Recovery point data view formation with generation of a recovery view and a coalesce policy

• US 8,527,470 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2008
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: InMage Systems, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Atluri, Rajeev, Pannerselvam, Sudhakar, Shah, Jayesh, Kumar, Satish, Kumar, Srin
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Phuong Thao
• Application Number:
  US12/344,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20100169283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,712 Days
• Field of Search: 707/674, 707/999.204, 707/640
• US Class Current: 707/674
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data

Abstract

Methods, software suites, networks, and systems of recovery point data view formation with generation of a recovery view and a coalesce policy are disclosed. In one embodiment, a network includes a virtualization module to form a data view around a recovery point, a recovery module to generate a recovery snapshot having an ability to position forward and backward from the recovery point when a rolling algorithm is applied, and an events module to generate a coalesce policy around the recovery point to reduce a storage requirement. The network may include an export module to transfer the data view to an external processing device as a virtual volume using one or more of an iSCSI and a fiber channel transport interface. The export module may automatically communicate the data view to a backup tape to provide extended data retention using a lifecycle management policy.

Claims

1. A network, comprising:

a client device associated with the network to generate a data operation;

a virtualization module configured to communicate with the client device through the network to form a data view around a recovery point following at least one of a pause and a suspension of the data operation;

a recovery module configured to communicate with the client device through the network to generate a recovery snapshot at a predetermined interval characteristic of the recovery point in accordance with an appropriate request from the client device, the recovery snapshot having an ability to position forward and backward from the recovery point when a rolling algorithm is applied, thereby providing an ability to roll to a data state occurring earlier in time compared to the recovery point and to a data state occurring later in time compared to the recovery point; and

an events module configured to communicate with the client device through the network to generate a coalesce policy around the recovery point to reduce a storage requirement, the events module being configured to indicate the predetermined interval at which the recovery snapshot is generated.

2. The network of claim 1, further comprising an export module to transfer the data view to an external processing device as a virtual volume using at least one of an iSCSI and a fiber channel transport interface.

3. The network of claim 2, wherein the export module automatically communicates the data view to a backup tape to provide extended data retention in accordance with a lifecycle management policy.

4. The network of claim 1, further comprising an instantiation module of the virtualization module to generate a virtual view of a data state and to communicate the virtual view to a virtual view database.

5. The network of claim 1, further comprising a pausing module to pause at least one of the data operation and a client operation.

6. The network of claim 4, wherein the virtual view is specific to a volume object in a kernel that imitates another volume having an original data.

7. The network of claim 6, wherein the virtual view is managed by a kernel space that processes an access request through at least one table using a meta-data created in a retention log.

8. The network of claim 4, wherein a change log data is applied when the virtual view is unfrozen after a user session reaches a level state.

9. The network of claim 1, wherein the coalesce policy is used to determine a variable quantity of data to be coalesced based on an algorithm.

10. The network of claim 9, wherein the algorithm is affected by space utilization and a data consistency with at least one of a data prior to the recovery point and data after the recovery point.

11. The network of claim 1, further comprising an age dependent data mechanism to coalesce data based on a coalescing policies database and a coalescing module.

12. The network of claim 1, wherein the coalesce policy affects a number of data points retained for a selected time period.

13. The network of claim 1, wherein the coalesce policy is altered by at least one of a repeated time interval, a system event, a configuration change, an access event, and an event module indication.

14. A method, comprising:

generating a data operation from a client device associated with a network;

forming a data view around a recovery point through communicating with the client device through the network following at least one of a pause and a suspension of the data operation;

generating, in accordance with an appropriate request from the client device through the network, a recovery snapshot at a predetermined interval characteristic of the recovery point indicated through an events module, the recovery snapshot having an ability to position forward and backward from the recovery point when a rolling algorithm is applied, thereby providing an ability to roll to a data state occurring earlier in time compared to the recovery point and to a data state occurring later in time compared to the recovery point; and

generating, through communication with the client device through the network, a coalesce policy around the recovery point to reduce a storage requirement.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising transferring the data view to an external processing device as a virtual volume using at least one of an iSCSI and a fiber channel transport interface.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising automatically communicating the data view to a backup tape to provide extended data retention in accordance with a lifecycle management policy.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising generating a virtual view of a data state and communicating the virtual view to a virtual view database.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising pausing at least one of the data operation and a client operation when the virtual view is generated.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising managing the virtual view using a kernel space that processes an access request through at least one table using a meta-data created in a retention log.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions embodied therein that are executed through a computing system, comprising:

instructions for forming a data view around a recovery point through communicating with a client device through a network following at least one of a pause and a suspension of a data operation generated by the client device;

instructions for generating, in accordance with an appropriate request from the client device through the network, a recovery snapshot at a predetermined interval characteristic of the recovery point indicated through an events module, the recovery snapshot having an ability to position forward and backward from the recovery point when a rolling algorithm is applied, thereby providing an ability to roll to a data state occurring earlier in time compared to the recovery point and to a data state occurring later in time compared to the recovery point; and

instructions for generating, through communication with the client device through the network, a coalesce policy around the recovery point to reduce a storage requirement.