Patent ID: 7489782
Filing Date: 2009-02-10
Classification: G06F,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A computer accessible storage medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed during a restore operation of a database to a computer system, wherein the database describes a computer system configuration, and wherein a first instance of the database is included in backup data being restored and a second instance of the database exists on the computer system: process one or more first keys of the second instance, the one or more first keys identifying one or more second keys of the second instance, wherein identification by the one or more first keys indicates that the one or more second keys are to be preserved in the database subsequent to the restore operation; if the computer system's hardware is equivalent to hardware of a source of the backup data, process a third key, wherein the third key overrides a preservation of at least one of the one or more second keys from the second instance, and wherein at least one other one of the one or more second keys remains preserved from the second instance subsequent to processing the third key, wherein each key of a given instance of the database is an identifier used to access information in the given instance; and merge the first instance and the second instance of the database to generate a third instance, wherein the third instance comprises: (i) each of the one or more second keys from the second instance whose preservation is not overridden by the third key; and (ii) each of the one or more second keys from the first instance whose preservation is overridden by the third key; wherein the third instance comprises at least one second key from the first instance and a least one second key from the second instance.