SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING AND MANAGING QUICK RECOVERY VOLUMES

• US 20080183775A1
• Filed: 01/22/2008
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: PRAHLAD, ANAND, Schwartz, Jeremy A., May, Andreas, Alexander, John, Pittaluga, Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1466 to make the backup process non-disruptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The invention relates to computer readable medium storing program code which when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform a method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set used by a first computer in a backup storage system, which includes identifying a snapshot image of the primary data set generated by a snapshot application, creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set and controlling transfer of data from the first computer to an archival storage unit. In one embodiment, the invention provides a method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set that includes creating a snapshot image of the primary data set and creating a quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set. In another embodiment, the invention provides a user interface screen enabling browser style browsing and recovery of quick recovery volumes and snapshot images.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled)

13. A computer system comprising:

an archival storage unit; and

a programmed computer for controlling data transfer from the computer to the archival storage unit to create a quick recovery volume of a primary data set, the computer providing a snapshot image of the primary data set, and creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image for the primary data set.

14. The computer system of claim 13, the archival storage unit connected to the programmed computer over a communication network.

15. The computer system of claim 14, comprising at least one server computer communicatively coupled to the programmed computer and archival storage unit and programmed for controlling data transfer from the computer to the archival storage unit.

16. A method for creating a quick recovery volume of a primary data set of a first computer, the method comprising:

creating a snapshot image of the primary data set; and

creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set as a disk-to-disk data-block-level replication of the primary data set.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising creating the quick recovery volume of the primary data set as an incremental backup of a previous quick recovery volume of the primary data set.

19. The method of claim 16, comprising synchronizing with an operating system to flush all data of the primary data set to an archival storage unit during the creation of the snapshot image of the primary data set.

22. The method of claim 16, comprising performing a block-level copy of the primary data set from the snapshot image of the primary data set.

23. The method of claim 16, comprising indexing the snapshot image of the primary data set.

24. The method of claim 16, comprising deleting the snapshot image of the primary data set at a selected time, wherein the selected time comprises one of immediately after a copy phase and after a persistence period.

20. (canceled)

21. The method of claim 20, wherein suspending and resuming are accomplished one of automatically, and manually with user-supplied command line commands during presnapshot and post-snapshot phases.

25. A computer readable medium storing programming code, which when executed causes a computer to present a snapshot manager that interfaces with a backup storage system, the snapshot manager enabling users to browse snapshot images and enabling users to recover snapshot images stored in the backup storage system.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 25, the snapshot manager interfacing with a volume snapshot service for creating a snapshot image.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the stored program code further comprises a snapshot requester program module that packages data for the snapshot image, the packaged data communicated to the volume snapshot service for creating the snapshot image.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 26, comprising a snapshot requester program module, and a snapshot writer program module directed by the snapshot requester program module to package data for the snapshot image, the writer program module packaging data for a specific application, the packaged data communicated to the volume snapshot service for creating the snapshot image.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the snapshot manager program module indexes snapshot images, snapshot indexing enabling at least one of copying, deleting, displaying, browsing, changing properties, and recovering snapshot images.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the indexing comprises indexing in terms of objects native to particular applications.