Manipulating electronic backups

• US 8,307,004 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Weiss, Eric, Cisler, Pavel, McInerney, Peter, Giampaolo, Dominic
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Isaac M
• Application Number:
  US11/760,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20080307019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,978 Days
• Field of Search: 707600-861
• US Class Current: 707/791
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1466 to make the backup process non-disruptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for storing and restoring digital data. In some implementations, a method is provided. The method includes initiating a backup operation of data including a plurality of items, interrupting the backup operation, where interrupting occurs after a portion of the data has been completed, receiving an input to resume the backup operation, identifying a previously completed portion of the backup data, and performing a backup of a remaining uncompleted portion of the backup data. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, computer program products, and computer readable media.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating a backup operation of data including a plurality of items;

interrupting the backup operation, where interrupting occurs after a portion of backup data generated by the backup operation has been completed;

receiving an input to resume the backup operation;

identifying the completed portion of the backup data, including comparing timestamps on written backup data to a timestamp of a last completed backup operation; and

performing a backup of a remaining uncompleted portion of the data using one or more processors.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring for modifications to one or more items of the plurality of items during the backup operation;

completing the backup operation; and

performing a second backup for the modified items.

3. The method of claim 1, where interrupting the backup operation includes receiving a user input that causes the backup to be interrupted.

4. The method of claim 3, where receiving the user input includes receiving a log out request.

5. The method of claim 3, where receiving the user input includes receiving a shut down request.

6. The method of claim 1, where interrupting the backup includes interrupting the backup in response to a system crash.

7. The method of claim 1, where receiving an input to resume the backup operation includes receiving a user request to resume the backup.

8. The method of claim 1, where receiving an input to resume the backup operation includes receiving an automatic request to resume the backup.

9. The method of claim 8, where an automatic request to resume is received when a user logs into the system after interrupting the backup operation.

10. The method of claim 1, where identifying the completed portion of the backup data includes identifying backup data written to the backup before the backup was interrupted.

11. The method of claim 10, where identifying backup data written to the backup includes identifying a timestamp of the backup data.

12. The method of claim 10, where identifying backup data written to the backup includes identifying backup data that has not been marked as complete.

13. The method of claim 1, where identifying the completed portion of the backup data includes identifying a portion of a file system included in the completed portion.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

restoring data including a first item using a corresponding item of the backup.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein performing a backup of a remaining uncompleted portion of the data includes:

determining that one or more modifications to data in the backup occurred to data items in the completed portion of the backup data; and

modifying the backup data based on the one or more determined modifications.

16. A computer program product, encoded on a computer-readable medium, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

initiating a backup operation of data including a plurality of items;

interrupting the backup operation, where interrupting occurs after a portion of backup data generated by the backup operation has been completed;

receiving an input to resume the backup operation;

identifying the completed portion of the backup data, including comparing timestamps on written backup data to a timestamp of a last completed backup operation; and

performing a backup of a remaining uncompleted portion of the data.

17. A system comprising:

one or more processors configured to perform operations including;

initiating a backup operation of data including a plurality of items;

interrupting the backup operation, where interrupting occurs after a portion of backup data generated by the backup operation has been completed;

receiving an input to resume the backup operation;

identifying the completed portion of the backup data, including comparing timestamps on written backup data to a timestamp of a last completed backup operation; and

performing a backup of a remaining uncompleted portion of the data.