Block level backup and restore

摘要

For block level backup, a full image level backup is created of a file system from production storage at a production server to random access storage at a backup server. A mounted image is created from the full image that exposes a block level representation of the file system of the production server for read operations in a file level format. File enumeration is performed on the mounted image for files. Block level read operations are monitored while the files are being enumerated. During monitoring, blocks that are read for the read operations are marked as meta-data blocks. Blocks that are not marked as meta-data blocks are identified as data blocks. The data blocks are migrated to sequential storage, while leaving the meta-data blocks on the random access storage, wherein the data blocks form a backup image.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for block level backup, comprising:
while performing file enumeration on a mounted image created from a full image that exposes a block level representation of a file system for files for access by an operating system of a production server,
marking blocks for the read operations that reference meta-data blocks as meta-data blocks, wherein the blocks that are not marked as the meta-data blocks are data blocks; in response to the file enumeration completing,
migrating the data blocks to sequential storage, while leaving the meta-data blocks on random access storage, wherein the data blocks form a backup image; and in response to receiving a request to restore a file from the backup image for the production server,
retrieving relevant meta-data blocks from the random access storage that indicate where the data blocks for the file are stored in the sequential storage;creating a new, mounted image from the relevant meta-data blocks that exposes a block level representation of the file system for access by the operating system;performing non-data related operations against the new, mounted image; andrestoring the file by reading the data blocks for that file from the sequential storage to production storage at the production server.