SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO PROTECT DELETED FILES
A data storage system protects data identified for deletion which has been created or modified between scheduled data backups. The system copies the data to temporary storage, normalizes the copy, and merges the normalized data from the temporary storage to a secondary storage device. For instance, the system merges the data on the secondary storage device at locations indicated by the file path saved in metadata. In another manner, the system merges changes between the previously backed up version of the data and the data identified for deletion into the previously backed up version of the data stored on the secondary storage device at the locations indicated by the file path. In a further manner, the system merges the differences between the previously backed up version of the data and the data identified for deletion at the locations indicated by the file path.
1 . A method to protect data deleted between data protection operations in a data management system, the method comprising:
when a data operation of a computing device comprises a deletion operation, automatically determining with one or more computer processors whether deletion data associated with the deletion operation has been backed up by a backup operation;
when the deletion data is not backed up, automatically copying with one or more computer processors the deletion data to temporary storage; and
automatically migrating with one or more computer processors the copy of the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to secondary storage.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically normalizing the copy of the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to a normalized data structure.
3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the normalized data structure comprises one or more of an index and a table.
4 . The method of claim 2 wherein a media agent performs the normalization.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically accessing metadata associated with the copy of the deletion data, the metadata stored in the temporary storage and comprising a file path of the deletion data.
6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising merging the copy of the deletion data at locations in the secondary storage indicated by the file path.
7 . The method of claim 5 further comprising merging changes between the deletion data and previously backed up data associated with the deletion data into the previously backed up data on the secondary storage at locations indicated by the file path.
8 . The method of claim 5 wherein automatically migrating the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to the secondary storage comprises automatically copying differences between the deletion data and previously backed up data associated with the deletion data to the temporary storage.
9 . The method of claim 8 wherein automatically migrating the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to the secondary storage further comprises merging the differences at locations on the secondary storage indicated by the file path.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the secondary storage comprises one or more of data storage on the computing device, an information store associated with the computing device, and a secondary storage device.
11 . A system to protect data deleted between data protection operations in an information management cell, the system comprising:
computer hardware including one or more computer processors; and
computer-readable storage comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the computer hardware to perform operations defined by the computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions configured to:
when a data operation of a computing device comprises a deletion operation, automatically determine whether deletion data associated with the deletion operation has been backed up by a backup operation;
when the deletion data is not backed up, automatically copy the deletion data to temporary storage; and
automatically migrate the copy of the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to secondary storage.
12 . The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically normalize the copy of the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to a normalized data structure.
13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the normalized data structure comprises one or more of an index and a table.
14 . The system of claim 12 wherein a media agent performs the normalization.
15 . The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to automatically access metadata associated with the copy of the deletion data, the metadata stored in the temporary storage and comprising a file path of the deletion data.
16 . The system of claim 15 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to merge the copy of the deletion data at locations in the secondary storage indicated by the file path.
17 . The system of claim 15 wherein the computer-readable instructions are further configured to merge changes between the deletion data and previously backed up data associated with the deletion data into the previously backed up data on the secondary storage at locations indicated by the file path.
18 . The system of claim 15 wherein automatically migrating the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to the secondary storage comprises automatically copying differences between the deletion data and previously backed up data associated with the deletion data to the temporary storage.
19 . The system of claim 18 wherein automatically migrating the deletion data stored in the temporary storage to the secondary storage further comprises merging the differences at locations on the secondary storage indicated by the file path.
20 . The system of claim 11 wherein the secondary storage comprises one or more of data storage on the computing device, an information store associated with the computing device, and a secondary storage device.