at least one back up file corresponding to at least one source data file included in a source data file structure, the processor program being tangibly stored on a processor-readable medium and comprising instructions operable to cause a processor to:
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replicate the source data file structure to generate at least one back up data file structure corresponding to the source data file structure; and
generate an index for accessing the at least one source data file in the at least one corresponding back up data file structure, the index including metadata representative of the access rights associated with the at least one source data file in the source data file structure.
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Specification