Systems and methods for backing up data files
First Claim
1. A system for creating back up files for data files stored on a computer network, comprisinga back up server having a target data file, a data server having a source data file associated with the target data file, and an agent operating on the data server for capturing and recording changes to the source data file as the source data file is being modified and for detecting and recording safe points capable of identifying one or more of the recorded changes as part of a related transaction, a dynamic replication process for transmitting a journal file from the data server to the back up server and capable of processing the journal file for altering the target data file to mirror changes made to the source data file, and a transaction processor for processing the safe points to direct the operation of the dynamic replication process to alter the target data file as a function of the identified transaction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides systems and methods for continuous back up of data stored on a computer network. To this end the systems of the invention include a synchronization process that replicates selected source data files data stored on the network and to create a corresponding set of replicated data files, called the target data files, that are stored on a back up server. This synchronization process builds a baseline data structure of target data files. In parallel to this synchronization process, the system includes a dynamic replication process that includes a plurality of agents, each of which monitors a portion of the source data files to detect and capture, at the byte-level, changes to the source data files. Each agent may record the changes to a respective journal file, and as the dynamic replication process detects that the journal files contain data, the journal files are transferred or copied to the back up server so that the captured changes can be written to the appropriate ones of the target data files.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for creating back up files for data files stored on a computer network, comprising
a back up server having a target data file, a data server having a source data file associated with the target data file, and an agent operating on the data server for capturing and recording changes to the source data file as the source data file is being modified and for detecting and recording safe points capable of identifying one or more of the recorded changes as part of a related transaction, a dynamic replication process for transmitting a journal file from the data server to the back up server and capable of processing the journal file for altering the target data file to mirror changes made to the source data file, and a transaction processor for processing the safe points to direct the operation of the dynamic replication process to alter the target data file as a function of the identified transaction.
Specification