Availability and recovery of files using copy storage pools
First Claim
1. In a data processing system having a plurality of client systems generating client data files, a server coupled to said plurality of client systems for generating and managing multiple copies of said client data files, said server comprising:
- a first storage pool having a plurality of primary storage volumes for storing a primary copy of said client data files;
a second storage pool having a plurality of copy storage volumes for storing a back-up copy of said client data files;
a server database for maintaining directory information and reference location information linking said primary copy and said back-up copy of said client data files; and
a storage manager coupled to said first storage pool, said second storage pool, and said server database, said storage manager receiving said primary copy of said client data file from said client system and storing said primary copy of said client data file in said primary storage volume, said storage manager further generating said back-up copy of said client data file by copying said primary copy of said client data file from said primary storage volume to said copy storage volume, said storage manager updating said directory information and said reference location information in said server data base to link said primary copy and said back-up copy, said storage manager transferring said primary copy to said client system in response to a client system request for said client data file, said storage manager also periodically performing an incremental back-up operation from said first storage pool to said second storage pool such that a set of selected primary copies of client data files is copied to said copy storage volumes,wherein in response to said client system request for said client data file, said storage manager determining that said primary copy of said client data file is unavailable, said storage manager then directly accessing said back-up copy of said client data file by using said directory information and said reference location information in said server database and transferring said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said requesting client system, said storage manager then subsequently recovering said unavailable primary copy of said client data file by copying said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said primary storage volume.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A data processing system using a client-server configuration provides a method and apparatus for generating and managing multiple copies of client data files. A server coupled to a plurality of client systems organizes sets of storage volumes into storage pools. Primary copies of the client data files are stored in primary storage pools while additional back-up copies of the client data files are copied to secondary storage pools, called copy storage pools. A server database maintains directory information about the original client data file and reference information about the location of the multiple file copies within the server. A storage manager provides a control center within the server, directing and coordinating the transfer of files between the various storage pools, and updating the server database with directory and reference location information.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. In a data processing system having a plurality of client systems generating client data files, a server coupled to said plurality of client systems for generating and managing multiple copies of said client data files, said server comprising:
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a first storage pool having a plurality of primary storage volumes for storing a primary copy of said client data files; a second storage pool having a plurality of copy storage volumes for storing a back-up copy of said client data files; a server database for maintaining directory information and reference location information linking said primary copy and said back-up copy of said client data files; and a storage manager coupled to said first storage pool, said second storage pool, and said server database, said storage manager receiving said primary copy of said client data file from said client system and storing said primary copy of said client data file in said primary storage volume, said storage manager further generating said back-up copy of said client data file by copying said primary copy of said client data file from said primary storage volume to said copy storage volume, said storage manager updating said directory information and said reference location information in said server data base to link said primary copy and said back-up copy, said storage manager transferring said primary copy to said client system in response to a client system request for said client data file, said storage manager also periodically performing an incremental back-up operation from said first storage pool to said second storage pool such that a set of selected primary copies of client data files is copied to said copy storage volumes, wherein in response to said client system request for said client data file, said storage manager determining that said primary copy of said client data file is unavailable, said storage manager then directly accessing said back-up copy of said client data file by using said directory information and said reference location information in said server database and transferring said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said requesting client system, said storage manager then subsequently recovering said unavailable primary copy of said client data file by copying said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said primary storage volume. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. In a data processing system having a plurality of client systems generating client data files, and a server coupled to said plurality of client systems, a method in said server for generating and managing multiple copies of said client data files comprising steps of:
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receiving said client data file from said client system, and storing a primary copy of said client data file in a first storage pool, said first storage pool having a plurality of primary storage volumes; generating a back-up copy of said client data file by copying said primary copy to a second storage pool, said second storage pool having a plurality of copy storage volumes; maintaining directory information and reference location information in a server database to link said primary copy stored in said primary storage volume and said back-up copy stored in said copy storage volume; in response to a client system request for said client data file which is determined to have an available primary copy, transferring said available primary copy from said primary storage volume to said requesting client system; and in response to a client system request for said client data file which is determined to have an unavailable primary copy, accessing said back-up copy of said client data file using said directory information and said reference location information in said server database, transferring said back-up copy of said client data file directly from said copy storage volume to said requesting client system, and then subsequently recovering said unavailable primary copy of said client data file by copying said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said primary storage volume. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An article of manufacture for use in a data processing system having a plurality of client systems generating client data files, and a server coupled to said plurality of client systems for generating and managing multiple copies of said client data files,
said article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of executable computer instructions which may cause said server to execute steps comprising: -
receiving said client data file from said client system and storing a primary copy of said client data file in a first storage pool, said first storage pool having a plurality of primary storage volumes; generating a back-up copy of said client data file by copying said primary copy to a second storage pool, said second storage pool having a plurality of copy storage volumes; maintaining directory information and reference location information in a server database to link said primary copy stored in said primary storage volume and said back-up copy stored in said copy storage volume; periodically performing an incremental back-up operation from said first storage pool to said second storage pool by selecting a set of primary copies of said client data files stored in said primary storage volumes and copying said selected primary copies from said primary storage volumes to said copy storage volumes; in response to a client system request for a client system data file which is determined to have an available primary copy, transferring said available primary copy from said primary storage volume to said requesting client system; and in response to a client system request for said client data file which is determined to have an unavailable primary copy, accessing said back-up copy of said client data file using said directory information and said reference location information in said server database, transferring said back-up copy of said client data file directly from said copy storage volume to said requesting client system, and then subsequently recovering said unavailable primary copy of said client data file by copying said back-up copy from said copy storage volume to said primary storage volume. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification