Method and apparatus for localized protected imaging of a file system

摘要

A local imager (202) copies each allocation unit (302) occupied by a file (305) of a file system (102) to a locally-stored image file (204) within the same partition (104) as the file system (102). The allocation units (302) may be compressed as they are copied, resulting in a locally-stored image file (204) that occupies fewer allocation units (302) than the original file system (102). In addition, the local imager (202) adds a directory map (312) to the locally-stored image file (204) that associates copied allocation units (302) in the locally-stored image file (204) with names of corresponding files (305) from the file system (102).

主权项

1. A method for backing up a file system in a partition comprising a plurality of allocation units, the method comprising:
creating a locally-stored image file by copying each allocation unit occupied by a plurality of files of the file system to the locally-stored image file, wherein the locally-stored image file is located within the same partition as the file system being backed up; adding a directory map to the locally-stored image file that associates copied allocation units in the locally-stored image file with names of corresponding files from the file system; and subsequent to creating the locally-stored image file, protecting the locally-stored image file from accidental user deletion or modification by initiating a process at system startup that opens the locally-stored image file to block subsequent processes from accessing the locally-stored image file.