Backup systems and methods for a virtual computing environment
US8060476B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 13, 2009 |
| Grant date | Nov 15, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 16, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2201/84
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Improved backup and storage operations are disclosed for virtual computing environments using a backup proxy server to perform storage operations on one or more virtual machine disks. The proxy server can include a module that intercepts application programming interface (API) calls, for writing backup data to a first location, prior to the data arriving on the proxy disk. During the intercept process, the data can be compressed in memory pages of the proxy server and redirected to an alternative backup disk location. The proxy server can also include a differential engine that identifies changes to the virtual machine disk at the block level since the last full backup. The differential engine can advantageously leverage memory pages of the proxy server to compare differences between signatures of blocks of the last full backup with signatures of new blocks. Subsequently, only blocks with non-matching signatures are processed for backup.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.