Method and system for automated, no downtime, real-time, continuous data protection

• US 7,363,549 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Asempra Technologies, Inc. (Quest Software, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sim-Tang, Siew Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DIEU MINH T
• Application Number:
  US11/507,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20060282697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4, 714/18, 714/43, 714/8, 714/494, 714/48, 714/49, 714 15- 16, 714/20
• US Class Current: 714/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/82 Solving problems relating to consistency ensuring consistency in mirrored systems G06F11/2064

Abstract

A data management system or “DMS” provides an automated, continuous, real-time, substantially no downtime data protection service to one or more data sources associated with a set of application host servers. To facilitate the data protection service, a host driver embedded in an application server captures real-time data transactions, preferably in the form of an event journal that is provided to other DMS components. The driver functions to translate traditional file/database/block I/O and the like into a continuous, application-aware, output data stream. The host driver includes an event processor that provides the data protection service, preferably by implementing a finite state machine (FSM). In particular, the data protection is provided to a given data source in the host server by taking advantage of the continuous, real-time data that the host driver is capturing and providing to other DMS components. The state of the most current data in DMS matches the state of the data in the host server; as a consequence, the data protection is provided under the control of the finite state machine as a set of interconnected phases or “states.” The otherwise separate processes (initial data upload, continuous backup, blackout and data resynchronization, and recovery) are simply phases of the overall data protection cycle. As implemented by the finite state machine, this data protection cycle preferably loops around indefinitely until, for example, a user terminates the service. A given data protection phase (a given state) changes only as the state of the data and the environment change (a given incident).

Claims

1. A method of protecting a data source associated with an application, comprising:

generating from the data source an application aware, real-time event data stream by capturing data changes associated with one or more events associated with the data source, the data stream comprising, for each event, data identifying the event, given metadata, and the data changes;

providing the data source upload, backup, resynchronization and recovery as phases of an integrated data protection cycle without substantially interrupting the application; and

tracking update history by transferring the application aware, real-time event data stream to a data store.

2. A computer program stored on a computer storage medium for providing a data protection service to a data source associated with an application, comprising:

program code executable in a processor that generates an application aware, real-time event data stream associated with the data source by capturing data changes associated with one or more events associated with the data source, the data stream comprising, for each event, data identifying the event, given metadata, and the data changes; and

program code executable in a processor to implement a state machine, the state machine protecting the data source without substantially interrupting the application by continuously transitioning among a set of states, the set of states comprising upload, backup, resynchronization and recovery.

3. The computer program as described in claim 2 wherein the states are phases of an integrated data protection cycle for the data source.

4. The computer program described in claim 2 wherein the state machine has a given entry state.

5. The computer program as described in claim 4 wherein the given entry state is the upload state.

6. The computer program as described in claim 2 wherein the state machine has a given entry state selected from a set of states that include:

upload, backup, resynchronization and recovery.

7. A method of protecting a data source associated with an application, comprising:

generating an application aware, real-time event data stream by capturing data changes associated with one or more events associated with the data source, the data stream comprising, for each event, data identifying the event, given metadata, and the data changes;

protecting the data source without substantially interrupting the application by continuously transitioning among a set of states.