Virtual machine file-level restoration
View Patent ↗Disclosed is a method and system for selectively restoring file-level data from a disk image backup. In embodiments, a virtual machine backup may be performed by dividing a virtual machine virtual disk file into a plurality of discrete fixed-sized data blocks sharing a common index file that is stored on a backup medium, such as a hard drive, to form a backup set. The index file is referenced to determine which fixed-sized block contains volume information, such as a partition table, of the backed-up virtual machine file. The individual blocks are processed as a virtual filesystem which is mounted and presented to an access module, which traverses the filesystem and provide access to individual files in the image backup to a client process. The restore files may be delivered to the client in a container file, which may be compressed to increase transfer speed. The container file may include executable instructions for automatically restoring the files to a desired location.
1. A method for retrieving a logical data unit stored within a deduplicated disk image residing on a backup storage device without restoring the entire deduplicated disk image, comprising:
receiving a request for at least one deduplicated disk image residing on a backup storage device;
identifying the at least one deduplicated disk image residing on the backup storage device based on information contained within an index file, which is indicative of a logical organization of the backup storage device;
mounting the at least one deduplicated disk image;
receiving a request for at least one logical data unit stored within the at least one deduplicated disk image;
identifying a portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit without restoring the entire at least one deduplicated disk image;
restoring only the portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image; and
transferring the requested at least one logical data unit to a recipient,
wherein the portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit is made up of one or more data blocks,
wherein a file name of each data block is a hash value of the contents of each data block, and
wherein a map file stores a name of each data block.
2. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein at least one step is performed at least in part by a virtual filesystem component.
3. The method in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the virtual filesystem component includes a Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) driver which presents a mountable volume and interprets code in user space.
4. The method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising aggregating the at least one requested logical data unit into a container file.
5. The method in accordance with claim 4 , further comprising providing a set of executable instructions in the container file that are configured to copy a logical data unit contained in the container file to a predetermined destination.
6. The method in accordance with claim 4 , further comprising performing data compression of the at least one requested logical data unit.
7. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the received request for the at least one logical data unit is generated at least in part via a user interface.
8. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the received request for the at least one logical data unit is generated at least in part via an application programming interface.
9. A system for performing data restoration, comprising:
a processor;
a storage device operably coupled to the processor; and
a file-level access module including a set of instructions executable on the processor for performing a method of data restoration comprising:
receiving a request for at least one deduplicated disk image residing on a backup storage device;
identifying the at least one deduplicated disk image residing on the backup storage device based on information contained within an index file, which is indicative of a logical organization of the backup storage device;
mounting the at least one deduplicated disk image;
receiving a request for at least one logical data unit stored within the at least one deduplicated disk image;
identifying a portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit without restoring the entire at least one deduplicated disk image;
restoring only the portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image; and
transferring the at least one requested logical data unit to a recipient,
wherein the portion of the at least one disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit is made up of one or more data blocks,
wherein a file name of each data block is a hash value of the contents of each data block, and
wherein a map file stores a name of each data block.
10. The system in accordance with claim 9 , further comprising a virtual filesystem component,
wherein at least one step of the method of data restoration is performed at least in part by the virtual filesystem component.
11. The system in accordance with claim 10 , wherein the virtual filesystem component includes a Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) driver which presents a mountable volume and interprets code in user space.
12. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the file level access module includes the set of instructions performing the method of data restoration that further comprises aggregating the at least one requested logical data unit into a container file.
13. The system in accordance with claim 12 , wherein the method of data restoration further comprises providing a set of executable instructions in the container file that are configured to copy a logical data unit contained in the container file to a predetermined destination.
14. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the file level access module includes the set of instructions performing the method of data restoration that further comprises performing data compression of the at least one requested logical data unit.
15. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the received request for the at least one logical data unit is generated at least in part via a user interface.
16. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the received request for the at least one logical data unit is generated at least in part via an application programming interface.
17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a set of instructions configured to perform a method for retrieving a logical data unit stored within a deduplicated disk image residing on a backup storage device without restoring the entire deduplicated disk image, the method comprising:
receiving a request for at least one deduplicated disk image residing on the backup storage device;
identifying the at least one deduplicated disk image residing on the backup storage device based on information contained within an index file, which is indicative of a logical organization of the backup storage device;
mounting the at least one deduplicated disk image;
receiving a request for at least one logical data unit stored within the at least one deduplicated disk image;
identifying a portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit without restoring the entire at least one deduplicated disk image;
restoring only the portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image; and
transferring the at least one requested logical data unit to a recipient,
wherein the portion of the at least one deduplicated disk image that corresponds to the at least one requested logical data unit is made up of one or more data blocks,
wherein a file name of each data block is a hash value of the contents of each data block, and
wherein a map file stores a name of each data block.
18. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a first n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a first level directory and a second n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a second level directory, under the first level directory, where a data block identified by the file name is stored.
19. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein a first n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a first level directory and a second n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a second level directory, under the first level directory, where a data block identified by the file name is stored.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium in accordance with claim 17 , wherein a first n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a first level directory and a second n bytes of the file name indicate a name of a second level directory, under the first level directory, where a data block identified by the file name is stored.
21. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein access to contents of the at least one deduplicated disk image is provided through a web interface.
22. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one deduplicated disk image is mounted remotely using a network file system.
23. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein access to contents of the at least one deduplicated disk image is provided through a web interface.
24. The non-transitory machine-readable medium in accordance with claim 17 , wherein the at least one deduplicated disk image is mounted remotely using a network file system.
25. The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one deduplicated disk image is compressed.
26. The system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the at least one deduplicated disk image is compressed.
27. The non-transitory machine-readable medium in accordance with claim 17 , wherein the at least one deduplicated disk image is compressed.