Patent ID: 8886609
Filing Date: 2014-11-11
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. In a distributed computing environment comprising a plurality of computing system nodes, a method of implementing point in time back-up, the method comprising: at a first node in the computing environment, wherein the computing environment comprises a plurality of nodes, each of the nodes being able to communicate with a cluster volume mounted at one of the nodes, but not mounted at the other nodes, the nodes able to communicate with the cluster volume using a proxy cluster volume which allows the nodes to modify data items in the cluster volume without needing to request modification from the node on which the cluster volume is mounted, taking a snapshot of the cluster volume through the proxy cluster volume and a backup application or infrastructure at the first node, the backup application or infrastructure configured to perform backup operations on volumes locally mounted at the first node, the cluster volume storing data items, wherein taking snapshot comprises marking a point in time, wherein the first node is an owner node and thus has the cluster volume mounted to it, such that the first node is able to use the backup application or infrastructure configured to perform backup operations of volumes locally mounted, to directly take the snapshot rather than needing to cause a different system to perform the snapshot; receiving, at the first node, a notification, through the proxy cluster volume, that a different node in the computing environment than the first node, has determined to change a data item in the cluster volume via the proxy cluster volume, rather than requesting that a data item be changed by the first node, and that the data item is about to be changed, at a point after the marked point in time from an old version of the data item to a new version of the data item; and as a result of receiving, at the first node, a notification, through the proxy cluster volume, that a different node in the computing environment than the first node, has determined to change a data item in the cluster volume via the proxy cluster volume, rather than requesting that a data item be changed by the first node, and that the data item is about to be changed, at the first node, saving the old version of the data item to create a snapshot image via a copy-on-write algorithm to present a point-in-time image of the cluster volume without making a full copy of the volume, such that the copy-on-write algorithm is performed by the first node, even though the different node than the first node in the computing environment has determined to change a data item in the cluster volume.