Emc IP Holding Company LLC

Emc Corporation

Kiran Kumar Madiraju Varadaraju

Neelabh Mam

Manjunath Jagannatha

Pavan Kumar Dattatreya Ati

Ravi Kishore Yadav Rangapuram

A method that is performed for backing up data. The method includes obtaining, by a backup storage, an incremental backup request; and in response to the incremental backup request, identifying backup extents of a full backup associated with the incremental backup request using backup metadata; generating an intermediate backup file comprising the backup extents, wherein each of the backup extents is a reference to a correspond data block; obtaining modified data blocks from a production host; and updating the intermediate backup file using on the modified data blocks to generate a virtual synthetic backup file.

Method and system for generating synthetic backups using block based backups

Techniques to back up data are disclosed. In various embodiments, a shadow copy of a source volume is created. An excluded file is deleted from the shadow copy. One or more blocks modified in the shadow copy in connection with deleting the excluded file from the shadow copy are tracked.

Excluding files in a block based backup

Techniques to exclude files from backup are disclosed. In various embodiments, a database that includes an exclude set table configured to store data associated with one or more files identified to be excluded from backup is accessed. Data retrieved from the database is used to exclude one or more of said one or more files from a backup. In some embodiments, files are excluded from the backup at least in part by deleting the files from a shadow copy volume created in connection with said backup.

Tracking files excluded from backup

High speed backup of a target volume to a VHD format is disclosed. In various embodiments, a hint data indicating a last known file system extent associated with a previously-processed data zone is received. The hint data is used to determine a starting file system extent at which to begin processing file system extent data of the target volume to find file system extents associated with a VHD data zone that is currently being processed.

High speed backup

Techniques to back up data are disclosed. In various embodiments, a shadow copy of a source volume is created. An excluded file is deleted from the shadow copy. One or more blocks modified in the shadow copy in connection with deleting the excluded file from the shadow copy are tracked. An incremental backup is performed, the incremental backup includes determining one or more blocks to be backed up in connection with the incremental backup based at least in part on at least one of the tracked one or more blocks modified in the shadow copy and a merged bitmap corresponding to a merger of a first bitmap associated with the shadow copy and a second bitmap associated with the source volume.

Systems and methods for generating synthetic backups and for consolidating a chain of related backups. The chain of related backups is merged on the fly to create a backup stream. A block allocation table (BAT) may be identified for each backup to be consolidated into a synthetic backup, and BAT entries from each backup may be merged or combined to create a new BAT table associated with the synthetic backup. The data included in the related backups may be reformatted on the fly from big endian to little endian or vice versa. The backup stream is stored on a target device or volume.

Methods for generating a synthetic backup and for consolidating a chain of backups independent of endianness

A system for incremental backup comprises a storage device and a processor. The processor is configured to: 1) start Event Tracing for Windows tracking, to track changed block information in one or more maps, where each of the one or more maps tracks writes indicated via a node; 2) receive request for an incremental backup of a volume of one or more volumes, wherein the one or more maps track changed blocks from writes to the volume; 3) halt writes to the volume and queue writes to the volume after halting; 4) freeze the one or more maps of changed blocks; change Event Tracing for Windows tracking, wherein the change block info is tracked to a new set of maps; 5) determine changed blocks using the one or more maps; 6) write changed blocks to a backup volume; and 7) release writes to the volume.

Block based incremental backup from user mode

A system for incremental backup comprises a storage device and a processor. The processor is configured to: 1) start tracking, wherein a file changed block info is tracked in map(s), wherein each of the map(s) tracks writes indicated via a node of a set of nodes; 2) receive request for an incremental backup of a volume of one or more volumes, wherein the map(s) track changed blocks from writes to the volume; 3) halt writes to the volume and queue writes to the volume after halting; 4) freeze the map(s) of changed blocks; 5) change tracking, wherein the change block info is tracked to a new set of maps; 6) determine changed blocks using the map(s); 7) write changed blocks to a backup volume; and 8) release writes to volume.

File based incremental block backup from user mode

A system and method for generating a virtual full synthetic backup of a target volume is described. For each zone associated with the target volume in which a corresponding data block has changed since the previous backup or is not represented by the previous backup, the system and method may directly copy the associated data blocks from the target volume. For each zone associated with the target volume in which a corresponding data block has not changed since the previous backup and is represented by the previous backup, the system and method may rebase the offset for the zone in the virtual full synthetic backup file to the corresponding zone in the previous backup file. Using this technique, a more efficient and robust backup may be generated.

Advanced virtual synthetic full backup synthesized from previous full-backups

A system for incremental backup comprises a storage device and a processor. The processor is configured to: 1) start fileIO ETW tracking, wherein a file changed block info is tracked in map(s), wherein each of the map(s) tracks writes indicated via a node of a set of nodes; 2) receive request for an incremental backup of one or more files of one or more volumes, wherein the map(s) track changed blocks from writes to the one or more files; 3) halt writes to the one or more files and queue writes to the one or more files after halting; 4) freeze the map(s) of changed blocks; 5) change file IO ETW tracking, wherein the change block info is tracked to a new set of maps; 6) determine changed blocks using the map(s); 7) write changed blocks to a backup volume; and 8) release writes to the one or more files.

Growing community of inventors

Bengaluru, India

Kiran Kumar Madiraju Varadaraju