US 7,412,578 B2 · Snapshot creating method and apparatus

Abstract

In the storage-based snapshot creation, a block-selection specifying unit provided on a NAS processing unit specifies a block, which becomes necessary for the generation of snapshot data, to a specified-block analyzing unit within a disk apparatus. Moreover, a disk controller generates the snapshot data on the block specified as the snapshot target, while making an inquiry to the specified-block analyzing unit. This makes it possible to create the snapshot in a storage-capacity reduced manner, and to specify the snapshot creation in a partition, file, or directory unit.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A file server for providing a file system configuring a plurality of directories and a plurality of files with respect to an external device, said file server being coupled to a disk apparatus which includes a first volume and a second volume, said file server comprising:

a disk interface coupled to the disk apparatus;
and
a processor coupled to the disk interface,
wherein the processor receives, from the external device, a request for creating a snapshot of a file or a directory, and
wherein if the request is to create a snapshot of a file, then the processor selects blocks related to the file as a target and related to metadata of the file as a target, specifies metadata of a directory including the file as a target, and sends, to the disk apparatus, an instruction for creating the snapshot to be stored in the second volume according to the selected blocks.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

11/519,877Filed 13 Sep 2006 · continuation

Priority

JP 2002-34404227 Nov 2002

Published

US 2007/0011418 A111 Jan 2007

Granted

12 Aug 2008

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G06F 16/10
Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor: file systems; File servers
G06F 11/1451
Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore: by selection of backup contents
G06F 2201/84
Indexing scheme relating to error detection, to error correction, and to monitoring: using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
Y10S 707/99953
Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users: recoverability

Family

Application10/369,690Parent of this continuation · filed 21 Feb 2003

US 2007/0011418 A1Pre-grant publication · published 11 Jan 2007

US 7,120,767 B2Parent of this continuation

US 2004/0103104 A1Published application

US 7,412,578 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Snapshot creating method and apparatus

Life of this patent

Snapshot creating method and apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14