GB2444287A - Backup Server System - Google Patents
Backup Server System Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2444287A GB2444287A GB0624149A GB0624149A GB2444287A GB 2444287 A GB2444287 A GB 2444287A GB 0624149 A GB0624149 A GB 0624149A GB 0624149 A GB0624149 A GB 0624149A GB 2444287 A GB2444287 A GB 2444287A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- operating system
- server
- backup device
- computer
- network
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/14—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operation
- G06F11/1402—Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
- G06F11/1446—Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
- G06F11/1458—Management of the backup or restore process
- G06F11/1464—Management of the backup or restore process for networked environments
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/14—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operation
- G06F11/1402—Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
- G06F11/1446—Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
- G06F11/1456—Hardware arrangements for backup
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/16—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware
- G06F11/20—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/16—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware
- G06F11/20—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements
- G06F11/202—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements where processing functionality is redundant
- G06F11/2023—Failover techniques
- G06F11/2028—Failover techniques eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/16—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware
- G06F11/20—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements
- G06F11/202—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements where processing functionality is redundant
- G06F11/2035—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements where processing functionality is redundant without idle spare hardware
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
- G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
- G06F11/16—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware
- G06F11/20—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements
- G06F11/202—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements where processing functionality is redundant
- G06F11/2046—Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in hardware using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements where processing functionality is redundant where the redundant components share persistent storage
Abstract
On a network having a server, a computer 20 can boot two operating systems. One of the operating systems OS_B is a network server operating system. The default operating system OS_A may be the other operating system. When the default operating system is running, the computer may copy the files from the server's storage area to the storage area of the server operating system. Alternately, the server may copy the files to the storage area of the server operating system. If the server fails, the computer may be rebooted with the server operating system to replace the server. The computer may have two disc drives 24, 26 or two partitions on the same disc, one for each operating system. The computer may require authentication, such as a password, before it will boot the server operating system.
Description
* 2444287 Server Backup System
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system allowing for the backup and recovery of files on a networked server.
BACKGROUND ART
Networked computer systems have now become an essential part of any business or other office environment. Their continued reliable operation can be essential to the viability of an undertaking, to the point when if one or more servers on the network encounters a fatal error or other failure, the work of the undertaking can cease.
Such servers also provide the backbone of websites, which can offer a wide range of essential resources to users of the site, or an essential portal and revenue stream for the site provider.
Thus, there is a strong incentive to maintain such servers in a reliable manner and to provide for faliback options if there is a problem. For larger undertakings, this is not problematic in that a dedicated IT department or team can be justified in order to attend to problems immediately. For small to medium sized undertakings, however, dedicated staff cannot be justified on cost and the usual recourse is to engage the services of an outside consultant.
However, doing so brings with it the inevitability of delay in attendance on the part of the IT consultants. Physical separation of the IT staff means that, for severe problems, time is required to transport the engineer to the site even if an engineer is available immediately. This downtime can be costly and inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is set out in the claims. It permits the provision of a hot backup and critical recovery solution in the event of a main server failure that might otherwise interrupt the essential work of an undertaking.
Thus, according to the present invention, on a network having a server at least one terminal is provided with a multiple-boot arrangement in which a boot manager controls whether the terminal starts from operating system A or operating system B. The default is to start using operating system A, a normal windows installation. Once this is done, the computer can then be used as normal and/or left as a background backup agent. The second operating system (B) is placed on a disk, partition or disk area created initially by taking a direct copy or ghost of the server's main operating system drive. Once both the server and the terminal are running, an agent running within operating system A and/or the main server mirrors any changes to the server on the copy held on the alternate boot area.
Then, if the server should fail for some reason, the terminal is rebooted selecting operating system B. The terminal then acts as a replica of the former server.
While the server is running, there is no conflict between the two computers since the terminal takes the network identity dictated by operating system A, and the files of operating system B (even if shared) appear under a different root to those of the server. Meanwhile, once the terminal is booted to operating system B it takes the network identity of the server and therefore appears to be a perfect replica, removing the need for any reconfiguring of the other terminals on the network.
Clearly, the server would then still be broken and require attention, but this is no longer a time-critical issue. All that is required to restore the network to its normal state is a simple reboot, within the abilities of most PC users. This can therefore keep the network running without any significant interruption until such time as an engineer can attend.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which; Figure 1 shows a typical network topology; Figure 2 shows a suitable network topology for use in relation to the present invention; Figure 3 shows a first embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The invention (hereafter called twinserver) shall consist of a suitable motherboard, processor, memory, hard drive(s), optical drive(s) network card(s), cabling and case such as is necessary to construct what would be recognisable as a normal office computer system. This computer will have the capability to connect to and join any local area network of computers that run a Microsoft Windows operating system environment, this connection may be of wireless or wired link. The twinserver shall be operated by a keyboard and mouse and have graphics capabilities and connect to a screen or visual display unit.
When joined to such a network the device will operate by default in the mode of an additional terminal and be seen on this network only as a terminal or workstation. It will however also hold within itself a second identity which will be that of an exact clone of the operating system and data held on the main fileserver. This cloned identity will be modified such as to operate on the hardware of the twinserver when required. Thus the twinserver is a dual purpose computer comprising of two (or more) primary operating systems which are managed on startup by a boot manager control system with password protection safeguards.
The design is such that both primary operating systems may reside together on the twinserver in any of the following configurations on hard disk drive(s) of PATA or SATA configuration connected to the twinserver:-1) On the same partition, with one operating system hidden within the second operating system.
2) Together on the same partition of the same hard disk drive.
3) On separate partitions of the same hard disk drive 4) On separate partitions of separate hard disk drives of PATA or SATA design or a mixture of both types of drive.
5) Either or both operating systems may be set up in a raid configuration.
6) Additional boot media such as network, usb, 1EEE1394 (Firewire) and/or optical media may be implemented.
When the twinserver is operational on the network in terminal or workstation mode the volume that holds the clone of the main server is seen only as a secondary volume or drive to this operating system. Thus the UNC (uniform naming convention) network path to this cloned volume or drive will have a different identity and path to that of the main server network path. This allows it to be connected to the network and share files but not to be recognised as a clone of the main server of this network.
Backup and synchronization software may be run automatically from either the main server or the twinserver (the latter when running in workstation or terminal mode) or a combination of both of these arrangements to backup and synchronise all critical data residing on the main server onto that of the cloned server volume or drive residing on the twinserver.
Conventional backup procedures will face two problems when attempting to achieve this:- 1). They cannot successfully copy some types of applications that are currently in use or running on a continuous basis as they are effectively locked and made unavailable by the windows operating system unless that application is fully closed.
2). No backup process can be considered as instantaneous, so even if some program files are closed there will be a finite time delay between the opening copying and closing of all programs within an application. This will mean that the resultant backup will not represent a true copy of the application state at the same point in time.
The Twinserver can avoid these problems (if necessary) by making copies or hot-backups of in-use files by using a Microsoft system component known as VSS (or Volume Shadow Copy Service), available in the Windows1M Vista1m, Windows1m XPTM Professional, Windows1m XPTM Home and Windows1m Server 2003 Edition operating systems. The backup method employed will make a remote procedure call to activate this service on the main server to take a snapshot of all required files and applications which will include those currently open or "in use." This application provides a consistent point in time or shadow copy of the data which is then transferred to a secondary file local to the main server and stored on an NTFS formatted disk drive. This data is thereafter synchronized with the data on the twinserver. The data can be a full backup or incremental in nature and the synchronisation shall be such that in the event of a sudden failure of the main server during this data transfer there will be no resultant data corruption on the twinserver. Hot backups are performed at scheduled intervals sufficient to keep the data on the twinserver contemporaneous with that of the main fileserver.
Generally, the snapshot created by the VSS service will reside on the main server in a suitable directory. Software to ensure the synchronisation of this snapshot with the copy held on the twinserver can reside in the main server or in the twinserver, provided that the appropriate read and write permissions are granted.
The twinserver will on initial booting to join the network be controlled by a boot manager, the default operating boot volume or drive will be the workstation or terminal operating system mode. In the subsequent event of failure of the network main server the twinserver may be rebooted into its alternative operating system mode -this being its emergency backup server mode.
Consequently the network will be rapidly restored to a full operational status with a full data set identical to or just fractionally behind that of the main server at a point immediately before its failure. It will be further impossible to boot the twinserver into this emergency backup server mode without decompiling the hardware or knowledge of the secure password to boot this volume.
As the twinserver holds the same identity as the main server no remapping of workstation terminals is required for them to discover it on the network, all that is necessary is a normal reboot of these terminals.
Should the twinserver need to be restored and used with an earlier data set other than that at the time of failure of the main server, this will be possible from a stored archive of time stamped versions maintained on the twinserver.
This data may also at any time be exported automatically to any suitable removable storage media or another remote volume maintained on the network or by file transfer protocol to a remote address.
In the event of a main server failure and after its subsequent successful repair it should be the first machine of the network allowed to be turned on. The twinserver should thereafter be turned on and will default to joining the network in terminal or workstation mode. A password protected file when opened on the twinserver will update and resynchronise the data files of the main server with those of the twinserver such that the main server becomes fully operational again with a current data set.
Figure 1 thus shows a typical network. A main server 10 is connected to a hub or switch arrangement 12 via a local area connection 14 such as a wired or wireless LAN. Other workstations 16 are also linked via similar connections 18.
Figure 2 shows the addition of a further terminal 20 connected via a similar LAN connection 22; this further terminal 20 is the "twinserver" of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a schematic illustration of the layout of the twinserver terminal 20. Two hard discs 24, 26 are provided. A first hard disk (HDD1) 24 contains an operating system OS_A whereas the second hard disk (HDD2) 26 contains a further operating system OS_B and the archived backup files copied from the main server. Twinserver terminal 20 also contains a backup DVD drive 28 and an external or removable backup media 30 such as a tape, USB media, 1EEE1394 (Firewire), ftp connection etc. Operating system OS_A configures the device to act as a terminal logged on to the server and synchronise the files of the server onto the alternate boot drive of Operating System OS_B. At a separate location (on the twinserver or a remote site) OS_A also creates at pre-determined intervals a separate time stamped hot backup archive file of the server data. Operating system OS_B is an identical or near copy of that running on the main server and (when active) therefore configures the device to emulate the main server.
Figure 4 shows an alternative configuration. The terminal 32 has a single hard disk (HDD1) 34 which contains the operating system OS_A, the further operating system OS_B, and the archived backup files copied from the main server. These may (for example) sit in distinct partitions on the disk, on the same partition, or in different directories, or with one operating system hidden within a second. Again, a backup DVD drive 28 and an external or removable backup media 30 are provided. Operating systems OS_A and OS_B act as before.
It will of course be understood that many variations may be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Claims (13)
1. A backup device for attaching to a computer network comprising a server, the device comprising a computer having at least two operating systems and a dual-boot manager to allow a user to choose therebetween, a first operating system of the at least one of the operating systems being functionally identical to a network server operating system.
2. A backup device according to claim 1 in which the dual-boot manager defaults to a selection of an operating system other than the first operating system.
3. A backup device according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the dual-boot manager requires an authentication prior to allowing the computer to boot from the first operating system.
4. A backup device according to claim 3 in which the authentication comprises a password.
5. A backup device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the computer has a second operating system of the at least two operating systems, the second operating system being configured as a client for connection to a server.
6. A backup device according to claim 5 in which the second operating system has file write access to files of the first operating system.
7. A backup device according to claim 5 in which the second operating system includes a file replication service for copying files from a server to a storage area associated with the first operating system.
8. A backup device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the computer comprises at least two disk storage devices, on each of which are stored one of the at least two operating systems.
9. A backup device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 in which the computer comprises a disk storage device having at least two areas thereon, on each of which are stored one of the at least two operating systems.
10. A backup device according to claim 9 in which the at least two areas are partitions of the disc.
11. A computer network having at least one server and at least one backup device according to any one of the preceding claims, the first operating system of the backup device being functionally identical to an operating system of the server.
12. A computer network according to claim 11 in which the server include software for synchronising files of the server with a replica thereof held on the backup device.
13. A backup device substantially as herein described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying figures.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0624149A GB2444287B (en) | 2006-12-02 | 2006-12-02 | Server backup system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0624149A GB2444287B (en) | 2006-12-02 | 2006-12-02 | Server backup system |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB0624149D0 GB0624149D0 (en) | 2007-01-10 |
| GB2444287A true GB2444287A (en) | 2008-06-04 |
| GB2444287B GB2444287B (en) | 2011-04-27 |
Family
ID=37671784
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0624149A Expired - Fee Related GB2444287B (en) | 2006-12-02 | 2006-12-02 | Server backup system |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2444287B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN108694051A (en) * | 2018-05-18 | 2018-10-23 | 深圳市先河系统技术有限公司 | Upgrade method, device based on dual system and storage device |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1995003580A1 (en) * | 1993-07-20 | 1995-02-02 | Vinca Corporation | Method for rapid recovery from a network file server failure |
| WO2003005192A1 (en) * | 2001-07-04 | 2003-01-16 | Idékapital Ab | A system and a method for selecting a preconfigured operating system for a server |
-
2006
- 2006-12-02 GB GB0624149A patent/GB2444287B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1995003580A1 (en) * | 1993-07-20 | 1995-02-02 | Vinca Corporation | Method for rapid recovery from a network file server failure |
| WO2003005192A1 (en) * | 2001-07-04 | 2003-01-16 | Idékapital Ab | A system and a method for selecting a preconfigured operating system for a server |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN108694051A (en) * | 2018-05-18 | 2018-10-23 | 深圳市先河系统技术有限公司 | Upgrade method, device based on dual system and storage device |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2444287B (en) | 2011-04-27 |
| GB0624149D0 (en) | 2007-01-10 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20151202 |