SELECTIVE ERASURE OF EXPIRED FILES OR EXTENTS IN DEDUPLICATING VIRUTAL MEDIA FOR EFFICIENT FILE RECLAMATION

摘要

Expired files in the deduplicating virtual media are selectively erased using a backup application for notifying a backup repository of which expired files are no longer required. The space of the expired files is reclaimed for reuse. Virtual space of the expired files is reserved for allowing the backup application to seek past the reclaimed space to subsequent data in the deduplicating virtual media. Expired files are identified and positions of the expired files are determined in the deduplicating virtual media thereby converting the positions into a list of expired files that is sent to the backup repository.

主权项

1. A method for efficient file reclamation in deduplicating virtual media by a processor device in a computing environment, the method comprising:
selectively erasing expired files in the deduplicating virtual media using a backup application for notifying a backup repository which of the expired files no longer are required by decrementing reference counts of storage blocks, the storage blocks associated with the expired files by the deduplication device, and reclaiming space of the expired files for reuse whose reference counts drop to zero, wherein virtual space of the expired files is reserved by replacing the storage blocks by explicit gaps in a table of contents of an internal storage container, thereby allowing the backup application to seek past the reclaimed space to subsequent data in the deduplicating virtual media; and identifying the expired files and determining positions of the expired files in the deduplicating virtual media thereby converting the positions into a list of expired files that is sent to the backup repository.