Dispersed storage network with data segment backup and methods for use therewith

1. A method for execution by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the method comprises:

receiving a backup command regarding a modified version of a data object, wherein a previous version of the data object is stored in the DSN as a plurality of sets of encoded data slices based on operational parameters, wherein, in accordance with the operational parameters, the previous version of the data object is partitioned into a first plurality of data segments that is encoded to produce the plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

partitioning the modified version of the data object into a second plurality of data segments in accordance with the operational parameters;

identifying a modified data segment of the second plurality of data segments based on a comparison between information derived from the modified data segment and information derived from a corresponding data segment of the first plurality of data segments;

for the modified data segment:

determining whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or different operational parameters to produce determined operational parameters;

encoding the modified data segment in accordance with the determined operational parameters to produce a revised set of encoded data slices;

updating a revision number associated with the modified data segment;

in response to determining to encode the modified data segment using different operational parameters, associating an indication of the different operational parameters with the revised set of encoded data slices; and

storing the revised set of encoded data slices in storage units of the DSN.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operational parameters comprise two or more of:

an error coding algorithm, a pillar width number, a read threshold, a write threshold, an encryption algorithm, a slicing parameter, a compression algorithm, an integrity check method, caching settings, or parallelism settings.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters comprises:

determining a size of the modified data segment is different than a size of a corresponding data segment by a size difference;

determining whether the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold; and

in response to determining that the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold, determining to use the different operational parameters.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters comprises:

determining a desired storage reliability for the modified version of the data object; and

determining the different operational parameters based on the desired storage reliability.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying a modified data segment comprises:

retrieving at least a threshold number of encoded data slices of a set of encoded data slices for the corresponding data segment;

decoding the at least the threshold number of encoded data slices to reconstruct the corresponding data segment;

comparing the corresponding data segment with the modified data segment; and

in response to determining that the modified data segment does not substantially match the corresponding data segment, identifying the modified data segment.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprises:

updating a user vault with a new revision number and the determined operational parameters for the modified data segment.

7. A dispersed storage (DS) processing unit for use in a dispersed storage network (DSN) comprises:

memory;

an interface; and

a processing module operably coupled to the memory and to the interface, wherein the processing module is operable to:

receive a backup command regarding a modified version of a data object, wherein a previous version of the data object is stored in the DSN as a plurality of sets of encoded data slices based on operational parameters, wherein, in accordance with the operational parameters, the previous version of the data object is partitioned into a first plurality of data segments that is encoded to produce the plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

partition the modified version of the data object into a second plurality of data segments in accordance with the operational parameters;

identify a modified data segment of the second plurality of data segments based on a comparison between information derived from the modified data segment and information derived from a corresponding data segment of the first plurality of data segments;

for the modified data segment:

determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or different operational parameters to produce determined operational parameters;

encode the modified data segment in accordance with the determined operational parameters to produce a revised set of encoded data slices;

update a revision number associated with the modified data segment;

in response to determining to encode the modified data segment using different operational parameters, associate an indication of the different operational parameters with the revised set of encoded data slices; and

output, via the interface, the revised set of encoded data slices to storage units of the DSN for storage therein.

8. The DS processing unit of claim 7 , wherein the operational parameters comprise two or more of: an error coding algorithm, a pillar width number, a read threshold, a write threshold, an encryption algorithm, a slicing parameter, a compression algorithm, an integrity check method, caching settings, or parallelism settings.

9. The DS processing unit of claim 7 , wherein the processing module is further operable to determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters by:

determining a size of the modified data segment is different than a size of a corresponding data segment by a size difference;

determining whether the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold; and

in response to determining that the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold, determining to use the different operational parameters.

10. The DS processing unit of claim 7 , wherein the processing module is further operable to determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters by:

determining a desired storage reliability for the modified version of the data object; and

determining the different operational parameters based on the desired storage reliability.

11. The DS processing unit of claim 7 , wherein the processing module is further operable to identify the modified data segment by:

retrieving at least a threshold number of encoded data slices of a set of encoded data slices for the corresponding data segment;

decoding the at least the threshold number of encoded data slices to reconstruct the corresponding data segment;

comparing the corresponding data segment with the modified data segment; and

in response to determining that the modified data segment does not substantially match the corresponding data segment, identifying the modified data segment.

12. The DS processing unit of claim 7 , wherein the processing module is further operable to:

updating a user vault with a new revision number and the determined operational parameters for the modified data segment.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprises:

at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), causes the one or more computing devices to:

receive a backup command regarding a modified version of a data object, wherein a previous version of the data object is stored in the DSN as a plurality of sets of encoded data slices based on operational parameters, wherein, in accordance with the operational parameters, the previous version of the data object is partitioned into a first plurality of data segments that is encoded to produce the plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

partition the modified version of the data object into a second plurality of data segments in accordance with the operational parameters;

identify a modified data segment of the second plurality of data segments based on a comparison between information derived from the modified data segment and information derived from a corresponding data segment of the first plurality of data segments;

for the modified data segment:

determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or different operational parameters to produce determined operational parameters;

encode the modified data segment in accordance with the determined operational parameters to produce a revised set of encoded data slices;

update a revision number associated with the modified data segment;

in response to determining to encode the modified data segment using different operational parameters, associate an indication of the different operational parameters with the revised set of encoded data slices; and

output the revised set of encoded data slices to storage units of the DSN for storage therein.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the operational parameters comprise two or more of: an error coding algorithm, a pillar width number, a read threshold, a write threshold, an encryption algorithm, a slicing parameter, a compression algorithm, an integrity check method, caching settings, or parallelism settings.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices to determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters by:

determining a size of the modified data segment is different than a size of a corresponding data segment by a size difference;

determining whether the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold; and

in response to determining that the size difference between the modified data segment and the corresponding data segment is at or above a threshold, determining to use the different operational parameters.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices to determine whether to encode the modified data segment using the operational parameters or the different operational parameters by:

determining a desired storage reliability for the modified version of the data object; and

determining the different operational parameters based on the desired storage reliability.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices to identify the modified data segment by:

retrieving at least a threshold number of encoded data slices of a set of encoded data slices for the corresponding data segment;

decoding the at least the threshold number of encoded data slices to reconstruct the corresponding data segment;

comparing the corresponding data segment with the modified data segment; and

in response to determining that the modified data segment does not substantially match the corresponding data segment, identifying the modified data segment.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, causes the one or more computing devices to:

updating a user vault with a new revision number and the determined operational parameters for the modified data segment.