SOURCE-SIDE ACCELERATED INDEXING FOR DATA PROTECTION SEARCH

• US 20200133785A1
• Filed: 10/26/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: YU, Jing, Liao, Mengze, GUO, Yongsheng, Brenner, Adam, ZHANG, Ming
• Granted Patent: US 11,429,491 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/14 Details of searching files based on file metadata

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system for storing indexed metadata associated with backed up data is provided. The operations comprising: for each first data item stored at a first client device to be backed up, extracting, at the first client device, an associated first metadata item; transforming, at the first client device, the first metadata item based on a predefined metadata definition; associating, at the first client device, a first client identifier and a backup identifier with the transformed first metadata item; and transferring the transformed first metadata item from the first client device to a metadata bus of a search cluster.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for storing indexed metadata associated with backed up data, comprising:

for each first data item stored at a first client device to be backed up, extracting, at the first client device, an associated first metadata item;

transforming, at the first client device, the first metadata item based on a predefined metadata definition;

associating, at the first client device, a first client identifier and a backup identifier with the transformed first metadata item; and

transferring the transformed first metadata item from the first client device to a metadata bus of a search cluster.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data item to be backed up is a file.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring the first data item to be backed up from the first client device to a backup appliance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a search node of the search cluster retrieves the transformed first metadata item from the metadata bus and transfers the transformed first metadata item to an index engine/platform for storage, and wherein the transformed first metadata item stored at the index engine/platform is user searchable.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising combining, at the first client device, a plurality of transformed first metadata items associated with the first client identifier and a same backup identifier into a single combined transformed first metadata item.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising increasing a number of search nodes to accelerate handling of metadata items stored at the metadata bus.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising decreasing a number of search nodes in response to a determination that the metadata bus is not full.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each second data item stored at a second client device to be backed up, extracting, at the second client device, an associated second metadata item;

transforming, at the second client device, the second metadata item based on the predefined metadata definition;

associating, at the second client device, a second client identifier and the backup identifier with the transformed second metadata item; and

transferring the transformed second metadata item from the second client device to the metadata bus of the search cluster.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for storing indexed metadata associated with backed up data, the operations comprising:

for each first data item stored at a first client device to be backed up, extracting, at the first client device, an associated first metadata item;

transforming, at the first client device, the first metadata item based on a predefined metadata definition;

associating, at the first client device, a first client identifier and a backup identifier with the transformed first metadata item; and

transferring the transformed first metadata item from the first client device to a metadata bus of a search cluster.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the first data item to be backed up is a file.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising transferring the first data item to be backed up from the first client device to a backup appliance.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein a search node of the search cluster retrieves the transformed first metadata item from the metadata bus and transfers the transformed first metadata item to an index engine/platform for storage, and wherein the transformed first metadata item stored at the index engine/platform is user searchable.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising combining, at the first client device, a plurality of transformed first metadata items associated with the first client identifier and a same backup identifier into a single combined transformed first metadata item.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising increasing a number of search nodes to accelerate handling of metadata items stored at the metadata bus.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising decreasing a number of search nodes in response to a determination that the metadata bus is not full.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

for each second data item stored at a second client device to be backed up, extracting, at the second client device, an associated second metadata item;

transforming, at the second client device, the second metadata item based on the predefined metadata definition;

associating, at the second client device, a second client identifier and the backup identifier with the transformed second metadata item; and

transferring the transformed second metadata item from the second client device to the metadata bus of the search cluster.

17. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations for storing indexed metadata associated with backed up data, the operations including;

for each first data item stored at a first client device to be backed up, extracting, at the first client device, an associated first metadata item;

transforming, at the first client device, the first metadata item based on a predefined metadata definition;

associating, at the first client device, a first client identifier and a backup identifier with the transformed first metadata item; and

transferring the transformed first metadata item from the first client device to a metadata bus of a search cluster.

18. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the first data item to be backed up is a file.

19. The data processing system of claim 17, the operations further comprising transferring the first data item to be backed up from the first client device to a backup appliance.

20. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein a search node of the search cluster retrieves the transformed first metadata item from the metadata bus and transfers the transformed first metadata item to an index engine/platform for storage, and wherein the transformed first metadata item stored at the index engine/platform is user searchable.