REPLICATION OF OPERATIONS ON OBJECTS DISTRIBUTED IN A STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20100114817A1
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Olsen, Vilmar, Collison, James J., Bowring, Gordon J., Birdsall, David W., Gilbert, Gary M., Broeder, Sean L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,947 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/612
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases

Abstract

One embodiment is a method that reads audit from an audit trail of a source database distributed across multiple storage systems with independent audit trails and then replicates the audit trail to a target database distributed across multiple storage systems with independent audit trails without manual coordination by a database administrator.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

executing a single database transaction across multiple nodes with each node having a transaction manager;

synchronizing the transaction across the multiple nodes so a replication operation occurs in a correct order; and

performing the replication operation according to the transaction from a primary database to a backup database so changes to a table in the primary database occur in the backup database without manual intervention.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, avoiding inactivating user applications that modify the primary database before initiating a Structured Query Language (SQL) operation, a Data Definition Language (DDL) operation, and a utility operation.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, leaving the primary database online while Structured Query Language (SQL) operations, a Data Definition Language (DDL) operations, and a utility operations are being executed.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, ensuring that data modifications located in an audit trail of the primary database prior to a Structured Query Language (SQL) operation, a Data Definition Language (DDL) operation, and a utility operation on a node in the primary database are applied and durable before a SQL operation, DDL operation, or utility operation is initiated on a node in the backup database.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, synchronizing replication audit trails across clustered nodes that each have independent audit trails.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, automatically triggering a Structured Query Language (SQL) operation, a Data Definition Language (DDL) operation, and a utility operation on the backup database without user intervention.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising, replicating user transactions that perform Data Manipulation Language operations, Structured Query Language (SQL) operations, and Data Definition Language (DDL) operations within a same transaction.

8. A tangible computer readable storage medium having instructions for causing a computer to execute a method, comprising:

reading audit from an audit trail of a source database distributed across multiple storage systems with independent audit trails; and

replicating the audit trail to a target database distributed across multiple storage systems with independent audit trails without manual coordination by a database administrator.

9. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method comprising, ensuring that no data modifications located in the audit trail of the source database subsequent to a Structured Query Language (SQL) operation, a Data Definition Language (DDL) operation, and a utility operation are applied before a SQL operation, DDL operation, and utility operation are initiated on the target database.

10. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method comprising, ensuring that Data Definition Language (DDL) operations and utility operations on the target database behave exactly as an operation on the source database by enumerating defaults that were present and used on the source database in case the defaults are different on the target database.

11. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method comprising, initiating Structured Query Language (SQL) operations, Data Definition Language (DDL) operations, and utility operations as soon as the SQL, DDL, and utility operations are detected on the target database and before the SQL, DDL, utility operations complete on the source database.

12. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method comprising, ensuring that a Data Definition Language (DDL) operation executed in parallel on the target database does not complete before the DDL operation completes on the source database.

13. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method, wherein changes to a structure of a table on the source database are automatically reflected to a table on the target database without requiring manual intervention to make the changes.

14. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8 having instructions for causing the computer to further execute the method, wherein each of the multiple storage systems has a transaction manager that stores audit records in a local audit trail reflecting application program modifications to a local portion of the audit trail.

15. A computer system, comprising:

a source database distributed across multiple storage systems;

a target database distributed across multiple storage systems; and

a remote database duplication facility (RDF) that replicates transactions from the source database to the target database so changes to a table in the source database occur in the backup database without manual intervention.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein all Data Manipulation Language (DML) changes to the source database performed prior to changing its physical layout via a Data Definition Language (DDL) or utility operation are applied to the target database before changing a physical layout of the target database to match the source database.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein no Data Manipulation Language (DML) changes to the source database performed after a Structured Query Language (SQL), Data Definition Language (DDL), or utility operation are applied to the target database until the target database has been modified to match the source database.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein user performed Data Definition Language (DDL) and utility operations on the source database are replicated to the target database without manual intervention by an administrator.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the multiple storage systems in the source database and the multiple storage systems in the target database have plural transaction managers that store audit records in a locate audit trail.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the multiple storage systems in the source database and the multiple storage systems in the target database have independent audit trails.