Backup systems and methods for a virtual computing environment
First Claim
1. A method for performing backup of virtual machine data to a target datastore, the method comprising:
- initiating a backup process executing on a backup computing device to access one or more virtual machine disks stored on a datastore, the one or more virtual machine disks being comprised of a plurality of data blocks, the backup computing device comprising a volatile memory and nonvolatile storage that is different from the target datastore;
intercepting a plurality of calls made by the backup process to create a backup of the one or more virtual machine disks to the target datastore, the plurality of calls comprising;
(1) at least one open call programmed to open a proxy backup file at a first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device, the open call programmed to reserve space at the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage for the requested size of the proxy backup file, and(2) at least one write call programmed to write a proxy backup copy of each of the one or more virtual machine disks to the proxy backup file at the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device;
for each intercepted open call, substituting the open call with at least a second open call programmed to;
open a sparse file at the first destination location, the sparse file providing the appearance that the proxy backup file having the requested size was opened at the first destination location;
for each intercepted write call, substituting the intercepted write call with at least a second write call, wherein the at least the second write call is further programmed to;
transfer the data block associated with the particular intercepted write call to the volatile memory of the backup computing device without writing the data block to the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device,compute a signature of the data block while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the backup computing device, andcompare the computed signature with a predetermined signature while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the backup computing device;
for each data block having a computed signature that differs from the predetermined signature;
compressing the data block while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the computing device; and
redirecting the compressed data block stored in the volatile memory to a second destination location on the target datastore that is different than the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device,wherein the redirecting occurs without writing the compressed data block to the nonvolatile storage of the computing device; and
for each data block having a computed signature that matches the predetermined signature;
disregarding the data block.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Improved backup and storage operations are disclosed for virtual computing environments using a backup proxy server to perform storage operations on one or more virtual machine disks. The proxy server can include a module that intercepts application programming interface (API) calls, for writing backup data to a first location, prior to the data arriving on the proxy disk. During the intercept process, the data can be compressed in memory pages of the proxy server and redirected to an alternative backup disk location. The proxy server can also include a differential engine that identifies changes to the virtual machine disk at the block level since the last full backup. The differential engine can advantageously leverage memory pages of the proxy server to compare differences between signatures of blocks of the last full backup with signatures of new blocks. Subsequently, only blocks with non-matching signatures are processed for backup.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for performing backup of virtual machine data to a target datastore, the method comprising:
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initiating a backup process executing on a backup computing device to access one or more virtual machine disks stored on a datastore, the one or more virtual machine disks being comprised of a plurality of data blocks, the backup computing device comprising a volatile memory and nonvolatile storage that is different from the target datastore; intercepting a plurality of calls made by the backup process to create a backup of the one or more virtual machine disks to the target datastore, the plurality of calls comprising; (1) at least one open call programmed to open a proxy backup file at a first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device, the open call programmed to reserve space at the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage for the requested size of the proxy backup file, and (2) at least one write call programmed to write a proxy backup copy of each of the one or more virtual machine disks to the proxy backup file at the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device; for each intercepted open call, substituting the open call with at least a second open call programmed to; open a sparse file at the first destination location, the sparse file providing the appearance that the proxy backup file having the requested size was opened at the first destination location; for each intercepted write call, substituting the intercepted write call with at least a second write call, wherein the at least the second write call is further programmed to; transfer the data block associated with the particular intercepted write call to the volatile memory of the backup computing device without writing the data block to the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device, compute a signature of the data block while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the backup computing device, and compare the computed signature with a predetermined signature while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the backup computing device; for each data block having a computed signature that differs from the predetermined signature; compressing the data block while the data block is stored in the volatile memory of the computing device; and redirecting the compressed data block stored in the volatile memory to a second destination location on the target datastore that is different than the first destination location on the nonvolatile storage of the backup computing device, wherein the redirecting occurs without writing the compressed data block to the nonvolatile storage of the computing device; and for each data block having a computed signature that matches the predetermined signature; disregarding the data block. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22)
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12. A system for performing backup of virtual machine data, the system comprising:
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a storage device comprising one or more virtual machine disks; and an intercept module configured to redirect backup operations of a backup module executing on a proxy computing device, the intercept module configured to access a plurality of data blocks of the one or more virtual machine disks, the intercept module further comprising, a proxy application configured to instruct the backup module to initiate a backup of the one or more virtual machine disks via a plurality of application programming interface (API) calls to create a proxy backup file in a first destination location on a disk of the proxy computing device, wherein the proxy backup file comprises a copy of the one or more virtual machine disks, and a library module configured to replace select API calls of the plurality of API calls by the backup module with alternative functions to; ignore a call to reserve space for the proxy backup file on the disk of the proxy computing device; transfer each data block associated with a write call of the select API calls to a buffer memory of the proxy computing device without writing the data block to a disk of the proxy computing device, compute a signature of the data block while the data block is stored in the buffer memory of the proxy computing device, compare the computed signature with a predetermined signature while the data block is stored in the buffer memory of the proxy computing device, and for each data block having a computed signature that differs from the predetermined signature; redirecting the data block from the buffer memory of the proxy computing device to a second destination location on a target datastore, the second destination on the target datastore being different from the first destination location on the proxy computing device, wherein the redirecting occurs without writing the data block to the disk of the proxy computing device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23)
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21. A method for performing backup of virtual machine data, the method comprising:
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intercepting an open call for opening a proxy backup file at a first destination location on a proxy disk, the open call programmed to reserve space on the proxy disk for a requested size of the proxy backup file; substituting the open call with a second open call to open a target backup file at a second destination location on a backup datastore that is different than the proxy disk; intercepting a plurality of write calls for creating a backup copy of a plurality of data blocks of a virtual machine disk at the first destination location on the proxy disk; substituting each intercepted write call with a second write call, wherein the second write call is programmed to; transfer the data block associated with the particular write call to a memory without first writing the data block to the proxy disk, compute a signature of the data block, and compare the computed signature with a predetermined signature; for each data block having a computed signature that differs from the predetermined signature, storing the data block to the target backup file at the second destination location on the backup datastore, without storing the data block on the proxy disk; and disregarding each data block having a computed signature that matches the predetermined signature.
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Specification