Data backup and restore system for a computer network having generic remote file system agents for providing backup and restore operations
DCFirst Claim
1. A computer system, comprising:
- a plurality of computers connected to a computer network, each of the computers having a file system and a generic remote file system (GRFS) agent associated with an operating system running on a particular computer, a subset of said computers running disparate operating systems; and
a file server connected to the computer network, the file server having a GRFS file system that communicates through an operating system independent message protocol with each GRFS agent, the protocol including command instructions that locate and retrieve backup data stored in any file system associated with a GRFS agent and command instructions that locate and restore backup data to a file system;
wherein each GRFS agent communicates through the operating system independent message protocol that includes response instructions to the command instructions, the response instructions providing information that enables the GRFS file system to locate and retrieve backup data and to locate and restore the backup data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer network having a number of workstations running disparate operating systems and a file server having a tape drive for backup and restore of data on the network. The file server runs a generic remote file system (GRFS) and workstations run GRFS agent programs which allow the GRFS file system to access data within a workstation having a given GRFS agent program. The GRFS file system interfaces with each GRFS agent program via a command/response paradigm, with the messages being structured to support the disparate operating systems for backup and restore, to allow data to be interchanged between the disparate operating systems, and to allow independent multiple users of the network to request simultaneously backup or restore.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer system, comprising:
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a plurality of computers connected to a computer network, each of the computers having a file system and a generic remote file system (GRFS) agent associated with an operating system running on a particular computer, a subset of said computers running disparate operating systems; and a file server connected to the computer network, the file server having a GRFS file system that communicates through an operating system independent message protocol with each GRFS agent, the protocol including command instructions that locate and retrieve backup data stored in any file system associated with a GRFS agent and command instructions that locate and restore backup data to a file system; wherein each GRFS agent communicates through the operating system independent message protocol that includes response instructions to the command instructions, the response instructions providing information that enables the GRFS file system to locate and retrieve backup data and to locate and restore the backup data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-implemented method for retrieving data in a computer system including one or more primary computers and at least one file server connected to a computer network, each primary computer and the file server having a respective file system, the file server having a generic remote file system (GRFS), each primary computer having disparate file systems and a GRFS agent, the GRFS agent and the GRFS file system communicating through an operating system independent message protocol, said method comprising the steps of:
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representing data in each file system as one or more file system objects, each file system object including information describing the data in a uniform format; selecting data stored in a first primary computer for backup to the file server; establishing a logical connection from the file server to the file system of the first primary computer; searching for the file system object representing the backup data in the first primary computer; obtaining access by the file server to the file system object representing the backup data; transmitting the backup data to the file server; and disconnecting the logical connection from the file server to the file system of the first primary computer; wherein at least said establishing, searching, and obtaining steps are facilitated by said operating system independent message protocol. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification