MANAGING COPIES OF DATA
First Claim
1. A method in a computer system for retrieving data from one of multiple copies of the data, the method comprising:
- receiving a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed;
querying an index to locate data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data, and wherein for each data copy the index contains an indication of the availability of the copy relative to other copies;
determining one of the located data copies to use to access the identified at least one data object, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the indicated availability contained in the index for each of the located data copies; and
accessing the identified at least one data object using the determined one of the located data copies.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method in a computer system for retrieving data from one of multiple copies of the data is provided, referred to as the data management system. The data management system receives a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed. Then, the data management system queries a metabase to locate data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data, and wherein for each data copy the metabase contains an indication of the availability of the copy relative to other copies. Next, the data management system determines one of the located data copies to use to access the identified at least one data object, wherein the determination is made based on the indicated availability contained in the metabase for each of the located data copies. Then, the data management system accesses the identified at least one data object using the determined one of the located data copies.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A method in a computer system for retrieving data from one of multiple copies of the data, the method comprising:
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receiving a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; querying an index to locate data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data, and wherein for each data copy the index contains an indication of the availability of the copy relative to other copies; determining one of the located data copies to use to access the identified at least one data object, wherein the determination is made based at least in part on the indicated availability contained in the index for each of the located data copies; and accessing the identified at least one data object using the determined one of the located data copies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to create copies of data such that a subsequent request can determine the precedence with which to access the copies of data, by a method comprising:
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identifying source data stored within a computer system; creating a primary copy of the data stored within the computer system; updating a metabase with information describing the availability of the primary copy of the data stored within the computer system, wherein the availability information includes at least a type of media on which the primary copy of the data is stored or a location where the data copy is stored or types of data management operations that have been performed on the data copy; and performing a data management operation on the primary copy to create at least one secondary copy of the data stored within the computer system by accessing the primary copy and without accessing source data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A computer system for managing multiple copies of data, comprising:
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a computing device configured for running applications that generate data objects; a data management component configured for creating copies of the generated data objects by first creating a primary copy of the generated data objects, and then creating one or more secondary copies of the generated data objects; a data storage component configured to store the primary copy of the generated data and the one or more secondary copies of the generated data; and a metabase component configured to store information about each of the copies of the generated data including at least a type of media on which each copy is stored, data management operations performed to create the data copy, or a location of the copy. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method in a computer system for retrieving data from one of multiple copies of the data, the method comprising:
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receiving a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; identifying multiple copies of the data object that satisfy the request, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data; for each identified copy, determining the availability of the copy relative to the other identified copies; selecting an identified copy to use for accessing the identified at least one data object based on the determined availability of the identified copies; and accessing the identified at least one data object using the selected copy. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to create copies of data such that a subsequent request can determine the precedence with which to access the copies of data, by a method comprising:
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identifying a primary copy of source data stored within a computer system; updating a metabase with information describing the availability of the primary copy of the data stored within the computer system, wherein the availability information describes the effort required to retrieve one or more data objects from the primary copy relative to other copies of the source data; identifying at least one secondary copy of the source data stored within the computer system; updating the metabase with information describing the availability of the at least one secondary copy of the source data stored within the computer system, such that a client can access the metabase to determine which of multiple copies of source data to access for performing a storage operation. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer system for managing multiple copies of data, comprising:
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a computing device configured for running applications that generate data objects; a data management component configured for creating copies of the generated data objects by first creating a primary copy of the generated data objects, and then creating one or more secondary copies of the generated data objects; a data storage component configured to store the primary copy of the generated data and the one or more secondary copies of the generated data; and a data object availability component configured to determine the availability of each copy relative to each of the other copies and to select a copy to use for accessing an identified data object based on the determined relative availability of the copies. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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41. A method in a computer system for accessing data stored in multiple copies, the method comprising:
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displaying a web-based user interface configured to receive a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; receiving through the web-based user interface a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; querying an index to locate data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the data copies are created from similar source data; and displaying a list of results comprising data copies located by the query that satisfy the request, wherein a user can access one or more of the data copy results through the displayed list. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to access multiple copies of data through a web server, by a method comprising:
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submitting a web-based request identifying at least one data object stored in one or more data copies within a data management system; receiving a web page containing one or more results responsive to the submitted web-based request, wherein each result contains a link through which a data object associated with the result can be accessed; submitting a request to access a data object associated with one or more of the received results; and receiving a version of the data object formatted for display in a web browser. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56)
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57. A display page for identifying and retrieving data objects accessible through multiple copies of similar source data, comprising:
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a criteria entry area configured to receive one or more criteria that identify at least one data object stored within a data management system; a search activation indication configured to initiate a search for matching data objects based on the received criteria; and a results display area configured to display one or more matching data objects, wherein the results display area provides a link to each data object through which a browser-compatible instance of the data object can be accessed. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60)
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Specification