Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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VIRTUAL RECOVERY AND REPLICATION OF UNSTRUCTURED DATA
BACKGROUND
[0001] Many companies today use on-premises and cloud based Server Storage and
backup
solutions to store and protect their data, including high-value data. The data
typically includes
both structured data (data stored as clearly-defined data types in a pattern
that makes the data
easily searchable, e.g., databases and database files) and unstructured data
(data that are less-
easily searchable, e.g., text files, images, videos, PDF (portable document
format) files, etc.).
Structured data may be stored in fields or records to facilitate searching
whereas unstructured
data may have internal structure but are not structured by pre-defined data
models or schema. In
a typical enterprise, International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that
unstructured data makes
up over 80% of a company's data. IDC also estimates that of an enterprise's
unstructured data,
over 80% of the data is inactive, e.g., having not been accessed in over a
year. Unfortunately, the
same high-cost storage and backup solutions that enterprises use to store and
protect their active
data is used to store and protect the 80% of inactive unstructured data. To
make matters worse,
in the case of a disaster or a ransomware attack, where access to all data
must be restored,
recovery downtimes are extended due to the time needed to restore the inactive
data, delaying
access to active data. For cloud-based backup solutions, the cost for
retrieving data includes the
opportunity cost of lost time, e.g., fees for services that are not earned
while a business is waiting
for data to be restored. For example, if an entity has 1 terabyte (TByte) of
data to be restored,
and the company has a download speed of 50 Mbps, then restoring the entire 1
TByte of data will
take 44.4 hours, or nearly two days, to restore the data. The opportunity cost
may be lost
revenue, and incurred expenses, for up to two days in this example. This cost
may be further
compounded by damage to customer relationships due to lack of availability of
the company's
services while the company is waiting for data to be restored.
[0002] Referring to FIG. 1, a data storage and retrieval system 510 includes a
primary data center
512, a secondary data center 514, and the Internet 515. The primary data
center 512, the
secondary data center 514, and the Internet 515 are configured such that the
Internet 515 can
communicate bi-directionally with each of the primary data center 512 and the
secondary data
center 514. The primary data center 512 may be, for example, a business, or
part of a business,
that uses digital data and backs up its digital data remotely from the
location of the primary data
center 512 to help ensure data is available for recovery.
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100031 The primary data center 512 includes a primary unstructured data
storage 520, an on-
premises server 522, a local-area network (LAN) 524, a transceiver 526, and
computers 527, 528,
529. The primary unstructured data storage 520 may be, for example, a disk
drive or an SSD
(solid state drive). The primary unstructured data storage 520 may include,
and/or may be
communicatively coupled to, a processor containing non-transitory processor-
readable memory
storing appropriate processor-readable instructions configured to cause the
processor to perform
functions discussed herein as being performed by the primary unstructured data
storage 520.
Here, the primary unstructured data storage 520 may store active unstructured
data and/or
inactive unstructured data. Storage for structured data is not shown and all
data stored in the
primary unstructured data storage 520 are unstructured data. Active data are
data that have
recently been accessed, e.g., previously accessed per a request of one of the
computers 527-529
within a threshold amount of time such as one year from the present time.
Inactive data are data
that have not been recently accessed, e.g., with a last access having been
more than a threshold
amount of time ago such as one year. The unstructured data are typically not
as easily searchable
as structured data and may include data files, e.g., of text documents, audio
files, video files,
emails, social media postings, etc. The on-premises server 522 stores
unstructured data 530 for
the primary data center. While shown in the primary data center 512, the
primary unstructured
data storage 520 need not be on the same premises (e.g., in the same building)
as other portions
of the primary data center 512, but is typically is disposed at the same
premises as other portions
of the primary data center 512. The on-prem server 522 includes an agent 521
that may comprise
software executed by a processor of the on-prem file server 522 to back up
data from the primary
unstructured data storage 520 in a backup unstructured data storage 544 of the
secondary data
center 514, and to restore (bring back) data from the backup unstructured data
storage 544, e.g.,
to a replacement of the primary unstructured data storage 520. Backup of
structured data is not
shown, and all of the data stored in the backup unstructured data storage 544
are unstructured
data. The agent 521 can communicate with a backup server 542 of the secondary
data center 514
to transfer data between the primary unstructured data storage 520 (or a
replacement of the
primary unstructured data storage 520) and the backup unstructured data
storage 544, via the
backup server 542, a transceiver 540 of the secondary data center 514, the
Internet 515, the
transceiver 526, and the LAN 524, for data backup and data restore as desired.
The LAN 524
provides bi-directional communication between the on-prem server 522, the
transceiver 526, and
the computers 527-529. The computers 527-529 are shown as laptop computers,
but other forms
of computers (e.g., desktop, tablet, etc.) or communication devices (e.g.,
mobile phones) may be
used. The computers 527-529 are configured to communicate with the LAN 524 to
request
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access to data, and possibly to manipulate the accessed data. The transceiver
526 is configured to
communicate bi-directionally with the LAN 524 and the Internet 515 to relay
information, such
as data requests, data, commands, etc., between the LAN 524 and the Internet
515.
[0004] The second data center 514 includes the transceiver 540, the backup
server 542, and the
backup unstructured data storage 544. The backup unstructured data storage 544
is a memory
and stores backup data 546, e.g., copies of the (active and inactive)
unstructured data 530 stored
by the primary unstructured data storage 520. The backup server 542
coordinates access to and
retrieval of data from the backup unstructured data storage 544 of the backup
data 546 and
provision of data to be stored in the backup unstructured data storage 544.
The backup server
542 is bi-directionally oonununicatively coupled to the backup unstructured
data storage 544 and
the transceiver 540. The transceiver 540 is bi-directionally communicatively
coupled to the
backup server 542 and the Internet 515 and configured to receive data to be
backed up from the
primary data center 512 via the Internet 515 and to forward these data to the
backup server 542,
and to receive retrieved data (e.g., to be restored) from the backup
unstructured data storage 544
via the backup server 542 and send these data to the primary data center 512
via the Internet 515.
[0005] Data from the primary unstructured data storage 520 may be backed up at
the secondary
data center, and data recovered from the secondary data center 514 as
appropriate, e.g., if data in
the primary unstructured data storage 520 is rendered inaccessible, e.g., due
to the primary
unstructured data storage 520 being damaged or destroyed, or blocked by
ransomware. For
example, if the primary unstructured (Iota storage 520 is ruined, a
replacement primary data
storage may be purchased and connected to the on-premises server 522, and the
backup data 546
may be retrieved from the backup unstructured data storage 544 and stored in
the replacement
primary data storage. All of the unstructured data are stored at both the
primary unstructured
data storage 520 (before replacement and restoration, and on the replacement
primary data
storage in the case of replacement and restoration) and the backup
unstructured data storage 544.
For disaster recovery, the active and inactive data are sent from the backup
unstructured data
storage 544 to the primary unstructured data storage 520 via the backup server
542, the
transceiver 540, the Internet 515, the transceiver 526, the LAN 524, and the
on-prem server 522.
SUMMARY
[0006] An example data access recovery apparatus includes: first receiving
means for receiving a
request to restore backed-up unstructured data files associated with the
request; first sending
means for sending active data files, of the backed-up unstructured data files,
to a data-access
server in response to receiving the request; second receiving means for
receiving an indication of
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a particular data file of the backed-up unstructured data files; and second
sending means for
sending, in response to receiving the indication, the particular data file to
the data-access server
before the particular data file would be sent, if at all, absent receiving the
indication.
[0007] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the
following features.
The apparatus includes means for sending, in response to receiving the
request, a plurality of
Virtual Data Files (VDFs) to the data-access server, each VDF of the plurality
of VDFs being
indicative of a respective one of the backed-up unstructured data files. Each
of the plurality of
VDFs comprises a pointer to a respective portion of a data storage storing the
respective one of
the backed-up unstructured data files for generation of the indication. The
apparatus includes
means for determining, from the backed-up unstructured data files, the
plurality of VDFs. The
second sending means are for sending the particular data file in response to
the indication
indicating selection of a particular VDF, of the plurality of VDFs,
corresponding to the particular
data file. A first portion of the plurality of VDFs correspond to the active
data files of the
backed-up unstructured data files and a second portion of the plurality of
VDFs correspond to
inactive data files of the backed-up unstructured data files. The first
sending means are
configured to begin sending the active data files to the data-access server
after the means for
sending the plurality of VDFs sends the plurality of VDFs.
100081 Also or alternatively, implementations of such an apparatus may include
one or more of
the following features. The second sending means include means for
interrupting sending the
active data files to send the particular data file. The second sending means
include means for
sending the particular data file at a next possible opportunity after
receiving the indication. The
apparatus includes means for scheduling the active data files to be sent in a
first order, and the
second sending means include: means for changing the first order, based on the
first order
lacking the particular data file, to a second order that includes the
particular data file; or means
for changing the first order, based on the first order including the
particular data file, to a third
order that includes the particular data file earlier than in the first order.
100091 Another example data access recovery apparatus includes: a transceiver;
a memory; and a
processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and
configured to: receive
a request to restore backed-up unstructured data files associated with the
request; send active data
files, of the backed-up unstructured data files, to a data-access server in
response to receiving the
request; receive an indication of a particular data file of the backed-up
unstructured data files;
and send, in response to receiving the indication, the particular data file to
the data-access server
before the particular data file would be sent, if at all, absent receiving the
indication.
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100101 Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the
following features.
The processor is configured to, in response to receiving the request, send a
plurality of Virtual
Data Files (VDFs) to the data-access server, each VDF of the plurality of VDFs
being indicative
of a respective one of the backed-up unstructured data files. Fact of the
plurality of VDFs
includes a pointer to a respective portion of a data storage storing the
respective one of the
backed-up unstructured data files for generation of the indication. The
apparatus includes means
for determining, from the backed-up unstructured data files, the plurality of
VDFs. The
processor is configured to send the particular data file in response to the
indication indicating
selection of a particular VDF, of the plurality of VDFs, corresponding to the
particular data file.
A first portion of the plurality of VDFs correspond to the active data files
of the backed-up
unstructured data files and a second portion of the plurality of VDFs
correspond to inactive data
files the backed-up unstructured data files. The processor is configured to
begin sending the
active data files to the data-access server after the processor sends the
plurality of VDFs. The
plurality of VDFs comprise a complete set of VDFs for the backed-up
unstructured data files.
[0011] Also or alternatively, implementations of such an apparatus may include
one or more of
the following features. The processor is configured to interrupt sending the
active data files to
send the particular data file. The processor is configured to send the
particular data file at a next
possible opportunity after receiving the indication. The processor is
configured to: schedule the
active data files to be sent in a first order, and at least one of. change the
first order, based on the
first order lacking the particular data file, to a second order that includes
the particular data file;
or change the first order, based on the first order including the particular
data file, to a third order
that includes the particular data file earlier than in the first order.
[0012] An example non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium includes
processor-
readable instructions configured to cause a processor of an apparatus, in
order to manage a data
restore, to: initiate, in response to a first data restore request, a data
transfer of active unstructured
data to a server via an interface of the apparatus, the active unstructured
data comprising at least
a portion of backed-up unstructured data that are associated with the first
data restore request;
and send, via the interface of the apparatus in response to a second data
restore request
corresponding to an identified data portion of the backed-up unstructured
data, the identified data
portion to the server before the identified data portion would be transferred,
if at all, to the server
as part of the data transfer absent the second data restore request.
[0013] Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the
following
features. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions
configured to cause the
processor to, in response to receiving the first data restore request, send a
plurality of Virtual
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Data Files (VDFs) to the server, each VDF of the plurality of VDFs being
indicative of a
respective backed-up unstructured data file of the backed-up unstructured
data. The instructions
configured to cause the processor to initiate the data transfer of the active
unstructured data are
configured to cause the processor to initiate the data transfer of the active
unstructured data after
a complete set of the plurality of VDFs for the backed-up unstructured data
are sent to the server.
100141 Also or alternatively, implementations of such a storage medium may
include one or
more of the following features. To cause the identified data portion to be
transferred to the
server, the instructions are configured to cause the processor to prioritize
the transfer of the
identified data portion above other portions of the backed-up unstructured
data. To cause the
identified data portion to be transferred to the server, the instructions are
configured to cause the
processor to interrupt the transfer of the active unstructured data to the
server. To cause the
identified data portion to be transferred to the sewer, the instructions are
configured to cause the
processor to put the identified data portion at a front of a queue of
unstructured data to be
transferred to the server. Each of the plurality of VDFs provides a pointer to
a respective
identified portion of the backed-up unstructured data for generation of a
respective specific data
restore request. A first portion of the plurality of VDFs corresponds to
active data of the backed-
up unstructured data and a second portion of the plurality of VDFs corresponds
to inactive data
of the backed-up unstructured data The storage medium includes instructions
configured to
cause the processor to determine the plurality of VDFs based on the backed-up
unstructured data.
The instructions are configured to cause the processor to establish a first
order in which the active
unstructured data are to be transferred to the server, and wherein to cause
the identified data
portion to be transferred to the server the instructions are configured to
cause the processor to:
change the first order, if the first order lacks the identified data portion,
to a second order that
includes the identified data portion; or change the first order, if the first
order includes the
identified data portion, to a third order that includes the identified data
portion nearer to a front of
the third order than to a front of the first order.
100151 An example data management system includes: accessing means for
accessing a first data
storage device storing a plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data;
means for receiving a
data request requesting unstructured data from the first data storage device;
means for sending, in
response to the data request, a plurality of Virtual Data Files (VDFs) to a
second data storage
device, each VDF of the plurality of VDFs including information usable by the
accessing means
for accessing a respective backed-up file of unstructured data of the
plurality of backed-up files
of unstructured data stored in the first data storage device.
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100161 Implementations of such a system may include one or more of the
following features.
The data management system includes means for sending a particular backed-up
file of
unstructured data, of the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data,
from the first data
storage device to the second data storage device in response to receiving an
indication of a
selection of a particular VDF, of the plurality of VDFs, corresponding to the
particular backed-up
file of unstructured data. Each VDF of the plurality of VDFs comprises a
pointer to the
respective backed-up file of unstructured data The data management system
includes means for
determining the plurality of VDFs from the plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data. A
first portion of the plurality of VDFs correspond to active data files of the
plurality of backed-up
files of unstructured data and a second portion of the plurality of VDFs
correspond to inactive
data files the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data. The data
management system
includes means for automatically sending at least one of the plurality of
backed-up files of
unstructured data to the second data storage device based on an implicit
request for data files in
the data request. The data request comprises an indication of a purpose for
the data request, the
purpose comprising at least one of perfomiance analysis, quality assurance,
development, or
training.
[0017] Another example data management system includes: a transceiver; a
memory; and a
processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and
configured to:
receive, via the transceiver, a copy data request for unstructured data;
access, via the transceiver
in response to the copy data request, a plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data stored in a
first data storage device; send, in response to the copy data request, a
plurality of Virtual Data
Files (VDFs) to a second data storage device, the processor being configured
to respond to
receipt of information from each of the plurality of VDFs to retrieve a
respective backed-up file
of unstructured data of the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data
stored in the first data
storage device.
100181 Implementations of such a system may include one or more of the
following features.
Each VDF of the plurality of VDFs comprises a pointer to the respective backed-
up file of
unstructured data. The processor is configured to determine the plurality of
VDFs from the
plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data. The processor is configured
to send at least one
of the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data to the second data
storage device based on
an implicit request in the copy data request. The implicit request comprises
an indication of a
purpose for the copy data request, the purpose comprising at least one of
performance analysis,
quality assurance, development, or training. The processor is configured to
send at least one of
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the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data to the second data
storage device based on an
explicit request in the copy data request.
[0019] An example data management method includes: receiving, at a server, a
copy data request
for unstructured data; accessing, by the server in response to the copy data
request, a plurality of
backed-up files of unstructured data stored in a first data storage device;
sending, from the server
in response to the copy data request, a plurality of Virtual Data Files (VDFs)
to a second data
storage device, the server being configured to respond to receipt of
information from each of the
plurality of VDFs to retrieve a respective backed-up file of unstructured data
of the plurality of
backed-up files of unstructured data stored in the first data storage device.
100201 Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the
following features.
Foch VDF of the plurality of VDFs comprises a pointer to the respective backed-
up file of
unstructured data. The data management method includes determining the
plurality of VDFs
from the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data. A first portion of
the plurality of
VDFs correspond to active data files of the plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data and a
second portion of the plurality of VDFs correspond to inactive data files the
plurality of backed-
up files of unstructured data. The data management method includes sending at
least one of the
plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data to the second data storage
device based on an
implicit request in the copy data request. The copy data request comprises an
indication of a
purpose for the copy data request, the purpose comprising at least one of
performance analysis,
quality assurance, development, or training. The data management method
includes sending at
least one of the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data to the
second data storage device
based on an explicit request in the copy data request.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a prior art data storage and
retrieval system with a
primary data center and a secondary data center.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a data storage and retrieval
system storing data
files on premises for active data and storing Virtual Data Files on premises
for inactive data.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a sewer shown in FIG. 2.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a computer shown in FIG. 2.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a backup server shown in FIG.
2.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a block flow diagram of a data access recovery method.
[0027] FIG. 7 is a block flow diagram of an example implementation of the data
access recovery
method shown in FIG. 6.
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100281 FIG. 8 is a diagram of communication and data flow in accordance with
portions of the
method shown in FIG. 7.
[0029] FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of the data storage system shown in FIG.
2 near a
beginning of a data restore process.
100301 FIGS. 10 and 11 are simplified diagrams of data flow in accordance with
portions of the
method shown in FIG. 7.
[0031] FIG. 12 is a simplified diagram of a hybrid cloud computing data
storage and retrieval
system.
[0032] FIG. 13 is a simplified diagram of a cloud-based computing data storage
and retrieval
system.
[0033] FIG. 14 is a simplified diagram of a data storage and retrieval system.
100341 FIG. 15 is a simplified diagram of a method of responding to a copy
data request.
[0035] FIG. 16 is a simplified diagram of a data management method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
100361 Techniques are discussed herein for backing up unstructured data
(including high-value
data), e.g., to the cloud or an independent backup server, and/or virtualizing
all or a portion of the
data using Virtual Data Files (VDFs). A VDF may appear like the original data
file that the VDF
represents, e.g., with the same or similar icon as the file that the VDF
represents, to the file
system or a user of the file system and may provide secure, on-demand access
(e.g., via a pointer)
to a validated copy of the original data file, e.g., stored in the cloud or on
the independent backup
server. The recovery of the VDFs in case of a complete loss of data is also
described herein.
Unstructured data may be stored in a primary (e.g., on premises) storage
device and backed up on
a backup storage device. In response to a request for backed-up data (e.g., a
request to copy data
to another storage device or a request to populate a new primary storage
device used, e.g., if
some or all of the unstructured data stored in the primary storage device
becomes inaccessible),
VDFs indicative of respective portions of the unstructured data may be
provided to the other
storage device (a copy storage device) or the new primary storage device. The
VDFs may be
determined in response to the request, or may be determined before this time,
e.g., intermittently
or each time there is a change in the unstructured data for which a change in
VDFs is warranted
(e.g., a change in file system architecture, including labeling). A file
system architecture may be
provided for the unstructured data and may be used, by being selected, to
access the VDFs and a
VDF may be selected to obtain a respective portion of the unstructured data,
e.g., a data file, from
the secondary storage device. In response to a request to recover the
unstructured data, e.g., to
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recover from a disaster involving the primary data storage device, the VDFs
may be provided to
a primary server for a replacement primary data storage device and a backup
server for the
backup storage device may begin providing all or a portion of the unstructured
data to the
primary server. In an example implementation, all the VDFs may be sent to the
primary server
for the replacement primary data storage before any of the actual unstructured
data files are sent
to the primary server. This may provide extremely rapid restoration of full
functionality during
the recovery process, since as soon as all the VDFs have been transferred into
the replacement
primary data storage, the system may be immediately fully operational. This is
in contrast to the
much longer time that would be required if all the data files had to be
transferred into the
replacement primary data storage before the system could again be considered
fully operational.
In the example implementation, subsequent to sending the VDFs to the
replacement primary
backup storage, the unstructured data, as appropriate (e.g., requested), can
be sent to the primary
server while the system may retain full operational status.
[0037] While unstructured data are being provided to the primary server, a VDF
may be selected
by the primary server, causing a request for the respective portion of the
unstructured data
indicated by the selected VDF (the selected unstructured data) to be sent to
the backup server.
The backup server may respond to the received request corresponding to the
selected VDF by
accessing and sending the selected unstructured data to the primary server
earlier than if the VDF
had not been selected. For example, the backup server may send the selected
unstructured data
as soon as possible, e.g., during a next-available slot for transferring data
to the primary server.
In response to a data copy request, the backup sewer may provide the VDFs and
the file system
architecture to the copy storage device. The backup server may also provide
some of the
unstructured data, e.g., the active unstructured data, automatically, and can
provide any
unstructured data indicated by the request.
[0038] Data, such as inactive unstructured data, may be replaced in the
primary data storage by
VDFs. For example, if a portion of unstructured data, e.g., a data file, in
the primary data storage
has not been accessed for at least an access threshold amount of time, and/or
has not been
modified for at least a modification threshold amount of time (which may be
different than the
access threshold amount of time), then the portion of the unstructured data
may be considered to
be inactive. A function of time since a most-recent access and a time since a
most-recent
modification may be used to determine whether data are inactive. A VDF
corresponding to an
inactive data file may be produced and saved in the primary data storage. The
inactive data file
is stored in a backup storage device and in at least one other storage device.
The memory used to
store the inactive data file in the primary storage device may be used to
store other, active, data.
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Also or alternatively, one or more other criteria may be used to determine to
replace unstructured
data in the primary storage with a VDF. For example, if a file unstructured
data has a particular
file type and/or exceeds a threshold file size, then the file may be replaced
with a VDF. Also,
one of more of the above criteria may be used in combination (e.g., up to a
certain file size one
access timer threshold may be used, whereas above that threshold a different
access timer
threshold may be used).
[0039] Virtual (e.g., cloud) storage for unstructured data may provide a
solution to store and
protect unstructured data in the cloud and to virtualize the inactive data
with VDFs. This unique
approach may allow companies to reduce the sewer storage consumption for
inactive
unstructured data on high-cost server storage and backup infrastructure. VDFs
may provide
companies the ability to recovery access of their unstructured data stored in
the cloud faster,
possibly over 90% faster, than typical on-premises and cloud-based backup
solutions. Also,
VDFs may be used to quickly provide secure on-demand access to a company's
unstructured data
on both private and public cloud servers without migrating all data between
these environments.
Such virtual storage for unstructured data may also be implemented not only in
the cloud, but on
any independent server (e.g., an on-premises backup server, a remote backup
server) via any
form of bi-directional communication link (e.g., private cloud, VPN, direct
connection, etc.).
[0040] Items and/or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the
following
capabilities, as well as other capabilities mentioned above and other
capabilities not mentioned.
Additional storage space required or used for copy data may be reduced, e.g.,
by storing VDFs
instead of unstructured data. Corresponding costs for such additional storage
space may be
reduced. Costs associated with recovery of data from a cloud-based storage
device may be
avoided or reduced. Time for recovery of data, e.g., selected unstructured
data, and for recovery
of system fimctionality after a loss due to a disaster or a ransomware attack,
may be reduced, e.g.,
to be on the order of minutes. Unstructured data may be recovered on an on-
demand basis. A
schedule of data recovery may be altered on demand. On-demand data storage in
a cloud-based
storage device may be provided for on-demand computing. Primary storage device
usage may be
reduced, e.g., by up to 80-95%, by avoiding storing inactive unstructured data
on the primary
storage device. Cloud storage use and cost may be reduced by replacing
unstructured data with
smaller VDFs that provide on-demand access to real data stored in cloud-based
storage.
Commitment to a cloud-computing provider may be avoided, and/or data control
improved, by
not storing all unstructured data with the cloud-computing provider. Cost of
migration of data
from older storage to newer storage technologies may be reduced. Other
capabilities may be
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provided and not every implementation according to the disclosure must provide
any, let alone
all, of the capabilities discussed.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 2, a data storage and retrieval system 10 includes a
primary data center
12, a primary backup site 14, a secondary backup site 15, and the Internet 16.
While the Internet
16 is shown, this is an example and another network, e.g., another publicly-
accessible, packet-
switched communication network could be used instead of the Internet 16 in
FIG. 2 and in other
figures discussed below. Also or alternatively, one or more other connections
may be used, e.g.,
a private cloud, VPN, and/or a direct connection 17 could be used for
communication instead of
or in addition to the Internet 16 (or other network) in FIG. 2 and in other
figures discussed below.
The primary data center 12, the primary backup site 14, the secondary backup
site 15, and the
Internet 16 are configured such That the Internet 16 can communicate bi-
directionally with each
of the primary data center 12, the primary backup site 14, and the secondary
backup site 15. The
primary data center 12 may be, for example, a business, or part of a business,
that uses digital
data and backs up the digital data remotely from the location of the primary
data center 12 to help
ensure data are available for recovery, e.g., disaster recovery. Data for use
by devices associated
with the primary data center are stored at the primary data center and backed
up (e.g., for use in
disaster recovery) at the primary backup site 14 and the secondary backup site
15.
[0042] The primary data center 12 includes a primary unstructured data storage
20, an on-
premises server 22, a local-area network (LAN) 24, a transceiver 26, and
computers 27, 28, 29.
The primary unstructured data storage 20 may be, for example, a disk drive or
an SSD (solid
state drive). The primary unstructured data storage 20 may include, and/or may
be
communicatively coupled to, a processor containing non-transitory processor-
readable memory
storing appropriate processor-readable instructions configured to cause the
processor to perform
functions discussed herein as being performed by the primary unstructured data
storage 20. The
primary unstructured data storage 20 stores unstructured data for common
access by the
computers 27-29, which the computers 27-29 may access from the storage 20, or
provide to the
storage 20, via the LAN 24 and the server 22. Storage of structured data is
not shown, and all of
the active data stored by the primary unstructured data storage is
unstructured data. While called
the on-premises file server 22, the server 22 need not be (though often is)
physically located in
the primary data center 12 or co-located with other components shown in the
primary data center
12. The on-premises server 22 controls the storage and retrieval of data from
the primary
unstructured data storage 20. As discussed further below, the server 22 also
controls the backing
up of the data stored in the primary unstructured data storage 20, and the
accessing of data from
the primary backup site 14 that has been backed up and no longer stored in the
primary
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unstructured data storage 20. Also as further discussed below, the server 22
may request
restoration of data from the primary backup site 14 (or the secondary backup
site 15) and alter
the restoration sequence of data from the primary backup site 14 (or the
secondary backup site
15). The LAN 24 is configured to act as an intermediary between the server 22,
the transceiver
26, and the computers 27-29 to convey information between these entities. The
LAN 24
provides bi-directional communication between the LAN 24 and the on-prem
server 22, the
transceiver 26, and the computers 27-29. The computers 27-29 are shown as
laptop computers,
but other forms of computers (e.g., desktop, tablet, etc.) or communication
devices (e.g., mobile
phones) may be used. The computers 27-29 are configured to communicate with
the LAN 24 to
request access to data, and possibly to manipulate the accessed data. The
transceiver 26 is
communicatively coupled to, and configured to communicate bi-directionally
with, the LAN 24
and the Internet 16 to relay information, such as data requests, data,
commands, etc., between the
LAN 24 and the Internet 16. The transceiver 26 is configured to send
information to, and receive
information from, the LAN 24 and to send information to, and receiving
information from, the
Internet 16. The transceiver 26 is thus configured to be a network interface
for interacting with
the Internet 16. The transceiver 26 is configured to receive data to be backed
up from the server
22 and to forward these data to the primary backup server 40 and/or a
secondary backup server
50 via the Internet 16, and to receive retrieved data (e.g., to be restored)
from a primary
unstructured data backup storage 42 via a primary backup server 40 and the
Internet 16 and send
these data to the server 22 for storage in the primary unstructured data
storage 20. Backup of
structured data is not shown, and all of the data stored in the primary backup
unstructured data
storage 42 are unstructured data, here backup active data 44 and backup
inactive data 46.
[0043] Here, the primary unstructured data storage 20 stores (unstructured)
active data 30.
Active data are data that have recently been accessed, e.g., previously
accessed per a request of
one of the computers 27-29 within a threshold amount of time such as within
one year from the
present time. For example, if an inactive data file is accessed, that data
file becomes an active
data file, but may become inactive again if the data file is not accessed
again within the threshold
amount of time. An active data file remains active until the threshold amount
of time has passed
since the last access of that data file. Unstructured data are not structured
data in that the
unstructured data are typically not readily searchable. The unstructured data
include data files
(e.g., word-processing documents such as Word documents, spreadsheets,
emails, presentations
such as PowerPointe documents, drawings, photographs, portable document format
(PDF)
documents, audio files, video files, social media postings, etc.). The
unstructured data may be
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stored in a local (e.g., on premises) storage device of the primary
unstructured data storage 20
such as a solid-state drive (SSD) redundant array of independent disks (RAID).
100441 Also in this example, the primary unstructured data storage 20 stores
Virtual Data Files
(VDFs) of inactive unstructured data 32. The VDFs provide information that can
be used to
access corresponding unstructured data, e.g., shortcuts (e.g., pointers) to
corresponding
unstructured data stored in the primary backup site 14. The corresponding
unstructured data for a
VDF is a (single) data file. Inactive data are data that have not been
recently accessed, e.g., read,
edited, sent, etc. For example, inactive data may be data with a last access
having been more
than a threshold amount of time ago such as one year. The VDFs consume very
little memory,
e.g., one or more kBytes each, but provide links to the unstructured data
indicated by the VDFs.
For example, a VDF may consume fewer bytes than the unstructured data file to
which the VDF
refers by an order of magnitude or more, e.g., four (4) kBytes for the VDF and
200 kBytes for the
corresponding unstructured data file (thus, the VDF is 50 times smaller than
the corresponding
data file). A request for the corresponding unstructured data may be produced
and sent (e.g., by
the server 22 to the primary backup site 14) in response to selection of a
VDF, e.g., selection of
an indication (e.g., a data file icon and name of the data file) of the
corresponding unstructured
data via a user interface of one of the computers 27-29. The VDFs may be
determined and
provided by the primary backup site 14, e.g., with a VDF being provided upon
request of the on-
premises file server 22 in response to determining that a data file is or has
become inactive.
100451 The primary unstructured data storage 20, or a portion thereof, may be
stored in a
separate building from the primary data center 12 and may be accessible from
the server 22, e.g.,
via the LAN 24. While shown in the primary data center 12, the primary
unstructured data
storage 20 (or a portion thereof) need not be on the same premises (e.g., in
the same building) as
other portions of the primary data center 12, but is typically disposed at the
same premises as
other portions of the primary data center 12.
100461 Data from the primary unstructured data storage 20 may be backed up at
the primary
backup site 14, and data may be recovered from the primary backup site 14 as
appropriate, e.g., if
data in the primary unstructured data storage 20 is rendered inaccessible,
e.g., due to the primary
unstructured data storage 20 being damaged or destroyed, or blocked by
ransomware. For
example, if the primary unstructured data storage 20 is mined, a replacement
primary
unstructured data storage may be purchased and connected to the on-premises
server 22 and
backed-up active data retrieved from the backup active data 44 and stored in
the replacement
primary unstructured data storage. VDFs of inactive data may be received from
the primary
backup site 14 and stored in the replacement primary unstructured data
storage.
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[0047] Referring to FIG. 3, with further reference to FIG. 2, an example of
the on-premises
server 22 comprises a computer system including a processor 72, a memory 74
including
software (SW) 76, and a transceiver 78 communicatively coupled to each other
by a bus 79. The
processor 72 is preferably an intelligent hardware device, for example a
central processing unit
(CPU) such as those made or designed by QuALcommO, ARM , Intel Corporation,
or
AMID , a micr000ntroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC),
etc. The processor
72 may comprise multiple separate physical entities that can be distributed in
the server 22. The
memory 74 may include random access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory
(ROM). The
memory 74 is a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium that stores
the software 76
which is processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing
instructions that are
configured to, when performed, cause the processor 72 to perform various
functions described
herein. The description may refer only to the processor 72 or the sewer 22
performing the
functions, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor
72 executes the
software 76 and/or firmware. The software 76 may not be directly executable by
the processor
72 and instead may be configured to, for example when compiled and executed,
cause the
processor 72 to perform the functions. Whether needing compiling or not, the
software 76
contains the instructions to cause the processor 72 to perform the functions.
The processor 72 is
communicatively coupled to the memory 74. The processor 72 in combination with
the memory
74 and/or the transceiver 78 provide means for performing functions as
described herein. The
software 76 may be loaded onto the memory 74 by being downloaded via a network
connection,
uploaded from a disk, etc.
[0048] The transceiver 78 is configured to communicate with other entities in
the server 22 and
one or more entities outside the server 22, e.g., serving as a liaison between
internal and external
entities. The transceiver 78 may be configured to communicate bi-directionally
with the LAN
24, and also with the Internet 16. The transceiver 78 may include a network
interface card (NIC)
for communicating with the Internet 16. The transceiver 78 is communicatively
coupled to the
processor 72 and the memory 74 and configured to transfer information from the
processor 72
and/or the memory 74 to the Internet 16 and vice versa and/or to the LAN 24
and vice versa
[0049] Referring to FIG. 4, with further reference to FIG. 2, an example of
one of the
computers 27-29, here the computer 27, comprises a computer system including a
processor 82, a
memory 84 including software (SW) 86, a user interface 88, and a transceiver
87
communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 89. The processor 82 is
preferably an intelligent
hardware device, for example a central processing unit (CPU) such as those
made or designed by
QUALCOMM , ARM , Intel Corporation, or AMDa a microcontroller, an application
specific
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integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 82 may comprise multiple
separate physical entities
that can be distributed in the computer 27. The memory 84 may include random
access memory
(RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM). The memory 84 is a non-transitory,
processor-
readable storage medium that stores the software 86 which is processor-
readable, processor-
executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when
performed, cause
the processor 82 to perform various functions described herein. The
description may refer only
to the processor 82 or the computer 27 (or the computer 28 or the computer 29)
performing the
functions, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor
82 executes the
software 86 and/or firmware. The software 86 may not be directly executable by
the processor
82 and instead may be configured to, for example when compiled and executed,
cause the
processor 82 to perform the functions. Whether needing compiling or not, the
software 86
contains the instructions to cause the processor 82 to perform the functions.
The processor 82 is
communicatively coupled to the memory 84. The processor 82 in combination with
the memory
84 and/or the transceiver provide means for performing functions as described
herein. The
software 86 may be loaded onto the memory 84 by being downloaded via a network
connection,
uploaded from a disk, etc.
[0050] The user interface 88 may include one or more devices for interacting
with a user. For
example, the user interface 88 may include a display, such as a touch-
sensitive display
configured to show information and to receive user input, e.g., by the user
touching the display.
The user interface may include a microphone and/or one or more speakers for
audible input from
and output to, respectively, the user. Also or alternatively, the user
interface may include a
keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, and/or other input device (e.g., graphical
input device) for input
from the user.
[0051] The transceiver 87 is configured to communicate with other entities in
the computer 27
and one or more entities outside the computer 27, e.g., serving as a liaison
between internal and
external entities. The transceiver 87 may be configured to communicate bi-
directionally with the
LAN 24. The transceiver 87 is communicatively coupled to the processor 82, the
memory 84,
and the user interface 88 and configured to transfer information from the
processor 82, the
memory 84, and/or the user interface 88 to the LAN 24 and vice versa.
[0052] Returning in particular to FIG. 3, with further reference to FIG. 2,
the processor 72 in
conjunction with the memory 74, and in particular the software 76, is
configured to implement a
data transport agent (DTA) 21 of the server 22 as shown in FIG. 2. The DTA 21
is configured to
control transport of datn, e.g., for backup or recovery, between the primary
unstructured data
storage 20 and the LAN 24. The DTA 21 is further configured to implement rules
regarding
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storage of data in the primary unstructured data storage 20. For example, the
DTA 21 may be
configured to schedule backup transfers, e.g., being configured to implement
one or more rules
regarding how frequently to back data up by sending the data to the primary
backup site 14. As
another example, the DTA 21 may monitor the activity for each data file in the
primary
unstructured data storage 20 to determine whether each data file is active or
inactive. The DTA
21 may be configured to coordinate replacement of inactive data with VDFs. The
DTA 21 may
determine that a data file is inactive (or has become inactive) if the data
file has not been
accessed in a threshold amount of time, e.g., a year. If a data file is or
becomes inactive, then the
DTA 21 may produce, in response to the data file being or becoming inactive, a
VDF for the
inactive data file and have the primary unstructured data storage 20 store the
VDF and designate
the space occupied by the inactive data file as available for being
overwritten with active data
The DTA 21 may produce the VDF (and may coordinate with the primary backup
site 14 to do
so), or may receive the VDF from the primary backup site 14. It has been found
that as much as
90% of data stored in on-premises storage is inactive, and thus that on-
premises storage capacity
could be reduced by about 90% by using VDFs for inactive data, retrieving the
inactive data only
when needed for active use, which is infrequent.
[0053] The processor 72 in conjunction with the memory 74, and in particular
the software 76, is
further configured to implement a retrieval agent (RA) 23 of the server 22 as
shown in FIG. 2.
The retrieval agent 23 is configured to provide a graphical user interface
(GUI) for retrieval of
data, e.g., retrieving data that has been replaced by a VDF, or restoring data
(e.g., from the
backup site 14 that were lost at the primary datn center 12, e.g., due to a
disaster). The retrieval
agent 23 may cause graphics data to be provided to any of the computers 27-29
such that the user
interface 88 of the respective computer 27-29 will display corresponding
graphics, e.g., providing
information about data storage and/or progress of one or more activities,
prompting a user for
input regarding data storage and/or recovery, etc. The graphics help the user
to interact with the
retrieval agent 23 although the retrieval agent 23 may not be resident on any
of the computers 27-
29.
[0054] The retrieval agent 23 is configured to respond to input from the
computers 27-29,
corresponding to input from the user through the user interface 88, to
initiate one or more actions
corresponding to the input. Such actions may include retrieving data, storing
data, providing
different graphics data to the computer 27-29 from which the input was
received (e.g., to reflect
the input), etc. The different graphics data may be responsive to the input
and may, for example,
cause the user interface 88 to change, reflecting the input and possibly the
initiation of one or
more actions by the retrieval agent 23. The retrieval agent 23 may be used
(e.g., via graphics
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provided to, and input received from, a user of one of the computers 27-29) to
identify and select
what data to restore.
[0055] The RA 23 may be configured to respond to selection of one of the VDFs,
e.g., selection
by a remote user of the computer 27 selecting the VDF via communication
through the LAN 24,
by causing the DTA 21 to send a request corresponding to the selected VDF to
the primary
backup site 14 (or the secondary backup site 15) for data corresponding to the
selected VDF from
a location corresponding to the selected VDF. The corresponding data are
retrieved from the
backup site 14 and sent to the primary data center 12 using the DTA 21. If a
VDF in the data 32
is selected and corresponding data retrieved from the primary backup site 14,
then the DTA 21
may send the retrieved data to the storage 20 and cause the storage 20 to
designate the memory
storing the selected VDF as available to be overwritten.
[0056] The RA 23 may be configured to restore data from the primary
unstructured data backup
storage 42, e.g., by being configured to respond to an indication of a
disaster by causing the DTA
21 to send a request to the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 to
restore all the backed-
up data (or at least active backed-up data) in the primary unstructured data
backup storage 42 to
the on-prem file server 22, e.g., for storage in a replacement primary data
storage. The RA 23
and/or the DTA 21 may be configured to produce the restore request to request
VDFs of all the
backed-up data, and also all of the backed-up data, or at least all of the
active backed-up data
stored in the backup active data 44. The request may request the VDFs to be
provided before the
backed-up data, or the backup server 40 may be configured to respond to the
restore request by
providing the VDFs before the backed-up data, or at least before all of the
backed-up data to be
restored are restored (e.g., early in the data restore process even if after
some backed-up data are
restored). The DTA 21 is configured to receive the restored data from the
primary unstructured
data backup storage 42 (or a secondary unstructured data backup storage 52 of
the secondary
backup site 15) and to convey the restored data to a replacement primary
unstructured data
storage (or to the primary unstructured data storage 20, e.g., if data were
deleted from the
primary unstructured data storage 20 but the primary unstructured data storage
20 could still be
used for storing data).
[0057] The processor 72 in conjunction with the memory 74, and in particular
the software 76, is
further configured to implement an encryption subsystem (Enc) 25 of the server
22 as shown in
FIG. 2. The encryption subsystem 25 is configured to perform one or more
actions and/or
provide information to enable encryption of "in-flight data," i.e.,
information passing between the
primary data center 12 and the primary backup site 14 (and/or other site such
as the secondary
backup site 15), e.g., for data backup or data recovery (e.g., retrieval or
restore). For example,
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the subsystem 25 may store a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate for use in
proving
ownership of a cryptographic key for encrypting and decrypting data in
accordance with
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption techniques.
100581 Referring to FIG. 5, with further reference to FIG. 2, a server 90,
which is an example of
the primary backup server 40, comprises a computer system including a
processor 92, a memory
94 including software (SW) 96, and a transceiver 98 communicatively coupled to
each other by a
bus 100. The processor 92 is preferably an intelligent hardware device, for
example a central
processing unit (CPU) such as those made or designed by QuALcorvrme, ARM ,
Intel
Corporation, or AMD , a microcontroller, an application specific integrated
circuit (ASIC), etc.
The processor 92 may comprise multiple separate physical entities that can be
distributed in the
server 40. The memory 94 may include random access memory (RAM) and/or read-
only
memory (ROM). The memory 94 is a non-transitory, processor-readable storage
medium that
stores the software 96 which is processor-readable, processor-executable
software code
containing instructions that are configured to, when performed, cause the
processor 92 to perform
various functions described herein. The description may refer only to the
processor 92 or the
server 40 performing the functions, but this includes other implementations
such as where the
processor 92 executes the software 96 and/or firmware. The software 96 may not
be directly
executable by the processor 92 and instead may be configured to, for example
when compiled
and executed, cause the processor 92 to perform the functions. Whether needing
compiling or
not, the software 96 contains the instructions to cause the processor 92 to
perform the functions.
The processor 92 is communicatively coupled to the memory 94. The processor 92
in
combination with the memory 94 and/or the transceiver 98 provide means for
performing
functions as described herein. The software 96 may be loaded onto the memory
94 by being
downloaded via a network connection, uploaded from a disk, etc.
100591 The transceiver 98 is configured to communicate with other entities in
the server 90 and
one or more entities outside the server 90, e.g., serving as a liaison between
internal and external
entities. The transceiver 98 may be configured to communicate bi-directionally
with the Internet
16. The transceiver 98 may include a network interface card (MC) for
communicating with the
Internet 16. The transceiver 98 is communicatively coupled to the processor 92
and the memory
94 and configured to transfer information from the processor 92 and/or the
memory 94 to the
Internet 16 and vice versa.
[0060] Referring again primarily to FIG. 2, with further reference to FIGS. 3-
5, the primary
backup site 14 includes the primary backup server 40 and the primary site data
storage 42. The
server 40 is communicatively coupled to the primary unstructured data backup
storage 42, which
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may be any of a variety of types of memory for storing data, such as an SSD
RAID. The storage
42 may include multiple types of storage. For example, the storage 42 includes
the backup active
data 44, that may be stored, e.g., on an SSD RAID, and the backup inactive
data 46, that may be
stored, e.g., on an optical disk and/or magnetic tape. The backup inactive
data 46 may take
longer to store and/or retrieve data, but is cheaper and may be used to store
data that are less
often needed than the active data. For example, the inactive data may be data
that has not been
accessed by one of the computers 27-29 in at least a threshold amount of time
(e.g., a year or
other threshold amount of time that may be programmed or otherwise
determined). The data
stored in the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 may be stored as
encrypted data, e.g.,
to help prevent unauthorized access to the data, even if the security of the
storage 42 is breeched.
The unstructured data stored in the primary unstructured data backup storage
42 are stored in
accordance with an organization of the data produced in the primary data
center 12, e.g., in
accordance with a system of folders and files. The primary backup sewer 40 may
be configured
to analyze the unstructured data stored in the backup active data 44 and the
backup inactive data
46 to produce VDFs for the unstructured data. The server 40 may provide one or
more of the
VDFs to the primary data center 12, e.g., in response to a request for one or
more VDFs, e.g., in
response to a data file becoming inactive, and/or in response to a disaster
recovery request,
and/or in response to a copy data request. In response to a disaster recovery
request or a copy
data request, the server 40 may provide VDFs of the backup active data 44 and
the backup
inactive data 46. The server 40 may determine the VDFs in response to a
request, or the server
40 may already have produced the VDFs. For example, the server 40 may produce
the VDFs
intermittently even without (absent) a request (e.g., periodically with a
repeating interval between
producing the VDFs)..
[0061] The secondary backup site 15 may be configured similarly to the primary
backup site 14,
with the secondary backup site 15 including the secondary backup server 50 and
the secondary
unstructured data backup storage 52. Backup of structured data is not shown,
and all of the data
stored in the secondary unstructured data backup storage 52 are unstructured
data. The
secondary unstructured data backup storage 52, similar to the primary
unstructured data backup
storage 42, includes backup active data 54 and backup inactive data 56.
Alternatively, both
active and inactive data in the secondary backup storage may be stored in
archive storage. The
secondary backup sewer 50 may be configured similarly to the primary backup
sewer 40 and
include a transceiver (not shown) for transferring data between the server 50
and the Internet 16.
The server 50 may be configured to back up data from the primary data center
12 or from the
primary backup site 14. Thus, the secondary backup site 15 may not communicate
with the
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primary data center 12 directly (i.e., without going through the primary
backup site 14), but
indirectly via the primary backup site 14 (and the Internet 16). The secondary
backup site 15
may communicate with the primary data center 12 directly (albeit possibly
through a network,
here the Internet 16), e.g., in the event of a failure of the primary backup
site 14.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 6, with further reference to FIGS. 2-5, a data access
recovery method
110 includes the stages shown. The method 110 is, however, an example only and
not limiting.
The method 110 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed,
rearranged, combined,
performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple
stages. The method 110
may be useful in disaster recovery of data.
[0063] At stage 112, the method 110 includes receiving, at a first server
(e.g., a darn-backup
server), a request to restore backed-up unstructured data files associated
with the request. The
request may be a general or group data file restore request (e.g., for all
unstructured data files or
only all active unstructured data files, or a specified subset of the
unstructured data files) as
opposed to a specific data file restore request (e.g., for one or more
particular data files). For
example, a user of the computer 27 may use the user interface 88 to interact
with the server 22 to
request disaster recovery data restore, e.g., after a replacement data storage
is connected to the
server 22. The server 22 may be a replacement server, e.g., if an event that
destroyed the primary
unstructured data storage 20 also destroyed the original server 22. The server
22 may respond to
this request by sending the request to restore backed-up data to a backup
server such as the
primary backup server 40. The request sent to the backup server may be a
request for only active
data, or may be a request for active and inactive data If inactive data are
requested, the server 40
may send only the VDFs corresponding to the inactive data, or send the VDFs
and then send the
inactive data itself In response to a backup request, the backup server, e.g.,
the primary backup
server 40, may send a complete set of VDFs for backed-up unstructured data
files associated with
the request, e.g., all the backed-up unstructured data associated with
requested data to be
restored. The complete set of VDFs may be sent regardless of a type of restore
request, e.g.,
whether the restore request was a general data file restore request or a group
data file restore
request. The processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in
combination with the
transceiver 98 may comprise means for receiving the request to restore backed-
up unstructured
data files.
[0064] At stage 114, the method 110 includes sending active data files, of the
backed-up
unstructured data files, from the first server to a second server (e.g., a
data-access server) in
response to receiving the request. For example, the backup server, such as the
primary backup
server 40, may initiate a data transfer to send active data files from the
backup active data 44 to
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the on-premises file server 22. The active data files may be sent, for
example, via a
communication network such as a publicly-accessible communication network such
as the
Internet 16. The active data files to be transferred are associated with the
request directly or
indirectly, e.g., by identifying an owner of the active data files (e.g.,
restore ABC company's
data), or by a source of the request corresponding to the active data files
(es., request originated
from an ABC company computer), etc. The server 40 may send the active data
files to the server
22 in accordance with a predetermined schedule, or in accordance with a
physical order in which
the data files are stored in the backup active data 44, or in accordance with
an order in time at
which the data files were stored, or in accordance with another scheme. The
processor 92,
possibly in combination with the memory 94, in combination with the
transceiver 98 may
comprise means for sending active data files.
100651 At stage 116, the method 110 includes receiving, at the first sewer, an
indication of a
particular data file of the backed-up unstructured data files absent from the
active data files
already sent from the first server. The indication of the particular data file
is an example of a
specific data restore request, and identifies a data portion to be
transferred. The identified data
portion may be a single data file. A user of the computer 27 may use the user
interface 88 to
interact with the server 22 to request a particular data file, that is
identified (directly or indirectly)
by the indication, that has not already been sent to the server 22 from the
server 40. For example,
the user can navigate through a file system architecture and select a VDF to
initiate transmission
of the indication, which may include content of the VDF (e.g., a pointer to a
file). The particular
data file may not be expected to be sent from the server 40 to the server 22
for some time, or at
all (e.g., if the particular data file is an inactive data file), based on the
scheme used by the server
40, that dictates the order in which the active data files will be sent to the
server 22. The
processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in combination with
the transceiver
98 may comprise means for receiving an indication of a particular data file
(e.g., a particular-
data-file indication).
100661 At stage 118, the method 110 includes sending, in response to receiving
the indication,
the particular data file from the first server to the second server before the
particular data file
would be sent, if at all, absent receiving the indication. For example, the
server 40 may
temporarily abandon, or at least overrule, the scheme being used to send the
active data files to
the server 22, find the particular data file, and send the particular data
file to the server 22 ahead
of schedule according to the scheme being implemented by the server 40. Thus,
the server 40
may prioritize transfer of the particular data file to the server 22. For
example, the particular data
file may be moved to a front of a queue for being sent to the server 22. The
server 40 may be
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configured to send the particular data file at a next possible (available)
opportunity, e.g., by
making the particular data file the next file to be transferred, e.g., after
any scheduled data file
transferring that cannot be changed is completed. The scheme being implemented
by the server
40 for sending the active data files may be interrupted so that the server 40
may send the
particular data file to the server 22, and the scheme resumed thereafter. All
or less than all of the
active data files may be scheduled (e.g., according to a determined order) to
be transferred to the
server 22. An order in which active data files are to be transferred may be
changed to another,
revised, order that includes the particular data file (if the original order
did not include the
particular data file, e.g., because the particular data file was an inactive
data file), or that includes
the particular data file in an earlier position in the revised order than in
the original order. An
earlier position in the revised order means that the particular data file will
be sent to the server 22
in accordance with the revised order sooner than the particular data file
would be sent to the
server 22 in accordance with the original order. Instead of interrupting the
scheme transferring
active data, the particular data file may be transferred to the server 22 in
parallel with the data
transfer of the active data. The particular data file may be sent, for
example, via a
communication network such as a publicly-accessible communication network such
as the
Internet 16. The processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in
combination with
the transceiver 98 may comprise means for sending the particular data file.
[0067] Implementations of the method 110 may include one or more of the
following features.
In an example implementation, the method 110 may include, in response to
receiving the request,
sending multiple, e.g., a set of, VDFs from the first server to the second
server. The processor
92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in combination with the
transceiver 98 may
comprise means for sending VDFs. In another example implementation, the VDFs
may be
indicative of respective backed-up unstructured data files, e.g., may comprise
pointers to
respective data files of the backed-up unstructured data files for generating
the indication. Thus,
the VDF representing a particular data file may contain information to enable
the VDF to appear
like the particular data file, and information to be used in producing the
indication of the
particular data file. Selection of a VDF may result in generation of the
indication for accessing
the particular data file. The first server may determine the VDFs from the
backed-up
unstructured data files. The processor 92, possibly in combination with the
memory 94, in
combination with the transceiver 98 may comprise means for determining the
VDFs. In another
example implementation, the first server may send a file system architecture
(e.g., a tiered
structure of folders) to the second server to facilitate finding a VDF of a
desired file to be
retrieved. The indication of the particular data file may be received in
response to selection of a
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particular VDF of the set of VDFs. The indication may be one of multiple
indications, e.g., with
multiple VDFs selected in response to selection of a folder corresponding to
the multiple VDFs.
The processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in combination
with the
transceiver 98 may comprise means for sending the particular data file. The
means for sending
can send the particular data file in response to the indication indicating
selection of a particular
VDF corresponding to the particular data file (with the same being true for
multiple VDFs being
selected). In another example implementation, a portion of the VDFs may
correspond to active
data files of the backed-up unstructured data files and another portion of the
set of VDFs may
correspond to inactive data files the backed-up unstructured data files.
Alternatively, the set of
VDFs may correspond only to active data files. In another example
implementation, the method
110 may include interrupting sending the active data files to send the
particular data file. The
processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in combination with
the transceiver
98 may comprise means for interrupting sending the active data files. In
another example
implementation, the means for sending the active data files may be configured
to begin sending
the active data files to the data-access server after the means for sending
the VDFs send the
VDFs. The VDFs may or may not be delivered before beginning to send active
data files.
Sending the VDFs before the active data files may expedite regaining
operational status for the
backed-up unstructured data. The VDFs may comprise a complete set of VDFs for
the backed-
up unstructured data files (representing all of the backed-up unstructured
data file). Thus,
sending of active data files may begin after sending a complete set of the
VDFs. In another
example implementation, sending the particular data file may comprise sending
the particular
data file at a next possible opportunity after receiving the indication. For
example, the processor
92 may put the particular data file next in a queue to be sent, e.g.,
rearranging a present order of
files to insert the particular file in the queue to be transferred next (e.g.,
after a file presently
being transferred, or after the first file in the queue in front of which a
file may be inserted for
transfer). The processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in
combination with
the transceiver 98 may comprise means for sending the particular file at a
next possible
opportunity. In another example implementation, the method 110 may include
scheduling the
active data files to be sent in a first order, and sending the particular data
file includes: changing
the first order, if the first order lacks the particular data file, to a
second order that includes the
particular data file; or changing the first order, if the first order includes
the particular data file, to
a third order that includes the particular data file earlier than in the first
order. For example, the
active data files are scheduled, and an inactive data file may be inserted
into the order, or an
inactive data file may be moved up in the order. The processor 92, possibly in
combination with
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the memory 94, may comprise means for scheduling the active data files to be
sent in the first
order, and means for changing the first order.
[0068] Referring to FIG. 7, with further reference to FIGS. 2-6 and FIGS. 8-
11, a data access
recovery method 150 includes the stages shown. The method 150 is, however, an
example only
and not limiting. The method 150 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added,
removed,
rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages
split into multiple
stages. The method 150 is an example of an implementation of the method 110
shown in FIG. 6.
Example portions of the method 150 are shown in a process and signal flow 210
shown in FIG. 8,
and an example status of a data storage and retrieval system 250 is shown in
FIG. 9. In FIG. 9,
only one backup site is shown for simplicity.
[0069] At stage 152, the method 150 includes storing active data and VDFs for
inactive data in
primary data storage. For example, the primary unstructured data storage 20
stores active
unstructured data 30 and VDFs of inactive unstructured data 32. The use of the
VDFs for
inactive data instead of storing the inactive data itself reduces the memory
amount used, such that
a smaller primary data storage can be used than would otherwise be needed,
which can save
capital expenditure cost for the storage.
[0070] At stage 154, the method 150 includes losing access to primary data
storage. For
example, some or all of the data stored in the primary unstructured data
storage 20 may become
inaccessible, e.g., due to damage to or destruction of all or part of the
primary unstructured data
storage 20, or due to ransomware prohibiting access, or due to failure of all
or part of the primary
data storage, or due to another cause. The loss of data access is also shown
in stage 212 of the
flow 210 shown in FIG. S.
[0071] At stage 156, the method 150 includes reestablishing data storage
access and requesting
data restore. For example, if the primary unstructured data storage 20 was
destroyed, then a
replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 may be purchased and
communicatively
coupled to the on-premises file server 22. Storage for structured data is not
shown and all data
stored in the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 are
unstructured data. The
replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 may be the original primary
unstructured data
storage 20, e.g., if the data were deleted from the storage 20, but the
storage 20 is operational and
access to the storage is available. The replacement primary unstructured data
storage 33 may be
activated as shown at stage 214 of the flow 210, and may handshake with the
server 22 to enable
communication between the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 and
the server 22
as shown at stage 216 of the flow 210. Further, the server 22 may send a
request to restore
unstructured data as shown at stage 218 of the flow 210. The request may be a
request for: active
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data files and VDFs of inactive datn files; or for data files for both active
and inactive data; or for
active data files, some inactive data files, and some VDFs for other inactive
data files, or the
request may be a generic restore request for unstructured da a, or another
form of request. At
stage 218, the server 22 sends the request to the primary backup server 40,
and the server 40
sends a corresponding data request to the primary unstructured data backup
storage 42, es., to
initiate data transfer from the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 to
the replacement
primary unstructured data storage 33.
[0072] At stage 158, the method 150 includes producing and sending VDFs for
active and
inactive unstructured data to the replacement primary data storage. As shown
by stage 220 of the
flow 210, the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 produces and
provides the VDFs to
the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 via the primary backup
server 40 and the
file sewer 22. Alternatively, the VDFs may be produced by the primary backup
server 40 by
analyzing the unstructured data stored in the primary unstructured data backup
storage 42. Each
of the VDFs corresponds to a respective data file, active or inactive, in the
backup data storage
42. Each of the VDFs points to the respective data file. Because the VDFs are
small quantities
of bits, the VDFs may be transferred to the replacement primary unstructured
data storage 33
rapidly, much faster than the data that The VDFs represent (e.g., the data to
which the VDFs
point) and may be sent to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33
in a matter of, for
example, seconds or minutes instead of hours or days. For example, if each VDF
comprises 4
kBytes of data, and an average data file is 400 kBytes, then 1 TByte of
unstructured data will
have approximately 10 GBytes of VDFs. If a transfer rate from the primary
unstructured data
backup storage 42 to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 is
50 Mbits/sec
(which is affected by transfer rates between each of the entities in the chain
from the storage 42
to the storage 33), then 10 GBytes of VDFs may be transferred to the storage
42 in about 27
minutes whereas the 1 TByte of data would take over 44 hours, nearly two days.
At stage 158,
e.g., before any data files (active or inactive) are sent, all of the VDFs may
be sent to the
replacement primary unstructured data storage. With the VDFs downloaded to the
replacement
primary unstructured data storage 33, the data storage and retrieval system
250 appears as shown
in FIG. 9, with VDFs of active and inactive unstructured data 34 stored in the
replacement
primary unstructured data storage 33, in this case with no active or inactive
data files stored in
the storage 33 at this time. The time required to reach this state after the
data restore request is
made in stage 156 may be very short, due to the small size of the VDFs,
especially relative to the
time that would be required to transfer all the unstructured data, as
explained above. However,
as soon as all the VDFs are present in the replacement primary unstructured
data storage,
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complete system operation and functionality have effectively been restored as
all the unstructured
data are represented in said the replacement primary storage and accessible
via the VDFs. Even
if fewer than all VDFs are transferred, system functionality may be restored
that may be
sufficient, e.g., if VDFs for desired unstructured data files are restored.
With some or all VDFs
are transferred before transferring data files, the time to restoration of
operations may be reduced
dramatically compared to restoring data files.
[0073] At stage 160, the method 150 includes determining whether all active
data files have been
transferred to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33. For
example, the server 40
may determine whether any further active files remain in the primary
unstructured data backup
storage 42 that have not been transferred to the replacement primary
unstructured data storage
33. If all active data files have been transferred, then the method 150
proceeds to stage 168
where the method 150 ends, and the replacement primary unstructured data
storage 33 will then
look like the primary unstructured data storage 20 shown in FIG. 2, with
active data files and
VDFs of inactive data files. If any active data file has not yet been
transferred, then the method
150 proceeds to stage 162. When a data file is stored in the replacement
primary unstructured
data storage 33, the VDF corresponding to that data file may be
eliminated/deleted. Thus, the
VDFs stored in the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 may
correspond to data
files that have not been transferred to the data storage 33. It is possible
that less than all active
data files are to be transferred to the replacement primary unstructured data
storage 33 (e.g., due
to size and/or one or more other factors), and thus the inquiry at stage 160
may be whether all
active data files that are to be transferred have been transferred.
[0074] At stage 162, the method 150 includes determining whether a data file
has been selected.
For example, the sewer 40 may determine whether a particular data file stored
in the backup data
storage 42 has been selected for prioritized transfer to the replacement
primary unstructured data
storage 33. For example, the server 40 may receive an indication of a
particular data file stored
in the data storage 42 to be transferred to the data storage 33. This may
occur, for example, in
response to a user of the computer 27 selecting a VDF using the user interface
88, with the
computer 27 communicating with the server 22, and the server 22 sending the
indication to the
backup server 40 in response to the selection by the user. If a data file has
been selected, then the
method proceeds to stage 166, discussed below. This selection may be an
indication that the user
wants to access or work with the corresponding data file (e.g., the user may
select an icon shown
by the user interface 88 corresponding to the data file). If no data file has
been selected, then the
method 150 proceeds to stage 164.
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100751 At stage 164, the method 150 includes sending a next active data file
to the replacement
primary data storage. An initial transfer of active data is shown at stage 222
of the flow 210
shown in FIG. 9, as it is likely that at least some active data will be
transferred before a VDF is
selected. Dashed lines of the arrows shown in stage 222 indicated that active
data may or may
not be transferred before receipt of an indication of a VDF selection. Once
sending of the active
data file is at least initiated (e.g., the data file queued for transfer), the
method 150 returns to
stage 160. Consequently, multiple active data files may be transferred during
stage 222 if no data
file is selected in stage 162, as the method 150 will cycle through stages
160, 162, 164.
100761 At stage 166, the method 150 includes sending a selected data file,
corresponding to a
selected VDF, to the replacement primary data storage. For example, the server
40 may receive
the indication of the VDF selection as shown at stage 224 of the flow 210, and
may respond to
receiving the indication of the selected data file (which may be an active
data file or an inactive
data file) by accessing the selected data file in the backup data storage 42
and sending the
selected data file to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 as
shown at stage 228
of the flow 210. The server 40 may interrupt the order of transfer of the
active data to send the
selected data file. The server 40 may prioritize the sending of the selected
data file (e.g., by
moving the selected data file to the front of a queue of files to be sent, or
as close to the front as
the server 40 can put the selected data file). If the selected data file is an
active data file, then the
selected data file may be sent to the replacement primary unstructured data
storage 33 before the
selected data file would be sent absent the sewer 40 receiving the indication
of the data file being
selected. If the selected data file is an inactive data file, then the
selected data file will be sent to
the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 when the selected data
file may not
otherwise be sent to the replacement primary data storage (e.g., if inactive
data files are not to be
sent, but only VDFs for inactive data files). The transfer of the selected
data file is shown at
stage 228 of the flow 210. As indicated by a stage 226 of the flow 210, one or
more active data
files may (or may not, as indicated by the dashed lines) be sent from the
backup data storage 42
to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 after receipt of the
indication of the data
file selection (here the VDF selection) and before sending of the selected
data file (e.g., due to
time to put the selected data file in the queue for transfer to the
replacement primary unstructured
data storage 33). Further, as indicated by stage 230, after the selected data
are sent at stage 228,
further active data files may be sent to the replacement primary data storage
(unless the selected
data file was the last active data file). Multiple VDFs may be selected by a
single user selection.
For example, a user may select a folder of a file system architecture where
the folder corresponds
to data files represented by multiple VDFs. Selection of the folder may
trigger the server 22 to
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select all the VDFs associated with the folder and send indications of
selections of the VDFs to
the server 40. The multiple data files may be transferred from the primary
unstructured data
backup storage 42 with higher priority, e.g., being transferred as a group out
of order compared
to an expected order of transfer.
[0077] The flow 210 may be used to restore all backed-up data or less than all
of the backed-up
data. For example, the active data restored may be less than all of the backed-
up active data,
with the non-restored backed-up active data being represented by corresponding
VDFs. A
restore request may explicitly or implicitly request a restore of less than
all of the backup active
data 44. For example, a restore request at stage 218 may indicate to restore
the active data files
only for the backup active data 44 that corresponds to data that have been
accessed within a
threshold amount of time that is different than the threshold amount of time
for deeming data to
be inactive. For example, active data may become inactive data after a year
without access to the
data, and the restore request at stage 218 may request to restore active data
files only for the
backup active data 44 that corresponds to data that have been accessed within
the most recent six
months, such that the backup active data 44 corresponding to data accessed
between six months
ago and a year ago will be restored as VDFs and not actual data files. The
restore request at
stage 218 may implicitly request a partial restore of active data files, e.g.,
according to a protocol,
e.g., a "recent-file restore" request may correspond to restoring active data
files only for active
data that have been accessed within a predetermined amount of time, e.g., the
previous six
months. Numerous other implicit partial restore requests are possible. The
restore request at
stage 218 may explicitly request partial restore of inactive data files, e.g.,
indicating a full or
partial restore of the backup active data and identifying (explicitly or
implicitly) one or more files
of the backup inactive data for restore.
100781 As shown in FIG. 8, a stage 232 includes the stages 222, 224, 226, 228,
230. The stage
232 comprises active data restore with on-demand repriontization. That is, the
active data are
transferred from the backup dab storage 42 to the replacement primary
unstructured data storage
33, e.g., in an on-going manner, with an order of transfer of the active data
files
changed/reprioritized in response to receipt of a data request (e.g.,
selection of a VDF or other
indication of a data file) to either change the order of the active data files
to send an active data
file sooner than before the change (e.g., as soon as possible), or to send an
inactive data file that
otherwise would not be sent as part of the data restore.
[0079] Referring to FIG. 10, with further reference to FIGS. 2-9, an example
data flow 310
between the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 and the primary
unstructured data
backup storage 42 includes the stages shown. In this example, active data
files 1-8 are stored in
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the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 such that the data files 1-8
will be sent to the
replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 in numerical order absent
selection of a VDF.
At stage 312, active data files 1 and 2 are sent from the backup active data
44 to the replacement
primary unstructured data storage 33. Stage 312 may correspond, for example,
to stage 222 of
the flow 210 where one or more active data files are sent before a VDF
selection is received. At
stage 314, a request for data file 7 is received by the primary unstructured
data backup storage
42, e.g., from the server 22 in response to a VDF selection from the computer
27. Stage 314 may
correspond to stage 224 of the flow 210. The selected data file, here the
active data file 7, is
reprioritized to alter the default order of transfer of the data files 1-8 to
send the data file 7
earlier, here, as soon as possible. At stage 316, the active data file 7 is
sent from the primary
unstructured data backup storage 42 to the replacement primary unstructured
data storage 33, in
this example, before any other active data files are sent. Stage 316 may
correspond to stage 228
of the flow 210. At stage 318, the remaining active data files 3-6 and 8 are
sent to the
replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 because no further VDF
selections are
received. Stage 318 may correspond to stage 230 of the flow 210. While all of
the active data
files 1-8 are shown as being transferred, less than all of the active data
files 1-8 may be
transferred, e.g., a data transfer scheme (e.g., schedule or order) may have
less than all the active
data files 1-8.
[0080] Referring to FIG. 11, with further reference to FIGS. 2-10, an example
data flow 330
between the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33 and the primary
unstructured data
backup storage 42 includes the stages shown. The data flow 330 is similar to
the data flow 310,
except that in this example, the active data file 3 is sent to the replacement
primary unstructured
data storage 33 after receipt of a VDF selection and before transfer of the
data file corresponding
to the VDF selection. Thus, stages 332, 334, and 336 are similar to stages
312, 314, and 316,
respectively. At stage 335, the data file 3 is sent after receiving the VDF
selection of data file 7
at stage 334 but before sending the data file 7 at stage 336 (e.g., due to
time to insert the data file
7 into the queue for transfer to the replacement primary unstructured data
storage 33). At stage
338, active data files 4-6 and 8 are sent to the replacement primary
unstructured data storage 33
as opposed to data files 3-6 and 8 that are sent at stage 318. Less than all
the active data files 1-8
may be transferred.
[0081] The data flows 310, 330 show example data flows with a VDF selection
corresponding to
an active data file. Similar data flows would result from a VDF selection of
an inactive data file.
For example, if the selected VDF corresponded to a requested inactive data
file at stage 314 or
334, then the requested inactive data file would be sent at stage 316 or 336,
and at stages 318,
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338, active data files 3-8 or 4-8, respectively, would be sent from the
primary unstructured data
backup storage 42 to the replacement primary unstructured data storage 33.
100821 Referring to FIG. 12, with further reference to FIG. 2, a hybrid cloud
computing system
350 includes the primary data center 12, the primary backup site 14, the
Internet, and a public
cloud service 352. The primary backup site 14 may be the only backup site. The
public cloud
service 352 includes a transceiver 354, a cloud virtual Windows* file server
356, and cloud
unstructured data storage 358. Storage for structured data is not shown and
all VDFs stored in
the cloud unstructured data storage 358 are VDFs of unstructured data. The
server 356 may be
configured similarly to the server 90, e.g., include similar components, and
be configured to
perform functions as discussed herein. The server 356 includes a DTA 361
configured similarly
to the DTA 21, a retrieval agent 363 configured similarly to the retrieval
agent 23, and an
encryption subsystem 365 configured similarly to the encryption subsystem 25.
The cloud
unstructured data storage 358 may be any of a variety of types of storage,
such as those discussed
above with respect to the primary unstructured data storage 20. The cloud
unstructured data
storage 358 stores VDFs of active and inactive data 360, that is, VDFs
corresponding to active
data files and inactive data files, e.g., stored in the primary backup site
14. The VDFs may be
accessed remotely, e.g., by a user of a computer of the primary data center
12, or a user of a
computer located anywhere with access to the Internet 16. The VDFs may be
selected, and the
server 356 may respond to selection of a VDF by sending a request to the
primary backup site 14
for the data file corresponding to the selected VDF. The primary backup site
14, e.g., the sewer
40, may respond to the received request by accessing and sending the
corresponding data file to
the public cloud service 352, e.g., to the server 356 which then stores the
data file in the cloud
unstructured data storage 358. Multiple VDFs may be selected, and thus
multiple data files may
be retrieved from the primary backup site 14 and stored in the cloud
unstructured data storage
358. The user may access the retrieved data file(s) from the cloud
unstructured data storage 358,
e.g., to perform one or more tests on the data.
100831 The system 350, and in particular the public cloud service 352, may be
used as a
development tool_ For example, the server 356 may be altered according to a
planned upgrade to
the server 22 in the primary data center 12. Data files retrieved from the
primary backup site 14
may be used to run quality assurance (QA) tests on the server 356 with the
planned upgrade
installed. Operation of the upgraded server, using the retrieved data, may be
monitored to
determine effectiveness and quality of the planned upgrade before installing
the upgrade on the
server 22. The operation may be checked using only the data needed for the
tests instead of all
active data of the primary data center 12.
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100841 The system 350 may be used for disaster recovery (DR) testing, e.g., to
verify an ability
to recover from a disaster involving the primary data center 12 by using the
public cloud server
352. That is, it may be verified that the cloud may be used to recover from a
disaster with the
primary data center 12, e.g., to allow quick recovery if the data transfer
rate from the primary
backup site 14 to the public cloud service 352 is high, and with user access
to the recovered data
readily available by Internet access.
[0085] Referring to FIG. 13, with further reference to HG. 2, a cloud-based
computing data
storage and recovery system 370 includes the primary backup site 14, the
Internet 16, the
computer 27, and a public cloud service 372, The system 370 may be used, e.g.,
for cloud-based
primary computing and cloud-based disaster recovery. The public cloud service
372 includes a
transceiver 374, a cloud virtual Windows file server 376, and a cloud
unstructured data storage
378, The file server 376, as shown, may be configured similarly to the file
server 22, including a
data transport agent 321 configured similarly to the DTA 21, a retrieval agent
323 configured
similarly to the retrieval agent 23, and an encryption agent 325 configured
similarly to the
encryption agent 25. The cloud unstructured data storage 378 stores VDFs of
active and inactive
data 380. Storage for structured data is not shown and all VDFs stored in the
cloud unstructured
data storage 378 are VDFs of unstructured data The system 370 is similar to
the system 10
shown in FIG. 2, except that the public cloud service 372 is used instead of
the primary data
center 12. The computer 27 can access the public cloud service 372 via the
Internet 16 to
perform desired operations, e.g., viewing data, editing data, adding data,
retrieving data (e.g., for
disaster recovery), etc. as the public cloud service 372 acts like a primary
data center for the
computer 27.
[0086] Referring to FIG. 14, with further reference to HG. 2 and FIG. 5, a
data storage and
retrieval system 400 includes the primary data center 12, the primary backup
site 14, the
secondary backup site 15, the Internet 16, a copy data facility 410, and a
copy data facility 420.
A copy of some or all active and/or inactive data and/or VDFs for some or all
data may be
desired for various reasons. For example, a clone of active data and VDFs for
inactive data may
be desired for performance analysis, a set of VDFs for all active and inactive
data may be desired
for training purposes, or all active and inactive data files may be desired
for development
applications. The system 400 or a portion thereof (e.g., the server 40) may
provide means for
creating, e.g., using VDFs, an operational duplicate of an entirety or a
portion of backed-up
unstructured data files that may occupy significantly less storage space than
the backed-up
unstructured data files and use significantly less time to provide the
operation copy than
transferring all the backed-up unstructured data files. The primary backup
site 14, e.g., the server
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40, may be considered to be a data management system, e.g., for providing
virtual copy data
from the primary unstructured data backup storage 42. For example, the server
40 may be
configured to respond to a copy data request for obtaining a copy of data from
the primary
unstructured data backup storage 42. The copy data request may request a copy
of all data in the
primary unstructured data backup storage 42. The primary backup server 40 may
be configured
to respond to the copy data request by providing VDFs of the data requested to
be copied to the
copy data facility 420 similar to the discussion of FIGS. 7 and 8 (e.g., in
response to a data
request at stage 218 shown in FIG. 8). The copy data VDFs may be transferred
in much less time
than for transferring the corresponding data files. The copy data VDFs may be
stored in a copy
data storage 424, although the copy data storage 424 may not be limited to
storing copy data
VDFs. The server 40 may determine the VDFs in response to the copy data
request. The sewer
40 may provide a file system architecture along with the VDFs so that a user
may navigate the
architecture to find a desired VDF to select. A portion of the architecture,
e.g., a folder, may also
be selected, in which case all the VDFs within the selected folder are
selected, thus triggering
retrieval of the corresponding data files as discussed here, e.g., as
discussed with respect to FIGS
7 and 8. The VDFs occupy significantly less storage space than the
corresponding active and
inactive unstructured data. One or more of the VDFs may be selected to request
the
corresponding data from the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 and
transfer the
corresponding data from the primary unstructured data backup storage 42 to the
copy data facility
420, similar to the data recovery discussion herein. In the data copy example,
however, data files
may not automatically be transferred to the copy data facility such that
selection of one or more
VDFs may not cause a change in a data transfer order.
[0087] The copy data facility 410 includes a server 412 and a copy data
storage 414, and the
copy data facility 420 includes a server 422 and a copy data storage 424. The
servers 412, 414
may be configured with components similar to those of the server 90 with
appropriate
functionality. The servers 412, 422 are configured for bi-directional
communication with the
copy data storages 414, 424, respectively, and for bi-directional
communication with the Internet
16. All or a portion of each of the copy data facility 410 and/or the copy
data facility 420 may be
physically disposed in, and part of, the primary data center 12. Each of the
servers 412, 422 may
be a portion (e.g., a partition) of the server 22 of the primary data center
12, or may independent
of the sewer 22. Each of the servers 412,422 may be a multi-cloud server that
may be public or
private.
[0088] As with data restore, all backed-up data or less than all of the backed-
up data may be
copied. Also or alternatively, all or less than all files of active data may
be copied and/or some
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or all data files of inactive data may be copied as data files (instead of
VDFs or to replace VDFs
previously sent to the copy data facility 410 and/or the copy data facility
420). For example, the
active data restored may be less than all of the backup active data 44, with
the non-restored
backup active data being represented by corresponding VDFs.
100891 Some data files may be automatically transferred to a copy data
facility in response to an
explicit and/or implicit request for the data files in a copy data request.
For example, the copy
data request may explicitly or implicitly include one or more user indications
of one or more data
files to be transferred instead of, or in addition to, the VDF(s)
corresponding to the data file(s).
As another example, the server 40 may respond to a copy data request by
automatically
transferring (e.g., without user indication(s) of specific data file(s) to be
transferred) either only
VDFs for all or a portion of the data files, or one or more data files and
VDFs for other data files
based on a use (application) for the copy data request. The sewer 40 may be
configured to
determine the use of the copy data from the copy data request. For example,
the server 40 may
be configured to respond to a copy data request for data to be used for
performance evaluation or
quality assurance (QA) analysis by sending data files for the backup active
data 44 (e.g., after
sending VDFs for the backup active data 44) and VDFs only for the backup
inactive data 46
(e.g., as shown in the copy data storage 414). As another example, the server
40 may be
configured to respond to a copy data request for training purposes by sending
only the VDFs for
the backup active data 44 and the backup inactive data 46 (e.g., as shown in
the copy data storage
424). To obtain a data file, the corresponding VDF stored in the copy data
storage 424 could be
selected. As another example, the server 40 may be configured to respond to a
copy data request
for software or system development purposes by sending all the data files of
the backup active
data 44 and the backup inactive data 46 (e.g., after initially sending the
respective VDFs). The
server 40 may be configured to respond to a copy data request including one or
more explicit
requests for data files by sending those data files (e.g., after sending
corresponding VDFs) and
sending VDFs for other data files. The server 40 may be configured to respond
to a copy data
request requesting (implicitly or explicitly) at least one data file by
transferring the data file(s) to
a copy data facility without transferring the VDF(s) for the data file(s) or
to replace the VDF(s),
corresponding to the data file(s), that has(have) been provided to the copy
data facility.
100901 In the example shown in FIG. 14, the copy data storage 414 stores
active data files and
VDFs and the copy data storage 424 stores VDFs only. The active data files and
VDFs stored in
the copy data storage 414 would occupy significantly more storage space than
the VDFs stored in
the copy data storage 424 if the VDFs in the copy data storage 424 correspond
to the
combination of the VDFs and the active data files stored in the copy data
storage 414. The VDFs
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of both active and inactive data stored in the copy data storage 424 would
typically occupy
significantly less storage than the combination of active data files and VDFs
of inactive data files
stored in the copy data storage 414, which would occupy significantly less
storage than storing
all active and inactive data files. Thus, the storage space used corresponding
to a copy data
request may be based on, and may be reduced based on, the characteristics of
the use of the copy
data (e.g., software development, performance testing, QA, training).
[0091] Referring to FIG. 15, with further reference to FIGS. 2 and 14, a
method 440 of
responding to a copy data request includes the stages shown. The method 440
is, however, an
example only and not limiting. The method 440 may be altered, e.g., by having
stages added,
removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single
stages split into
multiple stages.
[0092] At stage 442, a copy data request is received. For example, the server
40 may receive a
copy data request from the primary data center 12, es., from one of the
computers 27-29. The
server 40 may analyze the copy data request to determine what data files
and/or VDFs to send to
a copy data facility.
[0093] At stage 444, an inquiry is made as to whether the copy data request is
for data to be used
performance analysis and/or QA. For example, the server 40 may determine
whether the copy
data request has an implicit and/or explicit request for data for use in
performance analysis or
QA. If the copy data request is for data for performance analysis and/or QA,
then the method
440 proceeds to stage 446, where the server 40 sends the backup active data 44
and VDFs of the
backup inactive data 46, and otherwise proceeds to stage 448. At stage 446,
the server 40 may
initially send VDFs of both the backup active data 44 and the inactive data
46, and then send the
data files of the backup active data 44. This may expedite use of the copy
data image as (all) the
data files are present as VDFs and accessible via the VDFs, effectively
providing access to data
files before the data files are copied.
[0094] At stage 448, an inquiry is made as to whether the copy data request is
for training
purposes. For example, the server 40 may determine whether the copy thin
request has an
implicit and/or explicit request for data for use in training. If the copy
data request is for data for
training purposes, then the method 440 proceeds to stage 450, where the server
40 sends VDFs of
the backup active data 44 and VDFs of the backup inactive data 46, and
otherwise proceeds to
stage 452. Upon completion of stage 450, the copy data image may be
immediately usable.
[0095] At stage 452, an inquiry is made as to whether the copy data request is
for data to be used
for development purposes, such as software programming or system alteration to
add
functionality or features to the program(s) or system(s) that access the data.
For example, the
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server 40 may determine whether the copy data request has an implicit and/or
explicit request for
data for use in development. If the copy data request is for data for such
development purposes,
then the method 440 proceeds to stage 454, where the server 40 sends data
files of the backup
active data 44 and data files of the backup inactive data 46, and otherwise
proceeds to stage 456.
At stage 454, the server 40 may initially send VDFs of both the backup active
data 44 and the
backup inactive data 46, and only then send the data files of the backup
active data 44 and the
backup inactive data 46. This may expedite use of the copy data image as (all)
the data files are
present as VDFs and accessible via the VDFs, effectively providing access to
data files before the
data files are copied.
[0096] At stage 456, an inquiry is made as to whether the copy data request
contains one or more
implicit requests for data files one or more other purposes, here other than
for performance
analysis, QA, training, or development. For example, the server 40 may
determine whether the
copy data request has one or more implicit requests for one or more other
purposes. If the copy
data request has one or more implicit request for one or more other purposes,
then the method
440 proceeds to stage 458, where the server 40 sends the appropriate data
files and/or VDFs (e.g.,
according to the protocol(s) for The purpose(s) for the data), and otherwise
proceeds to stage 460.
At stage 458, the server 40 may initially send VDFs of any data files to be
transferred, and then
send the data files.
[0097] At stage 460, an inquiry is made as to whether the copy data request
contains one or more
explicit requests for data files. For example, the server 40 may determine
whether the copy data
request has one or more explicit requests for one or more data files (which
may include one or
more requests for one or more data files of the backup active data 44 and/or
one or more request
for one or more data files of the backup inactive data 46). If the copy data
request has one or
more explicit requests for one or more data files, then the method 440
proceeds to stage 458,
where the server 40 sends the explicitly-requested data file(s) and VDFs for
all other data files, if
any, and otherwise proceeds to stage 464. At stage 462, the server 40 may
initially send VDFs of
any explicitly-requested data files to be transferred, and then send the data
files.
[0098] At stage 464, the method 440 includes sending a default set of data
files and/or VDFs to a
copy data facility. The server 40 may be configured to respond to the copy
data request not
including any of the implicit requests that the server 40 is configured to
check for, and not
including any explicit request, to send a default configuration of data files
and/or VDFs, e.g.,
only sending the VDFs, or sending the VDFs for the backed-up active data files
and inactive data
files, and then sending the backup active data 44 (i.e., the backed-up active
data files). Other
default configurations may be used.
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100991 Referring to FIG. 16, with further reference to FIGS. 2-15, a data
management method
470 includes the stages shown. The method 470 is, however, an example only and
not limiting.
The method 470 may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed,
rearranged, combined,
performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple
stages.
[0100] At stage 472, the method 470 includes receiving, at a server, a copy
data request for
unstructured data. For example, a request for copy data is initiated by one of
the computers 27-
29 and sent to the server 40. The copy data request may indicate a
destination, e.g., one or more
of the copy data facilities 410, 420, for the copy data. The processor 92,
possibly in combination
with the memory 94, in combination with the transceiver 98 may comprise means
for receiving a
copy data request.
[0101] At stage 474, the method 470 includes accessing, by the server in
response to the copy
data request, a plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data stored in a
first data storage
device. For example, the processor 92 may access, via the transceiver 98, the
primary
unstructured data backup storage 42 in response to receiving the copy data
request The
processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, may comprise means
for accessing
the plurality of backed-up files of unstructured data stored in the first data
storage (i.e., means for
accessing the first data storage).
[0102] At stage 476, the method 470 includes sending, from the sewer in
response to the copy
data request, a plurality of VDFs to a second data storage device, the server
being configured to
respond to receipt of information from each of the plurality of VDFs to
retrieve a respective
backed-up file of unstructured data of the plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data stored
in the first data storage. For example, the processor 92 may send, via the
transceiver 98, VDFs
corresponding to some or all of the backup active data 44 and/or some or all
of the backup
inactive data 46 in response to the copy data request. The processor 92,
possibly in combination
with the memory 94, in combination with the transceiver 98 may comprise means
for sending the
VDFs.
[0103] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the
following features. In
an example implementation, each of the VDFs comprises a pointer to the
respective backed-up
file of unstructured data. In another example implementation, the method 470
may include
determining the plurality of VDFs from the backed-up files of unstructured
data. For example,
the processor 92 can access the backed-up files of unstructured data and
produce the VDFs in
order to provide access to the respective data files by selecting the VDFs.
Also or alternatively,
the processor may determine the VDFs by obtaining the VDFs from the primary
unstructured
data backup storage 42 that determines the VDFs from the unstructured data
files. The processor
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92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, possibly in combination with
the transceiver 98
may comprise means for determining the VDFs. In another example
implementation, the method
470 may include sending at least one of the plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data to
the second data storage device based on an implicit request in the copy data
request, e.g., as
discussed with respect to FIG. 15. For example, the memory 94 may store one or
more
protocols, for one or more corresponding implicit requests, that indicate
whether and/or what
backed-up files of unstructured data to provide based on receiving a
corresponding implicit
request. The processor 92, possibly in combination with the memory 94, in
combination with the
transceiver 98 may comprise means for sending the backed-up data file(s) based
on an implicit
request. In another example implementation, the implicit request may include
an indication of a
purpose for the copy data request, the purpose comprising at least one of
performance analysis,
quality assurance, development, or training. In another example
implementation, the method 470
may include sending at least one of the plurality of backed-up files of
unstructured data to the
second data storage device based on an explicit request in the copy data
request, e.g., as
discussed with respect to HG. 15. The processor 92, possibly in combination
with the memory
94, in combination with the transceiver 98 may comprise means for sending the
backed-up data
file(s) based on an explicit request.
[0104] Other Considerations
[0105] Other examples and implementations are within the scope and spirit of
the disclosure and
appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers,
functions described
above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware,
firmware,
hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions
may also be
physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that
portions of functions
are implemented at different physical locations.
[0106] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and 'The" include the
plural forms as well,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises,"
"comprising," "includes,"
and/or "including, as used herein, specify the presence of stated features,
integers, steps,
operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or
addition of one or
more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or
groups thereof
[0107] As used herein, an indication that a device is configured to perform a
stated function
means that the device contains appropriate equipment (e.g., circuitry,
mechanical device(s),
hardware, software (e.g., processor-readable instructions), firmware, etc.) to
perform the stated
fivaction. That is, the device contains equipment that is capable of
performing the stated
function, e.g., with the device itself having been designed and made to
perform the function, or
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having been manufactured such that the device includes equipment that was
designed and made
to perform the function. An indication that processor-readable instructions
are configured to
cause a processor to perfonn functions means that the processor-readable
instructions contain
instructions that when executed by a processor (after compiling as
appropriate) will result in the
fiinctions being performed.
101081 Also, as used herein, "or" as used in a list of items prefaced by "at
least one of' or
prefaced by "one or more of' indicates a disjunctive list such that, for
example, a list of "at least
one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C" means A or B or C
or AB or AC or
BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature
(e.g., AA, AAB,
ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured
to perform a
function regarding at least one of A or B means that the item may be
configured to perform the
function regarding A, or may be configured to perform the function regarding
B, or may be
configured to perform the function regarding A and B. For example, a phrase of
"a processor
configured to measure at least one of A or B" means that the processor may be
configured to
measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be
configured to measure
B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to
measure A and
measure B (and may be configured to select which, or both, of A and B to
measure). Similarly, a
recitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for
measuring A
(which may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and may
or may not be
configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be able to
select which,
or both, of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation that an
item, e.g., a processor,
is configured to at least one of perform function X or perform function Y
means that the item
may be configured to perform the function X, or may be configured to perform
the function Y, or
may be configured to perform the function X and to perform the function Y. For
example, a
phrase of "a processor configured to at least one of measure X or measure Y"
means that the
processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to
measure Y), or
may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure
X), or may be
configured to measure X and to measure Y (and may be configured to select
which, or both, of X
and Y to measure).
101091 As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or
operation is "based
on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the
stated item or
condition and may be based on one or more items and/or conditions in addition
to the stated item
or condition.
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[0110] Further, an indication that information is sent or transmitted, or a
statement of sending or
transmitting information, "to' an entity does not require completion of the
communication. Such
indications or statements include situations where the information is conveyed
from a sending
entity but does not reach an intended recipient of the information. The
intended recipient, even if
not actually receiving the information, may still be referred to as a
receiving entity, e.g., a
receiving execution environment. Further, an entity that is configured to send
or transmit
information "to" an intended recipient is not required to be configured to
complete the delivery
of the information to the intended recipient. For example, the entity may
provide the
information, with an indication of the intended recipient, to another entity
that is capable of
forwarding the inforrnation along with an indication of the intended
recipient.
[0111] Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific
requirements. For
example, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particular elements
might be
implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as
applets, etc.), or both.
Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output
devices may be
employed.
[0112] The terms "processor-readable medium," "machine-readable medium," and
"computer-
readable medium," or the like as used herein, refer to any medium that
participates in providing
data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Using a computer
system, various
computer-readable media might be involved in providing instructions/code to
processor(s) for
execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry such instructions/code
(e.g., as signals). In
many implementations, a computer-readable medium is a physical and/or tangible
storage
medium. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-
volatile media
and volatile media Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and/or
magnetic disks.
Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamic memory.
[0113] Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable media
include, for
example, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any
other optical
medium, a RAM, a PROM, EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or
cartridge, or
any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.
[0114] Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying
one or more
sequences of one or more instructions to one or more processors for execution.
Merely by way
of example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk
and/or optical disc of a
remote computer. A remote computer might load the instructions into its
dynamic memory and
send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to be received
and/or executed by a
computer system.
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[0115] The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Various
configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components
as appropriate.
For instance, in alternative configurations, the methods may be performed in
an order different
from that described, and that various steps may be added, omitted, or
combined. Also, features
described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various
other
configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be
combined in a
similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are
examples and do
not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.
[0116] Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough
understanding of
example configurations (including implementations). However, configurations
may be practiced
without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes,
algorithms,
structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order
to avoid
obscuring the configurations. This description provides example configurations
only, and does
not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather,
the preceding
description of the configurations provides a description for implementing
described techniques.
Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements
without departing
from the spirit or scope of the disclosure.
[0117] Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted as
a flow diagram
or block diagram. Although each may describe the operations as a sequential
process, many of
the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the
order of the
operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional stages or
functions not included in
the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may be implemented by
hardware, software,
firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any
combination thereof
When implemented in software, firmware, midclleware, or microcode, the program
code or code
segments to perform the tasks may be stored in a non-transitory computer-
readable medium such
as a storage medium. Processors may perform the described tasks.
[0118] Components, functional or otherwise, shown in the figures and/or
discussed herein as
being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled.
That is, they
may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.
[0119] A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a threshold
value (e.g., first
threshold value) is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds
another threshold
value (e.g., a second threshold value) that is slightly greater than the first
threshold value, e.g.,
the second threshold value being one value higher than the first threshold
value in the resolution
of a computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or
below) a threshold
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value (e.g., first threshold value) is equivalent to a statement that the
value is less than or equal to
another threshold value (e.g., a second threshold value) that is slightly
lower than the first
threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value lower than
the first threshold
value in the resolution of a computing system.
101201 Having described several example configurations, various modifications,
alternative
constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit
of the disclosure.
For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, wherein
other rules may
take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention.
Also, a number of
operations may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements are
considered.
Accordingly, the above description does not bound the scope of the claims.
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