Method and apparatus for transferring archival data among an arbitrarily large number of computer devices in a networked computer environment
US5751997A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 1996 |
| Grant date | May 12, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/1451
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for storing on centralized mass storage devices archival data from multiple computers in a networked environment. In a networked computer system having a communication network interconnecting one or more computers and a storage unit, parallel processes are created to perform repeated backup operations for disks on computer devices on the communication network. The backup operations for a disk include a backup initialization which occurs when a primary storage device does not have a full index or a backup data file for a disk but a secondary storage device does. During a backup initialization, data from the files and directories on that disk along with an index entry for each file or directory are passed to the primary storage device which directly passes that information directly through to the secondary storage device. The index entries are incorporated into a full index and the data is incorporated into a backup data file. During a backup cycle, the computer device is incrementally backed up to a primary storage device such that the primary storage device contains a full index with an entry for each file and directory on the disk and a backup data file for …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.