US 9,632,875 B2Granted

Automated and self-adjusting data protection driven by business and data activity events

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsEran Raichstein, James P. Smith, Gregory J. Tevis, David G. Van Hise, Oren Wolf

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Techniques for adjusting the frequency of data backups and initiating event-driven backups in a storage system are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a self-adjusting backup frequency, known as a “Change Rate Objective,” is defined to conduct or delay backups for one or more volumes in the storage system on the basis of an associated policy value. The Change Rate Objective may be tied to one or more business or data activity events, such as the amount and type of data changes since a last backup. The storage system may also be tailored to conduct or delay full or incremental backups on the basis of a Change Rate Objective that measures whether a full or incremental or differential backup is more appropriate. Various data or system failures, or data or business events may also be used to adjust the retention periods of continuous data protection (CDP) data and delay a rollup of CDP data.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method for performing automated and self-adjusting backup operations, comprising:

establishing, by use of a processor, a first change rate objective used for event-driven backups of a data store in a storage system, the first change rate objective measuring changes to a percentage of a total amount of data and a percentage of a total expected amount of data to be backed up in a time-scheduled backup for a specified client of a plurality of clients storing data within the data store resulting from one or more data activity events;
establishing a first change rate objective value associated with the first change rate objective, the first change rate objective value defining a threshold value of client data change for performing backup operations of the data store;
establishing a second change rate objective and an associated second change rate objective value, the second change rate objective used for postponing a scheduled full backup and conducting an incremental backup in lieu of the scheduled full backup, and the second change rate objective value defining a maximum amount of changed client data of the data store for an incremental backup;
establishing a second change rate objective value associated with the second change rate objective, the second change rate objective value defining a threshold value of client data chance for postponing backup operations of the data store;
monitoring the first change rate objective and the second change rate objective in the data store by comparing the first change rate objective value and the second change rate objective value with the changes to the data for the specified client within the data store resulting from the one or more data activity events;
performing the backup operations in the storage system responsive to exceeding the first change rate objective value, thereby conducting automated and self-adjusting backup operations in the storage system based on the first change rate objective;
postponing the backup operations in the storage system responsive to changes to the data for the specified client being less than the second change rate objective value;
detecting a data retention event;
and
extending a data retention time for backed up data in response to the data retention event, wherein the extended data retention time is based on the first change rate objective value.

7 more elements

A method for performing automated and self-adjusting data protection for continuous data protection operations of a data store in a storage system, comprising:

establishing, by use of a processor, a first change rate objective used for event-driven backups of a data store in a storage system, the first change rate objective measuring changes to a percentage of a total amount of data and a percentage of a total expected amount of data to be backed up in a time-scheduled backup for a specified client of a plurality of clients storing data within the data store resulting from one or more data activity events;
establishing a first change rate objective value associated with the first change rate objective, the first change rate objective value defining a threshold value of client data change for performing backup operations of the data store;
establishing a second change rate objective and an associated second change rate objective value, the second change rate objective used for postponing a scheduled full backup and conducting an incremental backup in lieu of the scheduled full backup, and the second change rate objective value defining a maximum amount of changed client data of the data store for an incremental backup;
establishing a second chance rate objective value associated with the second change rate objective, the second change rate objective value defining a threshold value of client data change for postponing backup operations of the data store;
monitoring the first change rate objective and the second change rate objective in the data store by comparing the first change rate objective value and the second change rate objective value with the changes to the data for the specified client within the data store resulting from the one or more data activity events;
performing the backup operations in the storage system responsive to exceeding the first change rate objective value, thereby conducting automated and self-adjusting backup operations in the storage system based on the first change rate objective;
postponing the backup operations in the storage system responsive to changes to the data for the specified client being less than the second change rate objective value;
initiating a data rollup for data provided by continuous data protection operations of the data store;
detecting a data retention event;
and
extending a data retention time for backed up data in response to the data retention event, wherein the extended data retention time is based on the first change rate objective value.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.