Granted Patent B2

US 12,619,499 · App. 18/785,423 · Granted May 5, 2026

Inventors: Sunil Yadav (Bengaluru, IN); Shelesh Chopra (Bangalore, IN)

Assignee: Dell Products L.P.

G06F11/1448G06F11/1435G06F11/1458

Abstract

Claims (87)

1 . A method for efficient backup and recovery validation, the method comprising:

receiving, as part of a backup operation for a host and at a backup storage, a backup copy from the host;

retrieving a metadata database from the backup copy, wherein the metadata database comprises a host checksum value based on a portion of the backup copy;

parsing, using a backup agent, the metadata database by appending the metadata database with a backup checksum value based on the portion of the backup copy,

wherein the host checksum value and the backup checksum value are generated using an integrity stream feature of a filesystem associated with the backup copy;

making a first determination, using the backup agent, whether the portion of the backup copy is abnormal based on a comparison between the host checksum value and the backup checksum value; and

appending, based on the first determination, the metadata database with a recoverable identifier to generate a recovery metadata database, wherein the recoverable identifier causes an adjustment to a recovery operation.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the recoverable identifier is a normal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the normal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the recoverable identifier, that a second host checksum value in the filesystem metadata database does not match the backup checksum value; and

request, based on the second determination, the portion of the backup copy.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the recoverable identifier is a normal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the normal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the recoverable identifier, that a second host checksum value in the filesystem metadata database does match the backup checksum value; and

skip, based on the second determination, a portion of the recovery operation associated with the portion of the backup copy.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the recoverable identifier is an abnormal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the abnormal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the recoverable identifier, that the portion of the backup copy is not usable for the recovery operation; and

skip, based on the second determination, a portion of the recovery operation associated with the portion of the backup copy.

5 . The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

generating, based on the recoverable identifier, a score card for the backup copy, wherein the score card comprises a total amount of the backup copy that is associated with a normal identifier.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the recoverable identifier is an abnormal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the abnormal identifier the method further comprises:

performing a correction operation on the portion of the backup copy.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the correction operation comprises requesting, from the host, a second copy of a portion of the backup copy associated with the abnormal identifier.

8 . A method for efficient backup and recovery validation, the method comprising:

initiating a backup operation for a host;

identifying, in response to the initiating, a first filesystem that is subject to the backup operation;

retrieving first filesystem metadata associated with the first filesystem;

appending a portion of the first filesystem metadata associated with a portion of the first filesystem with a first host checksum value based on the portion of the first filesystem to generate a backup-ready metadata database;

providing the backup-ready metadata database to a backup storage as part of completing the backup operation;

after completing the backup operation:

initiating a recovery operation for the host;

receiving, after the initiating and from the backup storage, a backup metadata database;

identifying a second filesystem associated with the backup metadata database;

retrieving second filesystem metadata associated with the second filesystem;

making a first comparison, for a first portion of the second filesystem, between a second host checksum value contained within the second filesystem metadata and a backup checksum value contained within the backup metadata database; and

making an adjustment, based on the first comparison, to the recovery operation.

9 . The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising:

making a determination, based on the normal identifier, that the second host checksum value does match the backup checksum value, and wherein the adjustment comprises:

skipping a portion of the recovery operation associated with the second host checksum value.

10 . The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising:

make a determination, based on the normal identifier, that the second host checksum value does not match the backup checksum value, and wherein the adjustment comprises:

requesting, from the backup storage, a portion of a backup copy associated with the second host checksum value.

11 . The method of claim 10 , the method further comprising:

making a second determination that the backup metadata database includes an abnormal identifier, and wherein the adjustment further comprises:

skipping a portion of the recovery operation associated with the abnormal identifier.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the first host checksum value is generated using an integrity stream feature of the first filesystem.

13 . A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) comprising computer readable program code, which when executed by a computer processor, enables the computer processor to perform a method for efficient backup and recovery validation, the method comprising:

receiving, as part of a backup operation for a host and at a backup storage, a backup copy from the host;

retrieving a metadata database from the backup copy, wherein the metadata database comprises a host checksum value based on a portion of the backup copy;

parsing, using a backup agent, the metadata database by appending the metadata database with a backup checksum value based on the portion of the backup copy;

making a first determination, using the backup agent, whether the portion of the backup copy is abnormal based on a comparison between the host checksum value and the backup checksum value;

appending, based on the first determination, the metadata database with a recoverable identifier to generate a recovery metadata database, wherein the recoverable identifier causes an adjustment to a recovery operation; and

generating, based on the recoverable identifier, a score card for the backup copy, wherein the score card comprises a total amount of the backup copy that is associated with a normal identifier.

14 . The non-transitory CRM of claim 13 , wherein the recoverable identifier is a normal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the normal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the normal identifier, that a second host checksum value in the filesystem metadata database does not match the backup checksum value; and

request, based on the second determination, the portion of the backup copy.

15 . The non-transitory CRM of claim 13 , wherein the recoverable identifier is a normal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the normal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the recoverable identifier, that a second host checksum value in the filesystem metadata database does match the backup checksum value; and

skip, based on the second determination, a portion of the recovery operation associated with the portion of the backup copy.

16 . The non-transitory CRM of claim 13 , wherein the recoverable identifier is an abnormal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the abnormal identifier the method further comprises:

receiving, from a second host, a request to initiate the recovery operation using the backup copy; and

providing, to the second host, the recovery metadata database, wherein the recovery metadata database is usable to:

identify a portion of host data associated with the recovery metadata database;

identify a filesystem metadata database associated with the portion of the host data;

make a second determination, based on the recoverable identifier, that the portion of the backup copy is not usable for the recovery operation; and

skip, based on the second determination, a portion of the recovery operation associated with the portion of the backup copy.

17 . The non-transitory CRM of claim 13 , wherein the host checksum value and the backup checksum value are generated using an integrity stream feature of a filesystem associated with the backup copy.

18 . The non-transitory CRM of claim 13 , wherein the recoverable identifier is an abnormal identifier, and wherein when the recoverable identifier is the abnormal identifier the method further comprises:

performing a correction operation on the portion of the backup copy.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (18)