SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO DETECT DELETED FILES

• US 20140181037A1
• Filed: 11/19/2013
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Pawar, Rahul S., Kottomtharayil, Rajiv, Swallow, Douglas Cary, Varadharajan, Prakash
• Granted Patent: US 9,390,109 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/648
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1474 in transactions G06F16/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2056 by mirroring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3034 where the computing system component is a storage system, e.g. DASD based or network based digital input from or digital output to record carriers G06F3/06; digital recording or reproducing G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/119 Details of migration of file systems migration mechanisms in storage systems G06F3/0647
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/162 Delete operations erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1865 Transactional file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 Database-specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/805 Real-time
• 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 2201/82 Solving problems relating to consistency ensuring consistency in mirrored systems G06F11/2064
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data

Abstract

A data storage system protects data identified for deletion which has been created or modified between scheduled data backups. For instance, the system monitors data operations and when the data operation is a delete, the system determines whether the data identified for deletion has been protected by a backup operation. Data that has not been backed up, such as newly created data, is copied to temporary storage before deletion. When the data has been protected, the system determines whether the data has been modified after the backup operation. Data modified after the backup operation is copied to temporary storage before deletion.

Claims

1. A method to detect data deleted between data protection operations in a data management system, the method comprising:

automatically monitoring with one or more computer processors data operations of a computing device;

when the data operation comprises a deletion operation, automatically identifying with one or more computer processors deletion data associated with the deletion operation;

automatically determining with one or more computer processors whether the deletion data has been backed up by a backup operation; and

when the deletion data is not backed up, automatically copying with one or more computer processors the deletion data to temporary storage.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

when the deletion data is backed up, automatically determining whether the deletion data has been modified since the backup operation; and

when the deletion data has been modified since the backup operation, automatically copying the deletion data to the temporary storage.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising automatically deleting the deletion data from primary storage after the deletion data is copied to the temporary storage.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a filter driver associated with the computing device tracks the data operations resulting from actions of a user.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the filter driver identifies the deletion data associated with the deletion operation.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

automatically receiving a backup date/time of a last backup operation from a storage information manager;

automatically receiving an edit date/time of a most recent edit operation on the deletion data from primary storage; and

automatically comparing the backup date/time and the edit date/time.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the edit date/time comprises a creation date/time.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein when the backup date/time is before the edit date/time, automatically determining that the deletion data is not backed up, the deletion data comprising data created or modified since the last backup operation.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically receiving an indication from a storage information manager that the deletion data has never been backed up.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically receiving a Universal Sequence Number (USN) from a file system change journal associated with the computing device to determine whether the deletion data is backed up.

11. A system to detect data deleted between data protection operations in an information management cell, the system comprising:

computer hardware including one or more computer processors; and

computer-readable storage comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the computer hardware to perform operations defined by the computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions configured to;

automatically monitor data operations of a computing device;

when the data operation comprises a deletion operation, automatically identify deletion data associated with the deletion operation;

automatically determine whether the deletion data has been backed up by a backup operation; and

when the deletion data is not backed up, automatically copy the deletion data to temporary storage.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to:

when the deletion data is backed up, automatically determine whether the deletion data has been modified since the backup operation; and

when the deletion data has been modified since the backup operation, automatically copy the deletion data to the temporary storage.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically delete the deletion data from primary storage after the deletion data is copied to the temporary storage.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein a filter driver associated with the computing device tracks the data operations resulting from actions of a user.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the filter driver identifies the deletion data associated with the deletion operation.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to:

automatically receive a backup date/time of a last backup operation from a storage information manager;

automatically receive an edit date/time of a most recent edit operation on the deletion data from primary storage; and

automatically compare the backup date/time and the edit date/time.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the edit date/time comprises a creation date/time.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein when the backup date/time is before the edit date/time, the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically determine that the deletion data is not backed up, the deletion data comprising data created or modified since the last backup operation.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically receive an indication from a storage information manager that the deletion data has never been backed up.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically receive a Universal Sequence Number (USN) from a file system change journal associated with the computing device to determine whether the deletion data is backed up.