External storage and data recovery method for external storage as well as program

• US 20080147752A1
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kazuhito Suishu, Keiichi Kaiya, Masanao Tsuboki
• Original Assignee: Kazuhito Suishu, Keiichi Kaiya, Masanao Tsuboki
• Inventors: Tsuboki, Masanao, Suishu, Kazuhito, Kaiya, Keiichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,464,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1471 involving logging of persistent data for recovery

Abstract

The data is automatically recovered to a desired arbitrary point in an external storage without imposing a burden on the host computer. An application on a host computer instructs data recovery control processing of a disk control apparatus to set a recovery opportunity. It is possible to register arbitrary plural points as a recoverable point by setting a recovery flag included in journal data. In the case in which data is recovered due to occurrence of a failure or the like, the application requests a list showing recovery opportunities which have already been set. The application designates a point to which data is recovered on the basis of the recovery opportunity list. The disk control apparatus recovers the data to the designated point on the basis of a backup disk and a journal disk.

Claims

1. A system configured to be coupled to a plurality of computers, the system comprising:

a data storage area being configured to store data received from at least one of the plurality of computers;

a journal storage area being configured to store a plurality of journal data and a plurality of recoverable points, one of the plurality of journal data corresponding to data stored in the data storage area, and one of the plurality of recoverable points being set for being able to recover data stored in the data storage area at a point corresponding to the one of the plurality of recoverable points if the one of the plurality of recoverable points is designated in future;

a backup storage area being configured to store backup data of data stored in the data storage area at a point; and

a control apparatus being configured to send information of the plurality of recoverable points to at least one of the plurality of computers by managing the plurality of recoverable points, and to recover data of the data storage area corresponding to a designated recoverable point, designated by the at least one of the plurality of computers which receives the information of the plurality of recoverable points from the control apparatus, by using a journal data, stored in the journal storage area and corresponding to the designated recoverable point, and the backup data stored in the backup storage area.