Backup service with managed file transformation

• US 9,921,921 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2015
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Alatorre, Gabriel, Butler, Eric K., Griffin, Thomas D., Jadav, Divyesh, Mandagere, Nagapramod S., Singh, Aameek, Song, Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US14/737,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20160364301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data

Abstract

Data files can be backed up by copying, in response to a backup request, files from a client device to a backup archive and recording the status of the files. Transformed copies of files in the backup archive can be created by automatically applying a transform to the files received from the client device. Upon receiving a subsequent backup request, differences can be identified between transformed files in the backup archive and files on the client device, and in response to identified differences in the files, the transformed files can be copied back to the client device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for backing up electronically stored data files from a client device to a backup archive communicatively coupled to the client device, the method executed on at least one computer processor circuit in communication with a memory, the at least one computer processor circuit configured to obtain instructions from the memory that cause the at least one computer processor circuit to execute the method, the method comprising:

receiving a first request to back up a first set of data files from a client device to a backup archive;

copying, in response to the first request, with a client backup engine, to the backup archive, and recording, with a transform engine, a file transformation status of an original instance of an at least one data file from the first set of data files;

creating and recording the file transformation status of, with the transform engine in conjunction with a set of transforms and a transform map table, in the backup archive, an at least one transformed data file that includes a transformed instance of the at least one data file, by applying an at least one transform, selected from the set of transforms in accordance with the transform map table, to the original instance of the at least one data file;

receiving a second request to back up, from the client device to the backup archive, a second set of data files;

identifying, with a data file comparison program, in response to the second request, the at least one transformed data file with an instance in the backup archive that has a different file transformation status than an instance of the at least one transformed data file in the client device; and

sending, with the transform engine, in response to the identifying, the at least one transformed data file from the backup archive to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining the set of transforms by adding at least one additional transform to the set of transforms and by adding corresponding data file and transform mapping information to the transform map table.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of transforms includes at least one transform from a group consisting of:

executable programs and data file filters.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the transform map table is used in a selection, from the set of transforms, of the at least one transform to apply to the original instance of the at least one data file.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in conjunction with copying, to the backup archive, the original instance of at least one data file from the first set of data files, recording the file transformation status of the at least one data file to indicate that the original instance of at least one data file is backed up.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in conjunction with creating in the backup archive at least one transformed data file that includes a transformed instance of the at least one data file, recording the file transformation status of the at least one transformed data file to indicate that a transformed copy is ready.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of transforms includes at least one transform configured to perform lossless Roshal Archive (RAR) file compression.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of transforms includes at least one transform configured to perform lossless ZIP file compression.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating and recording the file transformation status of the at least one transformed data file, by applying the at least one transform to the original instance of the at least one data file includes selecting, from the set of transforms, a transform configured to append metadata to the original instance of the at least one data file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating and recording the file transformation status of the at least one transformed data file, by applying the at least one transform to the original instance of the at least one data file includes selecting, from the set of transforms, a transform configured to append user messages to the original instance of the at least one data file.

11. A computer program product for backing up electronically stored data files from a client device to a backup archive communicatively coupled to the client device, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the at least one computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by at least one computer hardware processor circuit to cause the at least one computer hardware processor circuit to perform a method comprising:

receiving a first request to back up a first set of data files from a client device to a backup archive;

copying, in response to the first request, with a client backup engine, to the backup archive, and recording, with a transform engine, a file transformation status of an original instance of an at least one data file from the first set of data files;

creating and recording the file transformation status of, with the transform engine in conjunction with a set of transforms and a transform map table, in the backup archive, an at least one transformed data file that includes a transformed instance of the at least one data file, by applying an at least one transform, selected from the set of transforms in accordance with the transform map table, to the original instance of the at least one data file;

receiving a second request to back up, from the client device to the backup archive, a second set of data files;

identifying, with a data file comparison program, in response to the second request, the at least one transformed data file with an instance in the backup archive that has a different file transformation status than an instance of the at least one transformed data file in the client device; and

sending, with the transform engine, in response to the identifying, the at least one transformed data file from the backup archive to the client device.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the original instance and the transformed instance of at least one data file from the first set of data files each include at least one data element, related to the at least one data file, representing a group of data items consisting of:

data file transformation status, applied transforms, file metadata, data file version, messages to a system user, content enhancements, and reverse transform data.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the data element representing messages to a system user contains information indicating that at least one transformed data file has been sent from the backup archive to the client device.

14. An electronic system for backing up electronically stored data files from a client device to a backup archive communicatively coupled to the client device, the electronic system comprising:

a memory; and

at least one computer hardware processor in communication with the memory, wherein the at least one computer hardware processor is configured to obtain instructions from the memory that cause the at least one computer processor circuit to perform a method, the method comprising;

receiving a first request to back up a first set of data files from a client device to a backup archive;

copying, in response to the first request, with a client backup engine, to the backup archive, and recording, with a transform engine, a file transformation status of an original instance of an at least one data file from the first set of data files;

creating and recording the file transformation status of, with the transform engine in conjunction with a set of transforms and a transform map table, in the backup archive, an at least one transformed data file that includes a transformed instance of the at least one data file, by applying an at least one transform, selected from the set of transforms in accordance with the transform map table, to the original instance of the at least one data file;

receiving a second request to back up, from the client device to the backup archive, a second set of data files;

identifying, with a data file comparison program, in response to the second request, the at least one transformed data file with an instance in the backup archive that has a different file transformation status than an instance of the at least one transformed data file in the client device; and

sending, with the transform engine, in response to the identifying, the at least one transformed data file from the backup archive to the client device.

15. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

maintaining, in the backup archive, the set of transforms by adding the at least one transform to the set of transforms and by adding data file and transform correspondence information to a transform map table.

16. The electronic system of claim 15, wherein the transform map table is used in a selection, from the set of transforms, of the at least one transform to apply to the original instance of the at least one data file.

17. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the set of transforms includes at least one transform from a group consisting of:

executable programs and data file filters.

18. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

in conjunction with copying to the backup archive the original instance of at least one data file from the first set of data files, recording the file transformation status of the at least one data file to indicate that the first the original instance of at least one data file is backed up.

19. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

in conjunction with creating in the backup archive at least one transformed data file that includes a transformed instance of the at least one data file, recording the data file transformation status of the at least one transformed data file to indicate that a transformed data file copy is ready.