Systems and methods for a snapshot of data
First Claim
1. A processor-accessible data storage system for the storage of data representing a file system with a root-accessible directory-level snapshot structure comprising:
- at least one computer processor;
at least one storage device;
a file system stored on the at least one storage device and accessible by the at least one computer processor, the file system comprising multiple metadata nodes, each metadata node comprising information about a file or directory stored on the at least one storage device;
at least one executable software module executed by the at least one computer processor and configured to;
receive a request to take a snapshot of a file or directory, the file or directory associated with a target metadata node;
access a parent metadata node of the target metadata node, the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and one or more references to one or more metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory; and
create a copy of the parent metadata node, the copy of the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and no reference to any of the metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a user or client device is connected to a distributed file system comprised of one or more physical nodes. The data on each of the physical nodes store metadata about files and directories within the file system. Some of the embodiments permit a user to take a snapshot of data stored on the file system. The snapshot may include a single file, a single directory, a plurality of files within a directory, a plurality of directories, a path on the file system that includes nested files and subdirectories, or more than one path on the file system that each includes nested files and directories. In one embodiment, the metadata comprises mini-snapshots for directories representing a path from the root of the file system to the root of the snapshot. The mini-snapshots serve as stand-ins for portions of the file system which are not included in the snapshot, but which permit access to the snapshot data in an intuitive way.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A processor-accessible data storage system for the storage of data representing a file system with a root-accessible directory-level snapshot structure comprising:
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at least one computer processor; at least one storage device; a file system stored on the at least one storage device and accessible by the at least one computer processor, the file system comprising multiple metadata nodes, each metadata node comprising information about a file or directory stored on the at least one storage device; at least one executable software module executed by the at least one computer processor and configured to; receive a request to take a snapshot of a file or directory, the file or directory associated with a target metadata node; access a parent metadata node of the target metadata node, the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and one or more references to one or more metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory; and create a copy of the parent metadata node, the copy of the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and no reference to any of the metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of maintaining path-accessibility for partial snapshots of a hierarchical structure comprising:
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receiving a request to take a snapshot of a file or directory, the file or directory associated with a target metadata node in the hierarchical structure, the hierarchical structure comprising multiple metadata nodes, each metadata node, including the target metadata node, comprising information about a file or directory; accessing, by a computer processor, a parent metadata node of the target metadata node, the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and one or more references to one or more metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory; and creating, by the computer processor, a copy of the parent metadata node, the copy of the parent metadata node comprising a reference to the target metadata node and no reference to any of the metadata nodes associated with files or directories which are not governed by the snapshot of the file or directory. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification