INCREMENTAL RESTORE OF DATA BETWEEN STORAGE SYSTEMS HAVING DISSIMILAR STORAGE OPERATING SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH

• US 20120136832A1
• Filed: 11/30/2010
• Published: 05/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Network Appliance Incorporated (NetApp, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Network Appliance Incorporated (NetApp, Inc.)
• Inventors: SADHWANI, DHIRAJ
• Granted Patent: US 8,688,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/640
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data

Abstract

A method includes quiescing a file system of source storage system through a backup engine associated with the source storage system and a destination storage system and capturing, at the source storage system, a point-in-time image of the file system thereof through the backup engine. The method also includes sharing the captured point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system with the destination storage system to enable the storage systems to have a common base data and negotiating between the storage systems for the common base data. Further, the method includes applying, to the common base data at the source storage system, a differential change corresponding to a difference between the common base data and a point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system.

Claims

1. A method of restoring data between storage systems, comprising:

quiescing a file system associated with a source storage system having a first storage operating system associated therewith through a backup engine associated with the source storage system and a destination storage system having a second storage operating system associated therewith, the source storage system being configured to have data associated therewith backed up at the destination storage system, and the second storage operating system being configured to implement a file system different from the file system implemented through the first storage operating system;

capturing, at the source storage system, a point-in-time image of the file system associated therewith through the backup engine;

sharing the captured point-in-time image of the file system associated with the first storage operating system of the source storage system with the destination storage system to enable the source storage system and the destination storage system to have a common base data therein;

negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein; and

applying, to the common base data at the source storage system, a differential change corresponding to a difference between the common base data at the destination storage system and a point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system, the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system being configured to be in an immediate temporal past relative to a back up of the data to be restored to the source storage system at the destination storage system and in a temporal past relative to the common base data at the destination storage system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising remotely triggering, through an appropriate interface at the source storage system, an update associated with the backup engine through the destination storage system, the update being configured to enable the quiescing of the file system associated with the source storage system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing the point-in-time image of the file system associated with the source storage system includes at least one of:

a process comprising;

capturing a series of point-in-time images of the file system of the source storage system prior to the quiescing thereof; and

selecting an immediate previous point-in-time image of the file system prior to the quiescing thereof as the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system following the quiescing of the file system thereof; and

momentarily holding on to the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein includes:

transmitting, to the source storage system, a series of point-in-time images associated with temporal back up of the file system of the source storage system at the destination storage system; and

selecting the common base data from the series of point-in-time images.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising copying, at the source storage system, data associated with the file system thereof to another location therein to enable a backup thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining, at the destination storage system, the difference between the common base data and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to configure one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to be in a same state as a corresponding one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data corresponding to the common base data at the destination storage system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the source storage system and the destination storage system are configured to communicate with each other through a network.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein the storage operating system associated with the destination storage system is configured to support a data set associated with at least one of a Network File System (NFS) protocol, a Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol, an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocol, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a File Transfer Protocol (FTP), an FTP-Secure (FTPS) protocol, a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and a Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the file system of the destination storage system is a “

write anywhere”

file system.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein obtaining the difference between the common base data and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system includes:

traversing an appropriate one of a quota tree, a volume and a sub-directory corresponding to the one of the quota tree data, the volume data and the sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system starting from a root inode thereof in a tree order;

fetching an inode associated with the common base data at the destination storage system corresponding to an inode associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system based on an inode identifier thereof; and

obtaining a differential data between the two inodes.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting an attribute incompatible with the destination storage system based on the storage operating system associated therewith as is to the source storage system, the attribute being associated with the data to be restored to the source storage system.

12. A method of incrementally restoring differential data between storage systems, comprising:

quiescing a file system associated with a source storage system having a first storage operating system associated therewith through a backup engine associated with the source storage system and a destination storage system having a second storage operating system associated therewith, the source storage system being configured to have data associated therewith backed up at the destination storage system, and the second storage operating system being configured to implement a file system different from the file system implemented through the first storage operating system;

capturing, at the source storage system, a point-in-time image of the file system associated therewith through the backup engine;

sharing the captured point-in-time image of the file system associated with the first storage operating system of the source storage system with the destination storage system to enable the source storage system and the destination storage system to have a common base data therein;

negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein;

obtaining, at the destination storage system, a difference between the common base data and a point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to configure one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to be in a same state as a corresponding one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data corresponding to the common base data at the destination storage system, the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system being configured to be in an immediate temporal past relative to a back up of data to be restored to the source storage system at the destination storage system and in a temporal past relative to the common base data at the destination storage system;

traversing an appropriate one of a quota tree, a volume and a sub-directory corresponding to the one of the quota tree data, the volume data and the sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system starting from a root inode thereof in a tree order;

fetching an inode associated with the common base data at the destination storage system corresponding to an inode associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system based on an inode identifier thereof;

obtaining a difference between data associated with the two inodes as a difference between the common base data at the destination storage system and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system; and

applying, to the common base data at the source storage system, the differential change corresponding to the difference between the common base data at the destination storage system and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising remotely triggering, through an appropriate interface at the source storage system, an update associated with the backup engine through the destination storage system, the update being configured to enable the quiescing of the file system associated with the source storage system.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein capturing the point-in-time image of the file system associated with the source storage system includes at least one of:

a process including;

capturing a series of point-in-time images of the file system of the source storage system prior to the quiescing thereof; and

selecting an immediate previous point-in-time image of the file system prior to the quiescing thereof as the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system following the quiescing of the file system thereof; and

momentarily holding on to the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein includes:

transmitting, to the source storage system, a series of point-in-time images associated with temporal back up of the file system of the source storage system at the destination storage system; and

selecting the common base data from the series of point-in-time images.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising copying, at the source storage system, data associated with the file system thereof to another location therein to enable a backup thereof.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the source storage system and the destination storage system are configured to communicate with each other through a network.

18. The method of claim 12,

wherein the storage operating system associated with the destination storage system is configured to support a data set associated with at least one of a NFS protocol, a CIFS protocol, an iSCSI protocol, HTTP, FTP, FTPS, SFTP and NDMP.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the file system of the destination storage system is a “

write anywhere”

file system.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting an attribute incompatible with the destination storage system based on the storage operating system associated therewith as is to the source storage system, the attribute being associated with the data to be restored to the source storage system.

21. A storage environment configured to enable an incremental data restore comprising:

a source storage system having a first storage operating system associated therewith; and

a destination storage system configured to back up data associated with the source storage system, the destination storage system having a second storage operating system associated therewith, the destination storage system comprising a processor and a memory, and the second storage operating system being configured to implement a file system different from a file system implemented through the first storage operating system,

wherein the memory includes storage locations configured to be addressable by the processor,

wherein the memory is configured to store instructions associated with a backup engine associated with the source storage system and the destination storage system, and

wherein the backup engine is configured to enable;

quiescing the file system associated with the source storage system,

capturing, at the source storage system, a point-in-time image of the file system associated therewith,

sharing the captured point-in-time image of the file system associated with the first storage operating system of the source storage system with the destination storage system to enable the source storage system and the destination storage system to have a common base data therein,

negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein, and

applying, to the common base data at the source storage system, a differential change corresponding to a difference between the common base data at the destination storage system and a point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system, the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system being configured to be in an immediate temporal past relative to a back up of the data to be restored to the source storage system at the destination storage system and in a temporal past relative to the common base data at the destination storage system.

22. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the source storage system comprises an appropriate interface configured to remotely trigger an update associated with the backup engine through the destination storage system, the update being configured to enable the quiescing of the file system associated with the source storage system.

23. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the backup engine is configured to enable capturing the point-in-time image of the file system associated with the source storage system through at least one of:

a process including;

capturing a series of point-in-time images of the file system of the source storage system prior to the quiescing thereof, and

selecting an immediate previous point-in-time image of the file system prior to the quiescing thereof as the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system following the quiescing of the file system thereof, and

momentarily holding on to the point-in-time image of the file system at the source storage system.

24. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the backup engine is configured to enable negotiating between the source storage system and the destination storage system for the common base data therein through:

transmitting, to the source storage system, a series of point-in-time images associated with temporal back up of the file system of the source storage system at the destination storage system, and

selecting the common base data from the series of point-in-time images.

25. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein data associated with the file system of the source storage system is copied at the source storage system to another location therein to enable a backup thereof.

26. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the backup engine is further configured to enable:

obtaining, at the destination storage system, the difference between the common base data and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to configure one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system to be in a same state as a corresponding one of a quota tree data, a volume data and a sub-directory data corresponding to the common base data at the destination storage system.

27. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the source storage system and the destination storage system are configured to communicate with each other through a network.

28. The storage environment of claim 21,

wherein the storage operating system associated with the destination storage system is configured to support a data set associated with at least one of a NFS protocol, a CIFS protocol, an iSCSI protocol, HTTP, FTP, FTPS, SFTP and NDMP.

29. The storage environment of claim 21, wherein the file system of the destination storage system is a “

write anywhere”

file system.

30. The storage environment of claim 26, wherein the backup engine is configured to enable obtaining the difference between the common base data and the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system through:

traversing an appropriate one of a quota tree, a volume and a sub-directory the corresponding to the one of the quota tree data, the volume data and the sub-directory data associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system starting from a root inode thereof in a tree order,

fetching an inode associated with the common base data at the destination storage system corresponding to an inode associated with the point-in-time image of the file system of the source storage system backed up at the destination storage system based on an inode identifier thereof, and

obtaining a differential data between the two inodes.

31. The storage environment of claim 27, wherein the network is at least one of a storage area network (SAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtual private network (VPN) and Internet.

32. The storage environment of claim 30, wherein an attribute incompatible with the destination storage system based on the storage operating system associated therewith is configured to be transmitted as is to the source storage system, the attribute being associated with the data to be restored to the source storage system.

33. A method of restoring data between storage systems having different operating systems associated therewith based on a commonality of point-in-time images, comprising:

generating a point-in-time image of a file system at a source storage system having a first storage operating system associated therewith, the source storage system being configured to have data associated therewith backed up at a destination storage system having a second storage operating system associated therewith, the first storage operating system being configured to implement the file system at the source storage system, and the second storage operating system being configured to implement a file system at the destination storage system different from that implemented through the first storage operating system;

providing, through a computer network, the point-in-time image to the destination storage system;

establishing a common base data between the source storage system and the destination storage system through sharing the point-in-time image with the destination storage system, the common base data being referenced by both the source storage system and the destination storage system based on an identification data; and

incrementally restoring data associated with the source storage system through the destination storage system based on the common base data.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

quiescing the file system associated with the source storage system through a backup engine associated with the source storage system and the destination storage system prior to generating the point-in-time image, the point-in-time image being captured through the backup engine.