Patent ID: 7577807
Filing Date: 2009-08-18
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for restoring a first portion of a plurality of units of storage, the method comprising: recording in a time store information associated with all write commands directed to the plurality of units of storage, the recorded information including old data copied from a current store representing a current state of the plurality of units of storage and associated timestamps, wherein old data overwritten in response to each of the write commands is timestamped in the time store, thereby continuously indexing by timestamp old data to be overwritten with new data in the plurality of units of storage by write command prior to execution of each write command, the time store and the current store being separate from the plurality of units of storage and from each other, wherein the at least one time store does not store the new data; receiving a request to restore the first portion of the plurality of units of storage at a specified past time; storing, in the first portion of the plurality of units of storage, the old data that was stored in the first portion of the plurality of units of storage at the specified past time and that was overwritten since the specified past time, wherein the first portion of the plurality of units of storage is restored based at least in part on the recorded information and the current store, without the use of a snapshot that includes the old data at the specified past time.