US6526418B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Systems and methods for backing up data files
Assignee: Keepitsafe LLC
•
Filing: 1999-12-16
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Granted: 2003-02-25
•
Expires: 2019-12-16
Abstract
Abstract The invention provides systems and methods for continuous back up of data stored on a computer network. To this end the systems of the invention include a synchronization process that replicates selected source data files data stored on the network and to create a corresponding set of replicated data files, called the target data files, that are stored on a back up server. This synchronization process builds a baseline data structure of target data files. IN parallel to this synchronization process, the system includes a dynamic replication process that includes a plurality of agents, each of which monitors a portion of the source data files to detect and capture, at the byte-level, changes to the source data files. Each agent may record the changes to a respective journal file, and as the dynamic replication process detects that the journal files contain data, the journal files are transferred or copied to the back up server so that the captured changes can be written to the appropriate ones of the target data files.
Inventors
- 👤 Christopher Midgley
- 👤 John Webb
- 👤 Jim Campbell
- 👤 Manuel Gonsalves
- 👤 Dan Chatier
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 02:33
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/14; G06F11/1446; G06F11/1458; G06F11/1461; G06F11/1448; G06F11/1451; G06F11/1464; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99938; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952; Y10S707/99955
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
198 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, comprising a data server having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file, a back up server having storage for at least one back up file, a dynamic replication process, responsive to data within the journal file for writing the changes to the at least one back up file to mirror changes made to the at least one source data file, a long term storage system for recording that at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the dynamic replication process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, and a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, to create an index for accessing the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
198 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, comprising a data server having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file, a back up server having storage for at least one back up file, a dynamic replication process, responsive to data within the journal file for writing the changes to the at least one back up file to mirror changes made to the at least one source data file, a long term storage system for recording that at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the dynamic replication process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, and a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, to create an index for accessing the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
A system according to claim 1 , wherein the catalog process includes means for storing security metadata associated with the at least one version of the at least one back up file and representative of user access rights for the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
62 words
A system according to claim 2 , further including a secure restore process for determining the access rights of a party requesting to restore a version of the at least one back up file, and for comparing the access right of the party with the access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file to be restored.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
59 words
A system according to claim 3 , wherein the secure restore process includes means, responsive to the comparison of access rights of the party and access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file, to determine whether the party may view metadata associated with the version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
A system according to claim 3 , wherein the secure restore process includes means, responsive to the comparison of access rights of the party and access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file, to determine whether the party may restore the version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for creating back up files for data files stored on a computer network, comprising a data server having a source data file, a backup process for identifying changes in the source data file and for writing the changes to a target data file to mirror changes made to the source data file, a long term storage system for recording the target file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the back up process, thereby storing versions of the target file on the storage medium, a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the versions of the target files on the storage medium and security data associated with the versions of the target data file and representative of user access rights for the versions of the target data file, and a secure restoration process for employing the security data to analyze access rights in response to a request to access the versions of the target file.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for creating back up files for data files stored on a computer network, comprising a data server having a source data file, a backup process for identifying changes in the source data file and for writing the changes to a target data file to mirror changes made to the source data file, a long term storage system for recording the target file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the back up process, thereby storing versions of the target file on the storage medium, a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the versions of the target files on the storage medium and security data associated with the versions of the target data file and representative of user access rights for the versions of the target data file, and a secure restoration process for employing the security data to analyze access rights in response to a request to access the versions of the target file.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
208 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, comprising a data server having storage for at least one source data file, a back up process for identifying changes in the at least one source data file and for writing the changes to at least one back up file to mirror changes made to the at least one source data file, a long term storage system for recording the at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the back up process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium and security data associated with the at least one version of the at least one back up file and representative of user access rights for the at least one version of the at least one back up file, and a secure restoration process for employing the security data to analyze access right in response to a request to access the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
208 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, comprising a data server having storage for at least one source data file, a back up process for identifying changes in the at least one source data file and for writing the changes to at least one back up file to mirror changes made to the at least one source data file, a long term storage system for recording the at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the back up process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium and security data associated with the at least one version of the at least one back up file and representative of user access rights for the at least one version of the at least one back up file, and a secure restoration process for employing the security data to analyze access right in response to a request to access the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
235 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, the system comprising: a data serving having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file; a back up server having storage for at least one back up file; a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the journal file for modifying the at least one back up file based on the journal file; a long term storage system for recording the at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the dynamic replication process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium; and a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, to create an index for accessing the at least one version of the at least one back up file, wherein the catalog process is capable of storing securing metadata associated with the at least one version of the at least one back up file and representative of user access rights for the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
235 words
A system for backing up at least one source data file, the system comprising: a data serving having storage for the at least one source data file, and an agent operating on the data server and capable of dynamically detecting changes to the at least one source data file and capable of recording detected changes within a journal file; a back up server having storage for at least one back up file; a dynamic replication process responsive to data within the journal file for modifying the at least one back up file based on the journal file; a long term storage system for recording the at least one back up file to a storage medium in response to the operation of the dynamic replication process, thereby storing at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium; and a catalog process for recording metadata representative of locations of the at least one version of the at least one back up file on the storage medium, to create an index for accessing the at least one version of the at least one back up file, wherein the catalog process is capable of storing securing metadata associated with the at least one version of the at least one back up file and representative of user access rights for the at least one version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
60 words
The system of claim 8 , further comprising: a secure restore process for determining the access rights of a party requesting to restore a version of the at least one back up file and comparing the access rights of the party with the access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file to be restored.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
58 words
The system of claim 9 , wherein responsive to the comparison of access rights of the party and access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file, the secure restore process is capable of determining whether the party may view metadata associated with the version of the at least one back up file.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system of claim 9 , wherein, responsive to the comparison of access rights of the party and access rights associated with the version of the at least one back up file, the secure restore process is capable of determining whether the party may restore the version of the at least one back up file.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-02-24 | 2006-08-26 | 2007-02-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-02-24 | 2010-08-26 | 2011-02-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-02-24 | 2014-08-26 | 2015-02-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |