System and method for stored data archive verification

• US 7,440,982 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Issued: 10/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Lu, Jun, Amarendran, Arun
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu; Kuen S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kerzhner; Aleksandr
• Application Number:
  US10/990,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for verifying stored data by receiving a first set of metadata associated with a first set of stored data, generating a second set of metadata associated with a second set of stored data which is associated with the first set of stored data, and comparing the first set of metadata and second set of metadata. Alternatively, the storage system can also generate a first set of metadata associated with a first set of stored data, generate a second set of stored data which is a copy of the first set of stored data, generate a second set of metadata associated with the second set of stored data, and compare the first set of metadata and the second set of metadata.

Claims

1. A method for verifying stored data in a storage management system, the method comprising:

accessing a first set of data in a first storage location;

performing a first copy operation on the first set of data to generate a plurality of data chunks, wherein said performing the first copy operation for at least one of the plurality of data chunks further comprises;

generating a payload of the at least one data chunk, wherein the payload comprises a second set of data associated with the first set of data in the first storage location,

generating a header of the at least one data chunk, wherein the header comprises a first set of metadata generated as a product of the first copy operation on the first set of data and associated with the first set of data, the first set of metadata comprising information usable to extract the second set of data from the plurality of data chunks;

transmitting at least a portion of the plurality of data chunks to a storage device, and

storing the second set of data and the first set of metadata on the storage device;

storing a copy of the first set of metadata in an index remote to said storage device;

generating a second set of metadata associated with the second set of data stored on the storage device;

comparing the first set of metadata in the index and the second set of metadata to verify whether or not inconsistencies exist between the first and second sets of data without accessing the first and second sets of data;

preforming a second storage operation on the second set of data stored on the storage device, wherein said performing the second storage operation further comprises;

generating a third set of data associated with the second set of data,

generating a third set of metadata comprising information for being used to retrieve the third set of data, and

storing the third set of data in a second location; and

comparing the first set of metadata in the index with the third set of metadata to verify whether or not inconsistencies exist between the first and third sets of data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the second set of metadata comprises performing a second storage operation on the second set of data.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first copy operation and the second storage operation are the same type of copy operation.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second storage operation is a partial storage operation such that the second set of metadata is generated without generating a copy of the second set of data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising backing up the first set of data when the comparing of the first set of metadata and the second set of metadata indicates that the first set of metadata and the second set of metadata are not equivalent.

6. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising updating, after said comparing, an entry in a verification table to identify that the second set of data has been verified.

7. The method of claim 6, additionally comprising updating, based on said comparing, the verification table to indicate whether or not the second set of data is inconsistent with the first set of data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second storage operation comprises an archive operation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of data comprises a plurality of files.