TABLE LEVEL DATABASE RESTORE IN A DATA STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20140201160A1
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Kumarasamy, Paramasivam, Vallabhaneni, Brahmaiah
• Granted Patent: US 9,766,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/679
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 Database-specific techniques

Abstract

The data storage system according to certain aspects can implement table level database restore. Table level database restore may refer to restoring a database table and its related data without restoring the entire database. The data storage system may use table metadata index to implement table level restore. A table metadata index may be created for each table, e.g., during a backup of the database. The table metadata index for a table can include any type of information for restoring the table and its related data. Some examples of the type of information included in the table metadata index include the following: container for the table, table backup location, system data, table index, table relationships, etc. Table metadata index can make the restoring of tables fast and efficient by packaging information that can be used to restore a table and its related data in an easily accessible manner.

Claims

1. A method of storing database tables in secondary storage of a data storage system, comprising:

initiating copying of data associated with a database application in primary storage to secondary storage, the database application executing on one or more client computing devices in communication with the primary storage,

wherein the data associated with the database application comprises data of a plurality of database tables;

determining a relationship among the plurality of database tables;

creating a table metadata index associated with a first table of the plurality of database tables, wherein the table metadata index comprises information for restoring the first table and its associated data; and

copying data relating to the first table to the secondary storage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated data of the first table comprises data that is referenced by the first table.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data that is referenced by the first table comprises one or more of:

a system object referenced by the first table, a database object referenced by the first table, a table referenced by the first table, and a table that is referenced by the first table.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for restoring the first table and its associated data comprises information relating to one or more of:

a container for the first table, a tablespace for the first table, a table schema of the first table, a backup location of the first table in the secondary storage, system data associated with the first table, a table index, and a relationship between the first table and one or more other tables of the plurality of tables.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the system data comprises one or more of:

a system object, a database object, a database schema associated with the database application, and a data structure used by the database application.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the relationship between the first table and the one or more other tables comprises one or more of:

a list of one or more tables referenced by the first table and a list of one or more tables that reference the first table.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the relationship between the first table and the one or more other tables comprises metadata relating to the one or more other tables, the metadata comprising same type of information as type of information in the table metadata index for the first table.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the data relating to the first table is stored in a secondary storage copy of the tablespace that includes the first table, and wherein the backup location of the first table indicates a location of the data relating to the first table within the secondary storage copy of the tablespace.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising restoring the first table from the secondary storage to the primary storage by accessing the table metadata index for the first table, without restoring all of data associated with the database application in the secondary storage.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein subsequent to said restoring, data of one or more other tables referenced by the first table are accessible in the primary storage, and the restored first table can be browsed or queried using the database application.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining a relationship and said creating a table metadata index are performed during a backup of data from the primary storage to the secondary storage.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising copying the table metadata index to the secondary storage.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the table metadata index is available in an index that is not stored in the secondary storage.

14. A data storage system for storing database tables, comprising:

a storage manager module, executing on computer hardware comprising one or more computer processors, configured to initiate copying of data associated with a database application in primary storage to secondary storage, the database application executing on one more client computing devices in communication with the primary storage,

wherein the data associated with the database application comprises a plurality of database tables;

a table level restore module configured to;

determine a relationship among the plurality of database tables; and

create a table metadata index associated with a first table of the plurality of database tables, wherein the table metadata index comprises information for restoring the first table and its associated data; and

a media agent module configured to copy data relating to the first table to the secondary storage.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a data agent executing on the one or more client computing devices, wherein the table level restore module is further configured to query the data agent to determine the relationship among the plurality of database tables.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the associated data of the first table comprises data that is referenced by the first table, the data that is referenced by the first table comprising one or more of:

a system object referenced by the first table, a database object referenced by the first table, a table referenced by the first table, and a table that is referenced by the first table.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the information for restoring the first table and its associated data comprises information relating to one or more of:

a container for the first table, a tablespace for the first table, a table schema of the first table, a backup location of the first table in the secondary storage, system data associated with the first table, a table index, and a relationship between the first table and one or more other tables of the plurality of tables.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the table level restore is further configured to restore the first table from the secondary storage to the primary storage by accessing the table metadata index for the first table, without restoring all of data associated with the database application in the secondary storage.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein subsequent to said restoring by the table level restore module, data of one or more other tables referenced by the first table are accessible in the primary storage, and the restored first table can be browsed or queried using the database application.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the table level restore module determines the relationship and creates the table metadata index during a backup of data from the primary storage to the secondary storage.