International Business Machines Corporation

Sabine U Steinhauer

Christian Mueller

Mauro Cruciani

Stefan Bender

Dominic Mueller-Wicke

Michael Loehr

Nils Haustein

Thomas Prause

Andreas Uhl

Frank Lautenbach

Frank Mueller

Eirini Petraki

A method for handling snapshots together with migrated files in a hierarchical storage management may be provided. The method comprises managing files using a first-tier storage and a second-tier storage. The files are organized in a managed file system&#x2014;e.g., a hierarchically managed file system&#x2014;in the first-tier storage. The method comprises further creating a snapshot of a portion of the files of the first-tier storage, thereby creating a hidden directory in the file system, deleting a migrated file, and moving the stub file relating to the file to be deleted in the first-tier storage to the hidden directory.

Effective handling of HSM migrated files and snapshots

A method for accessing filesystem objects on a backup server storing block level backups, includes: receiving a request to access a filesystem object stored in the block level backups, the request including a pattern of characters identifying the filesystem object in a global history table mapping a history of filesystem objects to the block level backups; identifying, based on the pattern of characters, an object identifier in the global history table corresponding to the filesystem object; identifying, based on the object identifier, a set of one or more block level backups of the computing system having a copy of the filesystem object; selecting a block level backup from the set of one or more block level backups; mounting the selected block level backup to access a backed-up file system of the computing system; and retrieving, from the backed-up filesystem, the filesystem object.

File name level based file search and restoration from block level backups of virtual machines

A backup system retains a certain number of file versions in backups of a virtual machine running on a host computing system. Files are identified that have changed on the virtual machine since storing a backup of the virtual machine on a backup server. Host blocks on that are associated with each of the changed files are determined. Backup blocks associated with each of the host blocks are determined. The changed files and associated backup blocks are merged with previous file version information. It is determined that a version of a file has become expired, the version of the file associated with a backup block. The backup block is deleted in response to determining that the backup block is not associated with any unexpired file versions and the backup block is not associated with any unexpired virtual machine backups.

Expiration handling for block level backup of virtual machines

A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes identifying, at a client device, a request for data by an application of the client device, sending, from the client device to a first server, the request for the data, suspending a performance of actions on the data by the application of the client device, and presenting a status of a recall of the data to the application of the client device.

Managing recall delays within hierarchical storage

A method for backing a computing system includes generating a local history table of filesystem objects that have changed since storing a first backup of the computing system where the local history table includes attributes of the filesystem objects and a set of operations associated with changes to the filesystem objects. The method further includes transferring, from the computing system to a backup server, a second backup of the computing system, where the second backup includes a block level representation of a portion of a data storage medium associated with the computing system. The method additionally includes merging the local history table with a global history table stored on the backup server, the global history table mapping a history of filesystem objects to a set of block level backups of the computing system including the first backup of the computing system and the second backup of the computing system.

Block level backup of virtual machines for file name level based file search and restoration

The present invention relates to a data block based backup method for a data management system. The data management system comprises a file system that controls access by a database application to at least one database container file stored the data management system. The data management system further comprises a backup client that is connected to a remote backup server, whereby a first version of the database container file is saved in the backup server and a first inode containing information on data blocks of the first version of the database container file. The method may include creating a change tracking table for at least the database container file and adding an entry in the change tracking table, whereby the entry has an indication of the respective data block in association with an information indicating the type of the access.

Growing community of inventors

Ingelheim, Germany

Sabine U Steinhauer