Systems and methods for backing up data files

• US 6,704,755 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2002
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Keepitsafe
• Original Assignee: LiveVault Corp. (Iron Mountain Incorporated)
• Inventors: Wilson, Brian, Hansen, Tom, Acott, John, Webb, John, Midgley, Christopher, Hess, Ted
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Shahid
• Application Number:
  US10/152,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20020174139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/201, 707/202, 707/203, 707/204, 711/161, 711/162, 711/172, 709/201, 709/225, 717/122, 717/174
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2058 using more than 2 mirrored copies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2064 while ensuring consistency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/855 Details of asynchronous mirroring using a journal to transfer not-yet-mirrored changes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

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.

Claims

1. A system for backing-up at least one source data file, the system comprising:

a data server having;

storage for at least one source data file, and

an agent for detecting changes to the at least one source data file, and for recording in a journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file;

the detected changes, and,

at least one safe point associated with the detected changes, the at least one safe point based on at least one of;

a user operation associated with the journal file, a closed file status associated with the at least one source data file, a write lock status associated with the at least one source data file, and a flush operation associated with the at least one source data file;

a backup server having storage for at least one backup file corresponding to the at least one source data file;

a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the at least one journal file for modifying the at least one back-up file based on the corresponding at least one journal file; and

,

a transaction processor for detecting the at least one safe point and directing the dynamic replication process to modify the at least one back-up file based on the detected at least one safe point.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the agent records at least one time of change associated with at least one of the detected changes in the journal file.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the transaction processor records in the journal file at least one safe point at a predetermined period of time after the at least one time of change.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction processor records in the journal file at least one safe point based on the at least one source data file being inactive for a predetermined period of time.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user operation associated with the journal file comprises a user command to record at least one safe point in the journal file.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a long term storage system for storing the modified at least one backup file based on the at least one safe point.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the long term storage system comprises a tape library system having a library of tapes, a tape drive, and a robotic controller for moving tapes between the library and the tape drive.

8. A system for backing up source data files, the system comprising:

a data server having storage for the source data files, and, an agent for detecting changes to the source data files and for recording the detected changes in journal files corresponding to the source data files;

a backup server having storage for backup files corresponding to the source data files;

a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the at least one journal file for modifying the backup files based on the corresponding journal files;

a policy manager for identifying at least two source data files as members of a transactional group; and

,

a transaction processor for directing the dynamic replication process to coordinate modification of the backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein

the policy manager records safe points identifying the at least two source data files as members of the transactional group in the journal files corresponding to the at least two source data files, and

the transaction processor detects the safe points for directing the dynamic replication process to coordinate modification of the backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction processor directs the dynamic replication process to modify the backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group in a unitary operation.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction processor directs the dynamic replication process to write to the backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group in a unitary operation.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a long term storage system for coordinating storage of the modified backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the long term storage system stores the modified backup files corresponding to the members of the transactional group in a unitary operation.

14. A method for backing-up at least one source data file, the method comprising:

detecting changes to the at least one source data file;

based on the detected changes, generating a journal file corresponding to the at least one source data file;

recording, in the corresponding journal file, at least one safe point associated with the detected changes and based on at least one of;

a time of change associated with at least one of the detected changes,

a user operation associated with the journal file,

a closed file status associated with the at least one source data file,

a write lock status associated with the at least one source data file, and,

a flush operation associated with the at least one source data file; and

,

based on the at least one safe point recorded in the corresponding journal file, modifying at least one backup file corresponding to the at least one source data file.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein recording at least one safe point based on a time of change comprises:

recording at least one safe point at a predetermined period of time after the time of change.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein recording at least one safe point at a predetermined period of time alter the time of change comprises:

recording at least one safe point based on the at least one source data file being inactive for the predetermined period of time after the time of change.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein recording at least one safe point based on a user operation associated with the journal file comprises:

recording at least one safe point based on a user command to record the at least one safe point in the journal file.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

based on the at least one safe point, storing the modified at least one backup file on a long term storage system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the long term storage system comprises a tape library system having a library of tapes, a tape drive, and a robotic controller for moving tapes between the library and the tape drive.