Claims
- 1. An extensible, system-independent format for transmitting a data stream from a source file system to a destination replica file system comprising:
a plurality of standalone headers having discrete identifiers representative of a plurality of source file system directory-related information; and a basic file data header following the plurality of standalone headers, adapted to be positioned within a stream of file data at predetermined intervals.
- 2. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the plurality of standalone headers each include an indication of one of a plurality of specialized header types and at least some of the plurality of specialized header types are adapted for carrying directory inode data.
- 3. The format as set forth in claim 3 wherein the data stream is adapted to carry source file system inode data and source file generation numbers.
- 4. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the specialized header types comprises a deleted files type and the directory inode data comprises a list of deleted files on the source file system.
- 5. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the specialized header types comprises an NT stream-related header type and the header includes information related to NT streams in the source file system.
- 6. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the specialized header types comprises a start of data stream header located at a beginning of a transmission of the data stream from the source file system to the destination file system.
- 7. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the specialized header types comprises an end of data stream header located at an end of a transmission of the data stream from the source file system to the destination file system.
- 8. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the specialized header types comprises an end of the specialized headers part of the data stream located before a first basic file data header.
- 9. The format as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least one of the plurality of standalone headers includes ACLs with respect to the source file system.
- 10. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the basic file data header includes file offset and block number information with respect to data following the basic file data header.
- 11. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the data stream represents changes between a base and incremental snapshot on the source.
- 12. The format as set forth in claim 11 wherein each of the source file system and the replicated destination file system comprise a sub-organization of a volume.
- 13. The format as set forth in claim 12 wherein the sub-organization comprises a qtree.
- 14. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of the standalone headers comprises a fixed-length record including a generic part for storing an indication of one of a plurality of specialized header types, a non-generic part, adapted to carry predetermined data related one of the specialized header types and an expansion space for additional information.
- 15. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the basic file data header comprises a generic part for storing an indication of a basic file header type, a non-generic part, adapted to carry predetermined data related to file offsets and block numbers for the file data that follows the basic file data header and an expansion space for additional information.
- 16. The format as set forth in claim 15 wherein the basic file data header is adapted to be positioned within the stream of file data at predetermined intervals that are up to approximately 2 MB of file data in size.
- 17. The format as set forth in claim 16 wherein the basic data file header includes a holes array that identifies holes in the stream of file data, the holes array being mapped to the block numbers.
- 18. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the source file system and the destination file system comprise sub-organizations of a predetermined volume and being both located within the predetermined volume.
- 19. The format as set forth in claim 18 further comprising a loopback mechanism that interconnects the source file system and the destination file system within the predetermined volume.
- 20. The format as set forth in claim 1 wherein the source file system and the destination file system are remote with respect to each other and interconnected by a network, and wherein the data stream is encapsulated within a networking protocol adapted for transmission over the network.
- 21. A format for transmitting a data stream from a source file system to a destination file system comprising:
a start of data stream standalone header; a plurality of standalone headers, after the start of data stream header, each identified by a header type identifier, at least one of the headers being a deleted file header having deleted file information contained therein and at least one of the headers being a directories header having directory information contained therein; an end of the plurality of standalone headers, after the plurality of standalone headers, identified by an end of plurality of standalone headers identifier; at least one basic file data header, after the end of the plurality of data stream headers, identified by a basic file data header identifier, including file offsets and block numbers with respect to a follow on stream of file data; and a data stream footer, after the stream of file data, identified by an end of data stream identifier.
- 22. The format as set forth in claim 21 wherein the data stream is adapted to be encapsulated in a networking protocol for transmission over a network.
- 23. The format as set forth in claim 21 wherein each of the plurality of standalone headers and the basic file data header comprise a multi-part, fixed length header having a generic part that includes a type of header identifier, a non-generic part that includes predetermined data related to the type of header and an expansion space for additional information provided in future versions.
- 24. The format as set forth in claim 21 wherein the basic file data header is adapted to be located before each a stream of file data having up to a predetermined size.
- 25. The format as set forth in claim 24 wherein the predetermined size is approximately 2 MB.
- 26. The format as set forth in claim 21 wherein the source file system includes a base and an incremental snapshot and the data stream comprises changes between the base and incremental snapshot adapted to update a replica of the source file system on the destination file system.
- 27. The format as set forth in claim 26 wherein the base snapshot and the incremental snapshot are each snapshots at different points in time of a predetermined qtree.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to the following United States Patent Applications:
[0002] Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket No. 112056-0063], entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASYNCHRONOUS MIRRORING OF SNAPSHOTS AT A DESTINATION USING A PURGATORY DIRECTORY AND INODE MAPPING, by Stephen L. Manley, et al., the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference;
[0003] Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket No. 112056-0052], entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORAGE OF SNAPHOT METADATA IN A REMOTE FILE, by Stephen L. Manley, et al., the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference;
[0004] Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket No. 112056-0053], entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REDIRECTING ACCESS TO A REMOTE MIRRORED SNAPSHOT, by Raymond C. Chen, et al., the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference;
[0005] Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket No. 112056-0054], entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING CHANGES IN TWO SNAPSHOTS AND FOR TRANSMITTING CHANGES TO A DESTINATION SNAPSHOT, by Michael L. Federwisch, et al., the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference; and
[0006] Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket No. 112056-0055], entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHECKPOINTING AND RESTARTING AN ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER OF DATA BETWEEN A SOURCE AND DESTINATION SNAPSHOT, by Michael L. Federwisch, et al., the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.