Coordinated dirty block tracking
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- identifying first data for replication to a second storage region, whereina first storage area comprises a first storage region,the first storage region comprises the first data, anda secondary storage area comprises the second storage region;
adding an entry to a list of entries, whereinthe first storage region comprises a plurality of locations,the entry represents a first location of the plurality of locations, andat least a portion of the first data is stored in the first location; and
in response to the adding the entry to the list of entries, setting an indicator, if the indicator is cleared, whereinthe indicator is associated with the first location, andthe indicator indicates that the portion of the first data stored in the first location of the first storage region is unsynchronized with corresponding data in a corresponding location of the second storage region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, computer system, and computer-readable medium to maintain consistent, up-to-date copies of primary data that enable quick resumption of operations upon failure of the primary node, the secondary node, and/or the network connecting nodes. The current status of individual storage locations is tracked, indicating whether data in each individual storage location is synchronized between a primary node and a secondary node. Transaction logging by a transaction-logging application, such as a file system or database system, is used to track individual storage locations updated with each transaction. Acknowledgements of these updates are tracked during replication to determine whether individual storage locations containing primary and secondary data are synchronized. This coordinated transaction logging and acknowledgement tracking enables write operations and replication to be performed efficiently while maintaining the information necessary to resynchronize only individual storage locations when primary and- secondary data become unsynchronized.
182 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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identifying first data for replication to a second storage region, wherein a first storage area comprises a first storage region, the first storage region comprises the first data, and a secondary storage area comprises the second storage region; adding an entry to a list of entries, wherein the first storage region comprises a plurality of locations, the entry represents a first location of the plurality of locations, and at least a portion of the first data is stored in the first location; and in response to the adding the entry to the list of entries, setting an indicator, if the indicator is cleared, wherein the indicator is associated with the first location, and the indicator indicates that the portion of the first data stored in the first location of the first storage region is unsynchronized with corresponding data in a corresponding location of the second storage region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a processor; means for identifying first data for replication to a second storage region, wherein a first storage area comprises a first storage region, the first storage region comprises the first data, a secondary storage area comprises the second storage region, and the means for identifying is coupled to the processor; means for adding an entry to a list of entries, wherein the first storage region comprises a plurality of locations, the entry represents a first location of the plurality of locations, at least a portion of the first data is stored in the first location, and the means for adding to coupled to the processor; and means for setting an indicator in response to the adding the entry to the list of entries, if the indicator is cleared, wherein the indicator is associated with the first location, the indicator indicates that the portion of the first data is unsynchronized with corresponding data in a corresponding location of the second storage region, and the means for setting is coupled to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:
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identifying instructions to identify first data for replication to a second storage region, wherein a first storage area comprises a first storage region, the first storage region comprises the first data, and a secondary storage area comprises the second storage region; adding instructions to add an entry to a list of entries, wherein the first storage region comprises a plurality of locations, the entry represents a first location of the plurality of locations, and at least a portion of the first data is stored in the first location; and setting instructions to set an indicator in response to the adding the entry to the list of entries, if the indicator is cleared, wherein the indicator is associated with the first location, and the indicator indicates that the portion of the first data stored in the first location is unsynchronized with corresponding data in a corresponding location of the second storage region. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system comprising:
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a processor; a first storage device comprising a first storage area, wherein the first storage device is coupled to the processor; a second storage device comprising a second storage area, wherein the second storage device is coupled to the processor; an identifying module to identify first data for replication to a second storage region, wherein a first storage area comprises a first storage region, the first storage region comprises the first data, and a secondary storage area comprises the second storage region; an adding module to add an entry to a list of entries, wherein the first storage region comprises a plurality of locations, the entry represents a first location of the plurality of locations, and at least a portion of the first data is stored in the first location; and a setting module to set an indicator in response to the adding the entry to the list of entries, if the indicator is cleared, wherein the indicator is associated with the first location, the indicator indicates that the portion of the first data is unsynchronized with corresponding data in a corresponding location of the second storage region, and the setting module is coupled to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification