Process for cataloging data objects backed up from a content addressed storage system

• US 8,626,741 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2007
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Vijayakumar, Bala, Tokuri, Suman, Srinivasan, Ramachandaran
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US11/818,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,398 Days
• Field of Search: 707/200, 707/741, 707/780, 707/640, 707/713, 707/716, 707/740, 707/802, 711/162, 709/218, 709/238
• US Class Current: 707/713
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/164 File meta data generation

Abstract

A process for organizing data objects backed up from a content-addressed storage systems is disclosed. Content-addressed storage systems back up data objects in a flat directory, labeling them with non-intuitive user-unfriendly content addresses. Such directories can be large and difficult to browse, making selective recovery of desired data objects inefficient and laborious. When the content-addressed storage system is further archived to a secondary storage device, such as tape, navigation of archived data objects is especially tedious and difficult. An embodiment of the present invention enables easy navigation of a data object directory created by building a pseudo-file structure as content addressed data objects are archived to a secondary backup device. The file structure of the data object director is based upon timestamp metadata extracted from each data object, resulting in a navigable directory tree that is more intuitive and user-friendly.

Claims

1. A process for creating a navigable index of data objects stored in a content addressed storage system, comprising:

providing from a primary content-addressed storage system at least one data object for storage in a secondary content-addressed storage device, the data object having metadata associated therewith including at least one timestamp metadata about the data object;

extracting, by a software module, the timestamp metadata associated with the data object;

organizing the extracted timestamp metadata and the data object associated with the extracted timestamp data into an index based on the timestamp metadata; and

displaying a navigable visual representation of the index on a user interface including virtual folders to group data objects stored in a flat directory of the secondary content-addressed storage device based on the extracted timestamp data.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the extracted metadata is the data object'"'"'s time of creation.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the extracted metadata is the data object'"'"'s time of last modification.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising the additional step of generating an inode number for the data object and providing the inode number to the data mover agent module.

5. A process for creating a navigable index of data objects stored in a content addressed storage system, comprising:

providing from a primary content-addressed storage system at least two data objects for storage in a secondary storage content-addressed device, the data objects each having respective metadata associated therewith including at least one timestamp metadata about each respective data object;

extracting, by a software module, the timestamp metadata associated with each respective data object;

organizing the extracted timestamp metadata and the data object associated with the extracted timestamp data into an index based on the timestamp metadata; and

for those data objects with timestamp metadata corresponding to the same year, month, day and hour, transmitting those data objects to the secondary content-addressed storage device; and

displaying a navigable visual representation of the index on a user interface including virtual folders to group data objects stored in a flat directory of the secondary content-addressed storage device based on the extracted timestamp data.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein the extracted metadata is each data object'"'"'s time of creation.

7. The process of claim 5, wherein the extracted metadata is each data object'"'"'s time of last modification.

8. The process of claim 5, further comprising the additional step of generating an inode number for each data object and providing the inode number to the data mover agent module.

9. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computer program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a process for creating a navigable index of data objects stored in a content addressed storage system, the process comprising:

providing from a primary content-addressed storage system at least one data object for storage in a secondary content-addressed storage device, the data object having metadata associated therewith including at least one timestamp metadata about the data object;

extracting, by a software module, the timestamp metadata associated with the data object;

organizing the extracted timestamp metadata and the data object associated with the extracted timestamp data into an index based on the timestamp metadata; and

displaying a navigable visual representation of the index on a user interface including virtual folders to group data objects stored in a flat directory of the secondary content-addressed storage device based on the extracted timestamp data.

10. A process for cataloging data objects in backup operations for a content addressed storage system, wherein the data objects are stored in a flat, single-tiered directory without folders or sub-folders, and each data object has content and metadata associated therewith, comprising:

identifying a plurality of data objects to be backed up from a first content-addressed storage system to a second content-addressed storage system;

extracting selected metadata associated with each identified data object;

creating an index for the data objects from the extracted metadata, the index including the extracted timestamp data and the data objects associated with the extracted timestamp data; and

displaying a navigable representation of the index on a user interface including virtual folders to group data objects stored in a flat directory of the secondary content-addressed storage device based on the extracted timestamp data.