Method for saving computer data

• US 7,949,840 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2001
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Azambre, Hubert, Blanchet, Claude, Delbosc, Jean-Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Peugh; Brian R
• Application Number:
  US10/333,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20090216941A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,595 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 Plurality of storage devices

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for saving computer data which consist in transferring the data to be saved from a client computer to a buffer storage formed by the hard disc of a backup server, organized in a plurality of volumes of predetermined size, and in then transferring the data from said buffer storage onto a final medium (for example magnetic cartridge). The invention is characterized in that it consists in recording on said permanent medium, after transferring the volumes from the buffer storage onto the final medium, a single sequence of data specific to each of said volumes (basic data), the method further comprising a step which consists in constituting a database wherein are recorded the basic data.

Claims

1. A method for saving computer data comprising:

transferring the data to be backed up from a client computer to a buffer memory formed by the hard disk of a backup server, organized into a plurality of volumes with predetermined sizes;

transferring the data from the buffer memory onto a permanent medium, wherein basic data for each of the plurality of volumes includes a unique sequence of data that is recorded on the permanent medium after said each volume and after the transfer onto the permanent medium; and

creating a database in which the basic data for said plurality of volumes are saved.

2. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a logical address of a start of the volume on the permanent medium and a logical address of an end of the volume on the permanent medium.

3. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes an approximate size of the volume.

4. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a number of a reader used to transfer the volume from the buffer memory to the permanent medium and a number of a disk on which the volume is located at the time that it is transferred to the permanent medium.

5. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a number of a disk partition in which the volume is located before it is transferred to the permanent medium.

6. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a processor number used to transfer the volume of the buffer memory to the permanent medium.

7. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a bar code of the permanent medium containing the volume.

8. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein the basic data for a volume includes a hexadecimal code indicating the cartridge type, a total size of data stored on the permanent medium, a maximum capacity of the permanent medium, a load counter indicating a number of times the permanent medium was loaded in a reader, a hexadecimal code indicating a state of the volume, a number of a host machine in a configuration to which the volume belongs, a character code used in the volume header, a date of a most recent write or modification made by the host machine, a time of a most recent write or modification made by the host machine, a date of a most recent read access of the volume by the host machine, a time of a most recent read access of the volume by the host machine, a date on which the volume in the buffer memory was transferred to the permanent medium, and a time at which the volume in the buffer memory was transferred to the permanent medium.

9. A method for saving computer data according to claim 1, wherein when a volume of the data is transferred from the permanent medium to the buffer memory when restoring the volume of the data to the client computer, the basic data for the volume is not restored.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the permanent medium is a magnetic cartridge.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the buffer memory is a disk cache.

12. Equipment for saving data comprising;

a backup server controlling a buffer memory organized into volumes of a predetermined size, and

a station for reading-writing permanent media, the backup server comprising a communication interface with at least one client computer for data exchanges, wherein the server also comprises a database for saving basic data and means of associating the basic data with data recorded temporarily in the volumes of the buffer memory in connection with writing the data to the permanent media, and for deleting the basic data when the data stored on the permanent media is transferred from the permanent media to the buffer memory.

13. A computer readable medium comprising code stored thereon for saving computer data where the code, when executed, performs a method comprising:

transferring the data to be backed up from a client computer to a buffer memory formed by the hard disk of a backup server, organized into a plurality of volumes with predetermined sizes;

transferring the data from the buffer memory onto a permanent medium, wherein basic data for each of the plurality of volumes includes a unique sequence of data that is recorded on the permanent medium after said each volume and after the transfer onto the permanent medium; and

creating a database in which the basic data for said plurality of volumes are saved.