Continuous data protection of files stored on a remote storage device

• US 8,706,694 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2009
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AmZetta Technologies, LLC (American Megatrends International, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Megatrends Incorporated
• Inventors: Chatterjee, Paresh, Samuel Enoch, Sharon, Narayanan, Ajit
• Primary Examiner(s): Reyes, Mariela
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/472,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20100017444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: 707/640
• US Class Current: 707/640
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for providing file-level CDP of files stored on a remote storage system. A client module executing on a client computer monitors for modifications made at the client computer to files or folders stored on a virtual storage volume provided by the remote storage system. Upon detecting a modification of a monitored file, the client module sends a message to the remote storage system identifying the file. A server module executing in the remote storage system receives the message identifying the modified file and copies a version of the file containing the modification from the virtual storage volume to a backup volume located in the remote storage system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing continuous data protection (“

CDP”

) for a file stored on a virtual storage volume in a data storage system, the method comprising;

executing a CDP client module on a client computer utilizing the virtual storage volume for storage, the client computer being communicatively connected to the data storage system through a network, the virtual storage volume being accessible to the client computer through the network, the CDP client module configured to;

detect a modification to the file stored on the virtual storage volume made at the client computer, and

upon detecting the modification, send a message over the network to the data storage system identifying the file and indicating a time of the modification, wherein the message includes only a filename identifying the file and the time of the modification; and

executing a CDP server module in the data storage system containing the virtual storage volume, the CDP server module configured to;

receive the message identifying the file and indicating the time of the modification,

determine if a time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification, and

in response to determining that the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification included in the message sent over the network, locally copy a version of the file containing the modification from the virtual storage volume in the data storage system to a backup volume in the data storage system without writing the version of the file containing the modification over the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual storage volume is a storage area network (“

SAN”

) volume.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the CDP server module accesses the file on the virtual storage volume by mounting the SAN volume through a file system driver.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the backup volume is a network attached storage (“

NAS”

) volume.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the CDP server module is further configured to apply one or more of compression and encryption to the version of the file copied to the backup volume.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the CDP client module is further configured to, upon detecting the modification to the file, wait a specific period of time before sending the message in order to ensure a write cache for the virtual storage volume has been flushed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the CDP server module is further configured to, upon determining that the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume does not substantially match the time of the modification, force a flush of a read cache for the virtual storage volume and then re-determine if the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume substantially matches the time of the modification.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer utilizing a virtual storage volume in a data storage system for storage, the computer being communicatively connected to the data storage system through a network, the virtual storage volume being accessible to the computer through the network, cause the computer to:

detect a modification to a file stored on the virtual storage volume made at the computer; and

upon detecting the modification, send a message over the network to the data storage system identifying the file, wherein the message includes only a filename identifying the file and a time of the modification,

wherein the data storage system is configured to receive the message identifying the file and, in response to determining that a time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification included in the message sent over the network, locally copy a version of the file containing the modification from the virtual storage volume in the data storage system to a backup volume in the data storage system, without writing the version of the file containing the modification over the network.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the data storage system is further configured to only copy the version of the file to the backup volume upon determining that a time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the virtual storage volume is a storage area network (“

SAN”

) volume.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the backup volume is a network attached storage (“

NAS”

) volume.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the data storage system is further configured to apply one or more of compression and encryption to the version of the file copied to the backup volume.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, having further computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to, upon detecting the modification to the file, wait a specific period of time before sending the message in order to ensure a write cache for the virtual storage volume has been flushed.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the data storage system is further configured to, upon determining that the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume does not substantially match the time of the modification, force a flush of a read cache for the virtual storage volume and then re-determine if the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume substantially matches the time of the modification.

15. A system for continuously protecting a file stored on a virtual storage volume, the system comprising:

a data storage server computer and a client computer communicatively connected through a network, the virtual storage volume being accessible to the client computer through the network, each of the data storage server computer and the client computer comprising a processor and memory in communication with the processor;

a client module including computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the client computer that, when executed by the processor of the client computer utilizing the virtual storage volume for storage, cause the processor of the client computer to

detect a modification to the file stored on the virtual storage volume made at the client computer, and

upon detecting the modification, send a message over the network to the data storage server computer identifying the file and indicating a time of the modification, wherein the message includes only a filename identifying the file and a time of the modification; and

a server module including computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the data storage server computer that, when executed by the processor of the data storage server computer containing the virtual storage volume, cause the processor of the data storage server computer to

receive the message identifying the file and indicating the time of the modification,

determine if a time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification, and

in response to determining that the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume matches the time of the modification included in the message sent over the network, locally copy a version of the file containing the modification from the virtual storage volume in the data storage server computer to a backup volume in the data storage server computer, without writing the version of the file containing the modification over the network.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the virtual storage volume is a storage area network (“

SAN”

) volume.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the backup volume is a network attached storage (“

NAS”

) volume.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the server module includes further computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the data storage server computer that, when executed by the processor of the data storage server computer, cause the processor of the data storage server computer to apply one or more of compression and encryption to the version of the file copied to the backup volume.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the client module includes further computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the client computer that, when executed by the processor of the client computer, cause the processor of the client computer to, upon detecting the modification to the file, wait a specific period of time before sending the message in order to ensure a write cache for the virtual storage volume has been flushed.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the server module includes further computer-executable instructions stored in the memory of the data storage server computer that, when executed by the processor of the data storage server computer, cause the processor of the data storage server computer to, upon determining that the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume does not substantially match the time of the modification, force a flush of a read cache for the virtual storage volume and then re-determine if the time of last update of the file on the virtual storage volume substantially matches the time of the modification.