Centralized content addressed storage
First Claim
1. A method for providing data protection, comprising:
- providing a virtualization layer on a computer architecture comprising a storage device storing a raw data set and a hardware subsystem;
running a first instance of a content addressed storage (CAS) application on the virtualization layer to create a backup data set from the raw data set, wherein the virtualization layer shields the content addressed storage application from the hardware subsystem by presenting a representation of a set of components of the hardware subsystem to the first instance of the CAS application;
running a second instance of the CAS application on the virtualization layer or on another virtualization layer, wherein both the first instance of the CAS application and the second instance of the CAS application are configured for backup operations and recovery operations; and
storing the backup data set to the representation of the set of components, wherein the backup data set is stored in an archive mechanism, and wherein data in the backup data set stored in the archive mechanism and created by the first instance of the CAS application can be recovered and restored by the second instance of the CAS application,wherein the first instance of the CAS application and the second instance of the CAS application are configurable to operate as independent instances and are configurable to operate together as a single CAS system to backup the same raw data set.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A centralized content addressed storage (CAS) application and a method for providing data protection are implemented by running a CAS application on a virtualization layer of a computer platform. The virtualization layer presents to the CAS application a normalized representation of a hardware subsystem of the computer platform, shielding the CAS application from actual hardware devices of the computer platform. A storage device of the computer platform is used to store a raw data set and the CAS application generates a backup data set of the raw data set. The CAS application stores the backup data set to an archive mechanism of the computer platform and can also restore and recover the raw data set in the event it is lost, corrupted or otherwise destroyed. Multiple CAS applications can be operated separately or together and they may be the same or differ.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for providing data protection, comprising:
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providing a virtualization layer on a computer architecture comprising a storage device storing a raw data set and a hardware subsystem; running a first instance of a content addressed storage (CAS) application on the virtualization layer to create a backup data set from the raw data set, wherein the virtualization layer shields the content addressed storage application from the hardware subsystem by presenting a representation of a set of components of the hardware subsystem to the first instance of the CAS application; running a second instance of the CAS application on the virtualization layer or on another virtualization layer, wherein both the first instance of the CAS application and the second instance of the CAS application are configured for backup operations and recovery operations; and storing the backup data set to the representation of the set of components, wherein the backup data set is stored in an archive mechanism, and wherein data in the backup data set stored in the archive mechanism and created by the first instance of the CAS application can be recovered and restored by the second instance of the CAS application, wherein the first instance of the CAS application and the second instance of the CAS application are configurable to operate as independent instances and are configurable to operate together as a single CAS system to backup the same raw data set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for centralized content addressed storage, the method comprising:
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providing a virtualization layer on a computer architecture that includes a storage device for storing raw data including point-in-time raw data; operating a storage system that includes a first instance of a storage application and a second instance of the storage application, the first instance of the storage application including a first content storage addressed storage system on the virtualization layer; operating a second instance of the storage application including a second content storage addressed storage system on the virtualization layer or on another virtualization layer, wherein the first and second instances of the storage application are configurable to operate independently in the computer architecture and are configurable to operate together as a single CAS system in the computer architecture, wherein both the first instance of the storage application and the second instance of the storage application are configured for backup operations and recovery operations; presenting a virtualized representation of the computer architecture to the first instance of the storage application with the virtualization layer, wherein the first storage application is shielded from the computer architecture by the virtualization layer; processing the raw data to create backup data that includes space efficient versions of the raw data with each of the first and second instances of the storage application; storing the space efficient versions of the raw data to an archive mechanism in the computer architecture, wherein both the first and the second instances of the storage application are operable to recover and restore the space efficient versions of the raw data stored in the archive mechanism created by either or both of the first and the second instances of the storage application when the first and second instances of the storage application operate independently and when the first and second instances of the storage application operate cooperatively as the single CAS application, and wherein the storage system is configured to span both real and virtual environments. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A content addressed storage system, comprising:
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a storage system that includes a first instance of a content addressed storage (CAS) application and a second instance of the CAS application; the first instance of the CAS application provided on a virtualization layer on a first hardware subsystem, wherein the virtualization layer shields the first instance of the CAS application from the first hardware subsystem by presenting a set of components of the first hardware subsystem to the first instance of the CAS application; and a second instance of the CAS application provided on a second virtualization layer on a second hardware subsystem, wherein the second virtualization layer shields the second instance of the CAS application from the second hardware subsystem by presenting a set of components of the second hardware subsystem to the second instance of the CAS application, wherein the first hardware subsystem and the second hardware subsystem are subsystems of a hardware system, wherein the first and second instances of the CAS system are configurable to operate as independent instances and are configurable to operate together as a single CAS system to create a backup data set from a raw data set, wherein the backup data set is a space efficient version of the raw data set and is associated with both the first and the second instances of the CAS application, wherein the backup data set stored in storage includes data from both the first and the second instances of the CAS application and wherein the backup data set can be recovered and restored by either or both the first and second instances of the CAS application when the first and second instances of the CAS application are operating as the single CAS system and when the first and second instances of the CAS application are operating as independent instances, wherein the first instance of the CAS application and the second instance of the CAS application are configured for backup operations and recovery operations and wherein the storage system is heterogeneous and configurable to span both real and virtual environments.
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Specification