The present invention relates to the field of disk imaging. In particular, this invention relates to a server storage system and method having multiple individual images which have been collapsed into a single combined image from which any one or more of the individual images may be modified or recreated onto a destination device.
Individual software images each include a large amount of data. In general, software images are increasing in size and take up increasingly large amounts of persistent and/or non-persistent storage space for a given computer. Historically, this size has grown at an exponential rate. For example, in certain cases there is a need to capture a copy of an installed operating system, applications, utilities, or other data (sometimes referred to as “capturing a volume”). One purpose of the captured copy is for creating an image including data that can be reused at a later date, such as by being redistributed to other computers. Frequently, there is a tremendous amount of space taken up by the captured copy and its data. Usually, multiple images are copied onto a single computer-readable media. These multiple images on the same media differ typically in only certain respects, e.g., based on the language of the installed OS, which applications (and versions of those applications) are included on that image, etc. Some multiple images are merely different SKUs or editions of the same program. The result is that the majority of the data in those multiple images is common, which creates a large amount of redundant space across images on the same media that could be used for other information.
These problems can be amplified in the context of an image server store which stores multiple copies of a program for copying onto a destination device. The multiple copies generally include large amounts of the same data so that separate, multiple copies tend to require large amounts of storage space on the server. Another disadvantage is that the data can not be easily replicated over low bandwidth connections.
For these reasons, an image server store system and method for reducing the amount of redundant space is desired to address one or more of these and other disadvantages.
The invention includes a common image server storage system and method that configures the contents of the multiple images on a server store so that common data across the images is only stored once. Thus, the invention minimizes or eliminates redundant data found between multiple images contained in a single store where each image is a single integrated file image imparted to a server store as compared to a collection or aggregation of files.
Advantages of the invention include minimizing the server storage requirements of the multiple images and facilitating the common servicing of those pieces of data that are common across the multiple images. This creates a rich store that can interpret the data within the image and adjust the contents of the data repository such that data common across the images is only stored once. Thus, servicing of those pieces of data common across multiple images only needs to be done once, not once for each image, and the size of the image store becomes greatly reduced.
In one form, the invention is a system from which a selected one or more of any of a plurality of images of software may be selectively transferred to a destination device. The system comprises a server store storing one or more combined images thereon, each combined image including a first image of a first software and including a second image of a second software. The combined image comprises a header of the combined image; a first metadata of the first image; a second metadata of the second image; a first file data of file data of the first image and not of the second image; a second file data of file data of the second image and not of the first image; a common file data of file data of both the first image and the second image; and a signature of the combined image whereby the first image and/or the second image can be imaged from the combined image and whereby the size of the combined image is less than the total size of the first image and the second image.
In another form, the invention includes a method of creating an integrated image on a server store which integrated image includes images of a first software and of a second software. The method comprises creating a first image from the first software, creating a second image from the second software, and combining the first image and the second image into the integrated image stored on the server store. The first image includes first descriptive data corresponding to descriptive data of the first software and includes first file data corresponding to file data of the first software. The second image includes second descriptive data corresponding to descriptive data of the second software and includes second file data corresponding to file data of the second software. The first image and/or the second image can be recreated from the integrated image.
The invention also includes a method of combining a first image including a first software and a second image including a second software, wherein the first and second images include common file data, into a single combined image from which the first image and/or the second image can each be re-created by imaging onto a destination device. The method comprises:
identifying the common file data in both the first image and the second image;
separating the first image into a first header, a first metadata, a first file data, the common file data and a first signature;
separating the second image into a second header, a second metadata, a second file data, the common file data and a second signature;
combining the first metadata, the second metadata, the first file data, the second file data, and the common file data into a single image on the server store, the single image comprising the single combined image having a header and a signature.
The invention also includes a method of combining a first software and a second software into a single combined image on a server store from which a first image of the first software and/or a second image of the second software can each be re-created onto a destination device by imaging. The method comprises:
converting the first software into a base image on the server store having metadata pointing to file data;
generating a combined digest of identifiers of all files identified by the metadata of the base image on the server store;
converting the second software into a second image having metadata pointing to file data;
reading a first file of the second image;
generating an identifier of the read first file of the second image;
adding the first file to the files of the base image on the server store and updating the combined digest and the metadata of the base image if the identifier of the read first file of the second image is not in the combined digest; and
for each of the remaining files of the second image:
reading a next file of the second image;
generating an identifier of the next read file of the second image; and
adding the next read file to the files of the combined image and updating the combined digest and the metadata of the base image if the identifier of next read file of the second image is not in the combined digest.
In yet another form, the invention is a method of creating an image of a data structure of software on a destination device from a server store having a combined image including the first image and a second image. The method comprises:
copying an image of descriptive data of the first image from the combined image to a first destination device;
copying an image of the file data of the first image from the combined image to the first destination device.
In another form, the invention is a computer-readable medium of a destination device having stored thereon a first image of a data structure of a first software which first image is a copy from a combined image including the first image and one or more other images. The medium comprises an image of descriptive data of the first software copied from the combined image and an image of file data of the first software copied from the combined image.
In another form, the invention comprises a system comprising a server store having a combined image from with a first image and a second image different from the first image can be re-created, a link and a destination device connected to the server store via the link, the destination device having the first image thereon, which first image on the destination device was copied from the combined image via the link.
In another form, the invention is a method comprising copying a combined image including a first image and a second image onto a server store, linking the server store to a destination device and copying the first image onto the destination device via the link by copying the first image from the combined image.
In another form, the invention is a system for manipulation by a computer of an integrated image of multiple software programs stored on a server store. The integrated image has common files shared by a plurality of the software programs and unique files unique to a particular one of the software programs. The computer and the image store are connected to a data communication system. The system comprises a driver executing on the computer to provide access to the server store via the data communication system, the driver comprising one or more components for manipulating the common files and/or the unique files.
In yet another form, the invention comprises a method for manipulation by a computer of an integrated image of multiple software programs stored on a server store. The integrated image has common files shared by a plurality of the software programs and unique files unique to a particular one of the software programs. The computer and the server store are connected to a data communication system. The method comprises accessing the server store and manipulating the common files and/or the unique files.
Alternatively, the invention may comprise various other methods and apparatuses.
Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Referring first to
The image server store 1100 is selectively linked to the plurality of destination devices #1 through #N. This linking, as indicated by arrows 1120, may be a physical interconnection such as a hardware connection or a fiber optic line. In addition or alternatively, this linking may be a wireless interconnection such as a radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) transmission. The purpose of this linking is to allow a selected one or more of the images 1102-1118 to be imaged from the image server store 1100 to a selected destination device. For example, if image 1102 of image 1 version A is to be loaded onto destination device #2, image 1102 would be copied to destination device #2 via link 1120. Thus, this setup allows any one or more images 1102-1118 to be selectively copied to any one or more destination devices #1 through #N via link 1120.
As noted above, one disadvantage of the prior art system illustrated in
Referring next to
Each integrated image 1202 is separately stored so that the image or selected portion of the image, as noted below, can be copied to a destination device. The image server store 1200 is selectively linked to a plurality of destination devices #1 through #N. This linking, as indicated by arrows 1208, may be a physical interconnection such as a hardware connection or a fiber optic line. In addition or alternatively, this linking may be a wireless interconnection such as an RF or IR transmission. The purpose of this linking is to allow a selected one or more or part of one or more of the image 1202 or other images on the server store to be imaged from the image server store 1200 to a selected destination device. For example, if image 1 version A is to be loaded onto destination device #2, the portions of image 1202 corresponding to image 1 version A (i.e., image 1102 in
As noted above, one advantage of the system illustrated in
In one aspect of the invention of the image server store 1200 of
Referring first to
The descriptive data of the first software 101 includes information representing the layout of the image 151 and is referred to as metadata 153. Essentially, metadata is all information needed for a file or file system such as a file directory to represent the file. The metadata may include any one or more of the following: file names (short or long), attributes, file times (e.g., create/access/modify), compression formats, locations (e.g., directories), directory structures, security information (e.g., access control list (ACL)) and/or stream names. By some definitions and in certain contexts, metadata may be defined to include any information which is not file data and may be viewed as including a header, an offset table and/or a signature. In this disclosure, the header, offset table and signature are separately illustrated for clarity.
The file data 155 includes any binary file data that is not metadata including but not limited to the following: the actual binary data of a particular file, stream data and/or any data of significant size. In general, the image 151 is stored on a computer-readable medium as a data structure of the software 101. As will be noted below in greater detail, one purpose of the image 151 is so that it can be combined with one or more other images having the same data structure into a combined image so that the first image 151 and/or any of the one or more other images of the combined image can be restored by imaging from the combined image. For example, the medium on which image 151 is stored may include one or more other images comprising a second image of descriptive data of a second software and a second image of file data of the second software. In some cases, at least part of the file data of the first image 151 is the same as at least part of the file data of the second image so that the image 151 may be combined with the other images, as will be discussed in greater detail below. Image 151 also includes a header 156 identifying the image 151 and a signature 159 corresponding to the image 151.
In addition, the image 151 includes an offset table 161 including the following information for each file: a unique identification, location, size, any flags relating to the file and an optional hash of the file, as described below. As illustrated in
As shown in
At 206, a first file, called file A, of the first software 101 is read and at 208 a hash of the read file A is generated. The hash of file A is an identifier of the information in the file A. At 210, a search in the offset table 161 for the hash and size of file A is conducted to determine whether or not the hash for file A (and its size) is within the offset table 161. If found at 212, this indicates that file A is already a part of image 151 and does not have to be added to the image 151. At this point at 214, the metadata 152 is updated to include the unique identification (ID.) of file A which is already in the first image 151.
If it is determined at 212 that the hash and size of file A are not in the offset table 161 of the first image, the method proceeds to 216 to add file A to the first image 151 and at 218 the hash and size of file A are added to the offset table 161 of the first image 151. Next, at 220 the new location of the file A in the first image 151 is determined and at 222 the offset table 161 of the first image 151 is updated to include the new file location of file A. The method proceeds from 222 to 214 to update the metadata 152 of the first image 151 to include the unique identification of file A. Proceeding to 224, a determination is made as to whether anymore files need to be read from the first software 101. If there is more than one file as part of the first software 101, the method returns to 206 to read the next file of the first software 101. In the general case, A equals A+1 for each iteration of file reading. In the first iteration, A equaled 1 so that file 1 of the first software 101 was read. In the second iteration, A equals 2 so the second file is read and so on until all of the N files of the first software 101 are read. After all the files are read, the method proceeds to 226 to create a header and signature for the image 151 and then ends.
The method of
One reason for converting the first software into a first image is so that the first image can be combined with other images to create a combined image on a server store. For example, as shown in
As illustrated in
In a case where two images or more than two images are to be combined and it is known that the images have common file data, the following approach may be employed. Initially, the common file data of both the first and second images would be identified. The first image 302 would be separated into a first header, a first metadata, a first file data, the common file data, a first offset table and a first signature. Similarly, the second image 304 would be separated into a second header, a second metadata, a second file data, the common file data, a second offset table and a second signature. In order to create the combined image, the following would be combined: the first metadata, the second metadata, the first file data, the second file data, and the common file data into a single image which comprises the single combined image. A header, an offset table and a signature would then be added to the combined image 300. As a result, the combined image 300 includes first descriptive data (metadata 1) corresponding to descriptive data of the first software which points to the offset table (offset table 1) which points to first file data and the common file data corresponding to file data of the first software. In addition, the combined image 300 includes second descriptive data (metadata 2) corresponding to descriptive data of the second software which points to the offset table (offset table 2) which points to second file data and the common file data corresponding to file data of the second software.
Although not illustrated in
Referring to
The remainder of the substantive portion of adding the second image 304 to the base image 302 of the method illustrated in
Referring next to
When introducing elements of the present invention or the embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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Parent | 10172953 | Jun 2002 | US |
Child | 11155069 | US |