Application aware backups

Systems and methods are described herein relating to backing up applications or applications stacks that utilize two or more computing resources. In some aspects, a snapshot of operating states of a collection of computing resources that operate collectively as an application may be captured and stored as an application recovery point. The application recovery point may include an application definition that identifies first and second computing resources usable to provide the application, a first computing resource recovery point, which upon restoration, restores the first computing resource according to the snapshot, and a second computing resource recovery point, which upon restoration, and restores the second computing resource according to the snapshot. Responsive to a request to restore the application using the recovery point, the collection of computing resources may be launched in a coordinated way to instantiate the application according to the application recovery point.

BACKGROUND

Advances in the development and usage of virtual computing resources to provide various computing services to a wider range of customers and entities has resulted in the creation of more complex applications and processes to take advantage of the numerous resources that are available. These computing resources include various types of data storage, virtual computing systems, roles and permissions, and so on. As customers and entities become more reliant on such complex applications, backing up these computing resources becomes increasingly important. Backup services enable customers to protect their individual resources, by taking on-demand backup jobs for individual computing resources or creating backup plans, which can run according to a configured schedule. Customers may also want to add an additional fail-safe by copying their backups into different regions or accounts. However, while these back-up solutions provide some level of protection, it can be difficult or unfeasible to coordinate the backups of multiple different resources of a complex application in manner that enables the resources to be restored concurrently so as to restore the complex application to a previous state at a specific point in time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various systems and methods are described herein relating to creating and using an application recovery point to restore an application that utilizes multiple computing resources. In one aspect, an application or application stack may be defined by an application definition that specifies the use of multiple different computing resources to provide the application stack. In some cases, the application stack may be defined by a user, where the different computing resources may include any of a number of different computing resources and/or different computing resource types. For example, the computing resources utilized by the application stack may include data storage resources or services, such as block level, relational database, data cloud, and other formats of data storage, virtual computing systems such as virtual machines, containers, etc., serverless computing resources, and/or various stateless resources, such as roles, permissions, etc. In order to provide more robust data recovery and backup options for these more complex application stacks (as compared to a single computing resource), a snapshot of the application stack, including the collection of computing resources used to provide the application stack, may be captured and stored as an application recovery point. The application recovery point, upon selection, may subsequently be used to restore an instance of the application, including the collection of resources that make up the application stack, according to the selected application recovery point. In this way, recovering a collection of computing resources that operate collectively to instantiate an application stack may be much more efficient and more readily accessible and configurable.

In some aspects, the application recovery point may include dependent recovery points for each of the stateful computing resources that make up the application stack. These dependent recovery points may be individually selectable, to restore individual computing resources of the application stack. In some cases, stateless resources, such as roles, permissions, etc., may also be captured via a snapshot of an application stack, such that upon restoration of the application stack using the application recovery point, the stateless resources may be restored. In some aspects, the described techniques may support backing up third party or external computing resources or services that may be provided or developed by sources external to a computing resource service provider. In these scenarios, the computing resource definition may be uploaded to the computing resource service provider and an identifier may be assigned to access that computing resource via the definition that is stored with the computing resource service provider. The identifier may be included in the application definition and captured in the snapshot to generate the application recovery point.

In some cases, the application definition may include logical identifiers of the computing resources that make up the application stack, such as may be assigned by a user to readily identify the different resources used in the application stack. When the snapshot of the collection of computing resources is taken, a backup identifier may be assigned to the recovery point for each dependent computing resource that make up the application recovery point/operates to provide in combination the application stack. When the backup service receives a request to restore an application stack, the service may retrieve the application definition that was stored in the application recovery point. The logical identifiers of the computing resources in the application definition may then be determined, and the backup identifiers of the specific recovery point for those resources may then be identified. The backup identifiers of the specific recovery points for the computing resources may then be inserted into the application definition to generate a recovery application definition. This recovery application definition may then be executed to launch an instance of the application stack, with the parameters/states defined in the application recovery point, to restore the application stack to a point in time when the snapshot was captured to create the application recovery point. Additionally or alternatively, the recovery application definition may also be copied, such as to a different region or different location, associated with the computing resource service provider, so that a copy of the application may be instantiated.

In some aspects, a user may manage various parameters for when to back up the application stack through a backup service, such as a set time period or interval, upon the occurrence of one or more triggering events or conditions, and the like. The backup service may, accordingly store multiple recovery points, including both application recovery points and individual computing resource recovery points that may form the application recover points. All of these various recovery points may be selectable, such as through one or more user interfaces, to enable precise control and restoration of computing resources and applications managed by the backup service. In some cases, in the event backup of an individual resource of an application or application stack fails, the remainder of the computing resources that make up the application or applications stack may be backed up, such that only a partial application recovery point is created. In this way, more robust backups and application recovery may be provided, even in the face of runtime errors.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate in light of this disclosure, certain embodiments may be capable of achieving certain advantages, including some or all of the following: (1) reducing the amount if inputs necessary to restore an application stack, (2) reducing memory requirements by saving backups in the form of already existing application definitions or templates, and various other advantages as will be described and made apparent throughout the rest of the disclosure.

FIG.1illustrates an example environment100in which a backup service110may be provided by a computing resource service provider102. A client device104may interact with the computing resource service provider102via a front end108of computing resource service provider102over one or more networks106to interact with various data and services, such as through one or more of an application service120, backup service110, data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, identify access and management service130, various other services provided by the computing resource service provider102, and services132or computing resources134that are supplied or provided by an entity external to the computing resource service provider102(e.g., an external source), as will be described in greater detail below.

Client104may refer to a client computer system or computing device connected to a server (e.g., computing resource service provider) over a network106. In some cases, client104refers to a user or operator of a client computer system, and may be an employee of an organization that utilizes a computing resource service provider102to interact with various forms of data, such as through one or more of application service120, backup service110, data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, identify access and management service130, or external service132or external computing resource134.

Client104may submit a request136for access to various computing resources (e.g., services or computing resources thereof) of computing resource service provider102. The request136, in some examples, is a web service application programming interface request (also referred to simply as a web service request), may be received by a service of the computing resource service provider102. As illustrated, the client104may submit a request136to access or interact with an application service120to create or configure an application, application stack, or process, and/or a backup service110to backup that application or process and restore the application. In some cases, the request136may include configuration parameter for the application/application stack, and/or parameters for backing up one or more applications/application stacks. In some cases, the request136may additionally include details of how different computing resources are linked or mapped to instantiate an application. The computing resources may be provided by the computing resource service provider102, such as by data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, or identify access and management service130. In some examples, the computing resources may be defined by the client device104and may be uploaded from a third party or external service provider, such as in the case of external service132and external computing resource134.

In some examples, request136may include configuration parameters to create an application or application stack. As used herein, an application stack may include multiple applications or processes (e.g., computing resources) that operate collectively to perform a variety of functions. An application may similarly be provided by multiple different computing resources. As such, the described techniques are applicable to both applications and application stacks. For ease of reference, the term “application” will be predominantly used throughout the present disclosure, but it should be appreciated that an applications stack is equally applicable. An example of an application, such as defined by an application definition, will be described in greater detail below in reference toFIG.2. In either case, the request136may define what computing resources will be used to define or operate the application, and how they interoperate, such as may be captured in an application definition or configuration122.

The request136may additionally or alternatively include parameters for configuring backup service110to capture the operating state of one or more applications or application stacks, such as may be provided by the application service120. The parameters may include how often or what conditions need to be satisfied to back up a given application or application stack, where to store the snapshot or recovery points, what tags to use to identify certain resources, and so on. In some cases, the request136may include a request to restore the application from a recovery point or backup such as may be stored by the data storage service124as a backup126. The process for restoring an application from an application recovery point or backup will be described in greater detail below.

In some cases, the front end108may receive the request and direct it to the appropriate service. The front end108may be a system including a set of web servers (e.g., a single web server or a set of web servers which may be managed by a load balancer) provided by the computing resource service provider102. Web servers of the front end108may be configured to receive various requests and to process them according to one or more policies associated with the service. In at least one embodiment, client104uses client software that is configured to establish a client-server relationship with a service of a computing resource service provider102. A client104may connect to a service via front end108, which receives requests from clients and routes them to backend services. Front end108may interface with one or more of an application service120, backup service110, data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, identify access and management service130, offered by a computing resource service provider102to its customers via client devices104. In some cases, front end108may also interact with external service132or external computing resource134. In at least one embodiment, client104interacts with a graphical user interface (GUI) to interact with various data and configurations provided by or through the computing resource service provider102, and client-side software translates the GUI setup to a web service API request which is transmitted from the client computer system104to front end108via a network106.

The network106may include any appropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, a satellite network or any other such network and/or combination thereof, and components used for such a system depend at least in part upon the type of network and/or system selected. Many protocols and components for communicating via such a network are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. In an embodiment, communication over the network106is enabled by wired and/or wireless connections and combinations thereof. In some cases, a network may include or refer specifically to a telephone network such as a public switched telephone network or plain old telephone service (POTS).

The computing resource service provider102may provide various services such as data processing, data storage, software applications, security, encryption, and/or other such services. A computing resource service provider described herein may be implemented using techniques described below in reference toFIG.7. The computing resource service provider102may provide services that may be accessible through various software, hardware, and/or variations thereof. In some examples, the services may be implemented as software applications or services executing on various computing devices. Examples of such computing devices include one or more instances of a physical computing instance (e.g., a physical server computer, a mobile communication device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal computer, a mainframe, etc.) or one or more instances of a virtual computing instance, such as a virtual machine hosted on one or more computer servers, or other various capable computing systems.

In some examples, the computing resource service provider102may provide one or more of an application service120, backup service110, data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, identify access and management service130, and/or other service. Each of these services may provide ways for a customer to interact with various forms of data, including using the one or more services to configure applications, back up applications and restore applications.

As illustrated, the application service or application providing service120may be a collection of computing resources configured to provide one or more application or application stacks to perform various functions. The application service120may provide tools for customers to design, configure, provision, and operate different applications or application stacks through computing resources provided by the computing resource service provider102and/or customer defined processes of resources. In some cases the application service may support defining application infrastructure as a set of machine-readable definition files sometimes referred to as infrastructure as code (“IAC”). Infrastructure as code may include both declarative and imperative approaches. In the declarative technique, code describes the target configuration for the infrastructure of the application. In the imperative approach, code describes how infrastructure may be modified to meet the needs of the application. In general, any framework or tool that performs or changes or configures infrastructure using a programmatic method can be part of an infrastructure as code system. Examples of infrastructure as code frameworks include Microsoft Power Shell DSC or Amazon Web Services CloudFormation. Examples of tasks that can be performed using infrastructure as code include installing and configuring a database, installing a virtual network, installing and configuring a virtual machine, and configuring network policies. By performing these operations in code, management operations can be managed and delivered in the same way in which code is developed, rather than relying on a complex set of manual operational procedures and standards.

The application service120may configure and/or store one or more application definitions or templates122, which define how various computing resources operate in conjunction with each other to provide various functions, as defined by a customer. In some cases, the application definition122may define an application or application stack. The application definition122may define the infrastructure of the application or set of applications as IAC and may reference one or a number of different computing resources, such as may be provided by one or more of data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, or via customer defined instructions or code, via logical identifiers. The application definition122may be configured through communications, such as request136from client device104. In some cases, the application service120may store application definitions122in the data storage service124.

The application service120may also include an application launch process140. The application launch process140may include any of a number of computing resources that execute an application definition122to launch a set of resources to provide an application or application stack. In some aspects, the application service120(via appropriately configured and authenticated API calls) may provision and/or access virtual computer systems that are instantiated on physical computing devices hosted and operated by the computing resource service provider102. The virtual computer systems may be used for various purposes, such as to operate as servers supporting data storage for a customer coupled with compute capabilities to execute applications or application stacks.

The backup service110may be a collection of computing resources configured to take snapshots of one or more computing resources to generate recovery points for applications configured and provided by or through application service120. In some cases, the backup service110may store snapshots or backups of computing resources and applications112,114,116,118as backups126with a data storage service124. In some cases, the application service120may access backups126to restore one or more applications, application stacks, and/or individual computing resources, such as using application launch process140.

The backup service110may capture and/or store various computing resource and application stack snapshots112,114,116,118. As advantageously provided by the backup service110, operating states of a collection of computing resources, such as defined by an application configuration or definition122, may be captured and stored together as an application snapshot112, such that the collection of resources may be restored in combination via a single selection of the application snapshot. The backup service110may provide this functionality by providing a hierarchy of recovery points for individual computing resources that together operate to provide an application or application stack. In the example illustrated, the application snapshot112may include an application definition122, and two dependent resources114,116, that may be identified in the application definition122and usable to provide functionality of the application. The snapshots of resources114,116may include a backup identifier that is usable to access specific snapshots of that resource taken at different points in time. In some aspects, a different, unique, backup identifier may be assigned to each different application snapshot.

The data storage service124may interact with application service120and/or the backup service110to store application definitions, backup recovery points126, and/or provide data storage for one or more application. Data storage service124may be an on-demand data storage service, such as an object-based data storage service, and may be configured to store various forms of media. The data storage service124may be implemented on a computer system, or abstraction thereof (such as one or more virtual machines, software containers, or other computing resource abstractions), implemented using hardware and software, and may comprise one or more processors and memory that stores executable instructions whose execution by the one or more processors causes the computer system to perform operations described herein.

The data storage service124and/or the data backup126may include one or more data objects, which may have arbitrary sizes and may, in some instances, have constraints on size. Thus, the data storage service124may store numerous data objects of varying sizes. The data storage service124may operate as a key value store that associates data objects with identifiers of the data objects which may be used by the client104to retrieve or perform other operations in connection with the data objects stored by the data storage service124. Access to the data storage service124may be through application programming interface (API) calls to the service or via an interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI).

In some cases, the data storage service124may operate as a key value store that associates data objects with identifiers of the data objects which may be used by the client104to retrieve or perform other operations in connection with the data objects stored by the data storage service124. Access to the data storage service124may be through application programming interface (API) calls to the service, for example from either directly from client104, or via the computing resource service provider102. It should be appreciated that the data storage service124may additionally or alternatively provide non-object based data storage, such as block data storage, table-oriented data storage, relational databases, file-based storage, and the like. The data storage service124may also implement an archival system or process that stores certain data objects in different storage locations, devices, etc., for example, based on access to those data objects or other factors. For example, some data objects that have not been accessed for a certain period of time may be moved from a storage device or location (e.g., referred to herein generally as storage class) that provides prompt access, albeit at increased cost, to a more cost effective storage class that may provide access with some delay, different redundancy, or other attributes.

The virtual computer system service128may be a collection of computing resources configured to instantiate virtual machine (VM) instances on behalf of the customer104. The customer104may interact with the virtual computer system service128(via appropriately configured and authenticated API calls) to provision and operate virtual computer systems that may be instantiated on physical computing devices hosted and operated by the computing resource service provider102. The virtual computer systems may be used for various purposes, such as to operate as servers supporting a website, to operate business applications or, generally, to serve as computing power for the customer. Other applications for the virtual computer systems may be to support database applications, electronic commerce applications, business applications and/or other applications. Although the virtual computer system service128may be shown inFIG.1, any other computer system or computer system service may be utilized in the computing resource service provider102, such as a computer system or computer system service that does not employ virtualization or instantiation and instead provisions computing resources on dedicated or shared computers/servers and/or other physical devices. In some cases, the virtual computer system service128may provide complete VMs with an operating system. In some cases, the virtual computer system service128may provide software containers or instances of such, where no operating system is provided.

In some aspects, virtual computer system service128may provide one or more software containers or container instances, which may be utilized in application definitions122by application service120and captured in recovery points by the backup service110. A container, as referred to herein, may include code and all its dependencies such that an application (also referred to as a task) can run quickly and reliably in an isolated computing environment. A container image is a standalone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run an application process: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings. Container images become containers at runtime. Containers are thus an abstraction of the application layer (meaning that each container simulates a different software application process). Though each container runs isolated processes, multiple containers can share a common operating system, for example by being launched within the same virtual machine. In contrast, virtual machines are an abstraction of the hardware layer (meaning that each virtual machine simulates a physical machine that can run software). Virtual machine technology can use one physical server to run the equivalent of many servers (each of which is called a virtual machine). While multiple virtual machines can run on one physical machine, each virtual machine typically has its own copy of an operating system, as well as the applications and their related files, libraries, and dependencies. Virtual machines are commonly referred to as compute instances or simply “instances.” Some containers can be run on instances that are running a container agent, and some containers can be run on bare-metal servers.

The computing resource service provider102may also provide an identity and access management (IAM) service130. The IAM service130may be a collection of computing resources, including physical resources, virtual resources, or combinations thereof, configured to control access to resources provided by the computing resource service provider102. In some implementations, client device104may authenticate using credentials or an identity established with the computing resource service provider102by authentication performed through the IAM service130, via techniques known in the art, to upload, access, and organize data managed by or through the application service120, backup service110, and/or various other services as provided by the computing resource service provider102. In some aspects, the IAM service may manage access to customer data, application definitions122, and/or backups126, as may be stored by the data storage service124, including implementing various security protocols to ensure that customer data226is secure.

The serverless compute service or function service138may that is configured to manage execution of program code functions. The function service138may be a “serverless” compute service that executes program code functions in response to requests or events, and the function service138may automatically manage underlying compute resources used to execute the program code functions. In particular, the function service138may manage execution of a variety of functions. The functions may be program code function, which may comprise a “serverless” function. For example, a program code function may be a segment of program code that may be like a function, and the program code function may receive parameters, perform processing, make service requests, and provide return values. In one example, a software container may be used to provide an isolated environment for a program code function to execute. The software container may contain the program code function (e.g., JAVA code, C# code, etc.) and any dependencies (e.g., library files) used to execute the program code function on a computing hub configuration (e.g., computing hub hardware and software). For example, operating system kernel functionality may be used to isolate computing resources and create separate namespaces in order to provide an isolated (containerized) user space for a program code function to execute. In doing so, the program code function may be contained to the isolated user space, allowing multiple containerized program code functions to utilize a single operating system kernel. Also, a runtime service may be loaded into the software container, and the runtime service may manage execution of the program code function and provide an interface between the operating system and the program code function executing inside of the software container. The function service138may manage execution of program code functions by allocating computing resources for executing a program code function in response to execution requests, launching the program code function, and deallocating the computing resources utilized by the program code function.

In some cases, the application service120, backup service110, and/or other services of the computing resource service provider may interact with one or more external services132and/or external computing resources134. External services132may include or provide any of a variety of computing functions, data storage, etc., such as may be provided by a provider external to the computing resource service provider102. Similarly, external computing resources134may include or provide any of a variety of computing functions, data storage, etc., such as may be defined by a customer, such as through client device104. In some cases, the external computing resource134specification or program code may be uploaded to the computing resource service provider102, such as in or stored in association with an application definition122, to enable the application definition, upon execution, to instantiate and control the external computing resource134.

It should be appreciated that the services and computing resources described above, as provided by the computing resource service provider102, and resources external to the computing resource service provider102, are only given by way of example. The techniques described herein for backing up and restoring applications or applications stacks that comprise an a number of different computing resources are equally applicable to a large variety of computing resources, functions, virtual resources, and so on.

FIG.2illustrates an example of an application definition122, such as may be used by the application service120and/or backup service110described above in reference toFIG.1. Application definition122may define how a number of different computing resources are used to provide an application or application stack. Application definition122may define how these various computing resource interact with one another, such as what data is passed between the computing resources, what operations are performed on the data by a given computing resource, and what entities have access to certain portions of the data. In some cases, application definition122may be implement using IAC conventions or structure, such that enable efficient modification to the design or configuration of the application/application stack.

In the example illustrated, application definition122may include a reference to a data storage instance202, such as may be provided by a database service216. The reference may include any naming convention, such that identifies the computing resource uniquely within the application definition (e.g., does not have to be globally unique). Similarly, the application definition may also include a reference to a block level data storage instance204, provided by a block level data storage service214, a virtual computing system instance206, provided by a virtual computer system service128, a file system instance208provided by a file system service218, an external computing resource instance210, provided by an external computing resource134, and roles/permissions212provided by an IAM service130, such as described above in reference toFIG.1. Each reference, which may be referred to herein as a logical identifier or logical identifier (ID), may include any alpha numeric or other characters or symbols, and be of any length. It should be appreciated that application definition122may reference or include other computing resources, (including one or more containers or container instance), such as may be provided by a service, such that is not illustrated. In some cases, any number of various computing resources of the same type and even same configuration may be specified in application definition122.

The application definition122may include references to each of the computing resources202-212described above, such that when the application definition122is executed, the corresponding services and resources216,214,128,218,134, and130may be called to instantiate an instance of the resource. The instantiated instance of each resource may then be assigned a unique identifier (e.g., globally unique to the service or computing resource service provider102), such as may be referred to herein as a resource identifier or resource ID, and may include any alpha numeric or other characters or symbols, and be of any length. In some cases, a snapshot of an instance of a resource202,204,206,208,210, and/or212at a point in time may be captured and stored. Each snapshot of an instance of a resource202,204,206,208,210, and/or212may be assigned a backup ID. The backup ID of the resources202,204,206,208,210, and/or212referenced in the application definition122may be added or appended back into the application definition122, to restore the application using the application definition122, as will be described in greater detail below.

FIG.3illustrates example states of an application definition, such as application definition122as used by a backup service, such a backup service110described above in reference toFIGS.1and2. As illustrated, an application definition302may first be generated in response to a customer, e.g., via a user interface, configuring an application or application stack that uses multiple computing resources to provide some service, generate or save data, etc. The application definition302may define any number of stateful resources304,310, having various properties306,312, and identified by logical IDs308,314. Logical IDs may refer to any naming convention, such as may be implemented by a client or customer. In other cases, logical IDs308,314,320may be replaced with a resource ID, which may identify the specific resource304,310,316in the sphere of the computing resource service provider that provides backup services, as described herein. In yet some cases, each resource304,310,316may include both a logical ID and a resource ID in a given application definition302, such that one or more of a logical ID or a resource ID can be used to then determine a specific backup ID corresponding to a specific recovery point captured at a given time. The stateful resources304,310may include any computing resources, such as those provided by one or more of services described above in reference toFIG.1, such as a data storage service124, virtual computer system service128, function service138, or identify access and management service130, and/or other service. Each resource304,310may have a given set of properties, such as size, volume type, input/output operations limits, availability or geographic zone where the resource is to be provided, etc. Each resource304,310may also have a logical ID308,314, such as described above in reference toFIG.2.

In some cases, application definition302may also include one or more references to external resources316, such as may have associated properties318, and a logical ID320. In yet some aspects, the application definition302may also include one or more stateless resources322,324, as described above. An example of an application definition302is given below:

When an application is to be backed up, such as by backup service110, a snapshot of the application definition332may be captured and stored. In some cases, the snapshot332may be similar to and include the same information as the application definition302itself. In some cases, capturing stateless resources322and324, such as roles, permissions, etc., in the snapshot332may be optional. Similarly, operating states of the resources identified in the application definition302may be captured as well, and associated with the application snapshot332as a recovery point for the application. An example application recovery point will be described in greater detail below in reference toFIG.4.

To restore the application from the application snapshot332, backup IDs326,328,330of the computing resources identified in the application snapshot332may be added to the application definition302to form a recovery application definition334. The backup IDs326,328,330may be obtained from snapshots of the actual instantiations of the computing resources created when the application snapshot332is captured or obtained. The backup IDs326,328,330may include the complete definition or a reference to the complete defection of the computing resources, e.g., the operating states of the resources, captured at a point in time when the snapshot was taken. Adding the backup IDs326,328,330back into the application definition302to form the recovery application definition334may allow for an execution engine, such as of application service120, to execute the application according to the state it possessed when the snapshot332was captured. In some cases, the recovery application definition334may or may not include the stateless resources322,324. An example of a recovery application definition334is provided below, with the inserted backup ID's highlighted.

FIG.4illustrates an example of data structures400representing application recovery points which may be an example of how an application snapshot112, generated by the backup service110as described above in reference toFIG.1, is stored. Snapshots of computing resources, applications, applications stacks (e.g., a definition containing multiple applications) may be taken of computing resources to generate recovery points, at various points in time, such according to a predefined schedule, in response to occurrence of triggering events, and so on. As described herein, these recovery points may be hierarchical in nature, such that they may contain one or more application definitions and dependent computing resources snapshots, such of computing resources that are part of the application definition. Each collection of data objects, such as one or more application definitions, and related computing resource snapshots, may form a recovery point. Each recovery point may, after being captured and stored, be accessed and executed to restore the computing resources, application, or applications to the state captured in the recovery point. As used herein, a recovery point that includes multiple computing resource snapshots/recovery points and/or an application definition may be referred to as an application recovery point.

As illustrated, each application recovery point426may be defined or stored as a row in a table, such as maintained as a backup, such as backup126as described above in reference toFIG.1. It should be appreciated that application recovery points, such as application recovery point426may similarly be stored in any of a variety of forms, types of data storage etc. In some examples, an application recovery point426may be stored as a data structure or object, and may include a number of attributes, including a recovery point ID; a backup type (e.g., application, application stack, or computing resource); a status, which may indicate whether the recovery point is a partial snapshot, such that a snapshot of at least one resource was not captured, or complete, indicating that all resources were effectively captured; a creation time, and in some cases, a source ID account (e.g., owner of the recovery point) and/or a resource ID (e.g., in the case that an individual resource was backed up and not an application).

In some aspects, a different application recovery point data structure426may be generated and stored for each time an application is backed up. In other cases, one full recovery point may be stored and only changes to that recovery point may be subsequently stored for a given duration. In this example, a new full recovery point (e.g., one that includes the application definition and snapshots/recovery points of all contained computing resources) may be stored, for example, every day, every week etc., and in between those recovery points, only changes to that recovery point may be stored, instead of all the data contained in the recovery point.

As also illustrated, application recovery point426may contain various data428indicating or including one or more application definitions408,426, and various computing resource recovery points404,406,410,412,414,418,420. As described above, resource recovery points404,406,410,412,414,418,420may include a backup ID of the computing resource captured at a given point of time, and/or may include the partial or entire state of the computing resource captured at that point in time. In some cases, the data contained in each recovery point may vary, for example, based on the origin of the computing resource (e.g., provided by the computing resource service provider, or an external service/provided by a customer), based on the type of resource and how large the definition of the computing resource is (e.g., data volume versus virtual instance, container, function, etc.), and/or based on other factors.

In some cases, the hierarchical structure of an application recovery point may include multiple applications, such as may be dependent on one another. In the illustrated example, external computing resource definition aaa-bbb416may be part of application definition xxx-yyy408. In this example, the application definition xxx-yyy408may define a virtual computing instance, a database instance, and external computing resource definition aaa-bbb, which may further include a relation database and a data bucket or other type of data store. In some cases, one or multiple recovery points for a given computing resource may be stored in the application recovery point. For example, there may be two distinct recovery points410,412for the virtual computing instance of application definition xxx-yyy408. In some aspects, various of computing resource recovery points404,406,410,412,414,418,420may be associated with one, multiple, or no application definitions.

In some cases, during the process of backing up an application, such as the application represented by application recovery point426/428, one or more computing resources may not be adequately captured, such that a complete recovery point for that resource may not be stored. In this instance, the remainder of the application may still be backed up and an application recovery point saved, without the recovery point for the failed application. As illustrated, the recovery point for a relational database418may have failed to be captured/stored. In this instance, the reminder of the application recovery point may be stored, with an indicator of partial or complete. The ability to only partially capture/save an application recovery point may be particularly useful when the application or application itself is complex, including multiple different computing resources. In this example, it may be possible to identify a prior application recovery point and retrieve a prior recovery point for the failed computing resource. While this may not provide a complete recovery of the application at a given point in time, it may provide beneficial, particularly when some resources are not modified to a great extent during execution of the application or application stack.

FIG.5illustrates an example process500for generating and using an application recovery point to restore an application. In some examples, process500may be performed by backup service110and/or application service120, as described above in reference toFIG.1.

Process500may begin at operation502, in which snapshots of a collection of computing resources that collectively operate to provide an application, may be captured to generate an application recovery point. In some aspects, process502may include generating a first computing resource recovery point, at operation506, and any additional number of computing resource recovery points, as may be used to provide the application, at operation508. In some cases, operation502may be performed on a live or running application. In yet some instances, the application recovery point may include one or more of data structures426,428described above in reference toFIG.4.

Process500may proceed to operation510, in which it may be determined if a triggering event has occurred that prompts generating another recovery point for the application. In some cases, the triggering point may be an amount of time that has elapsed (e.g., where the backup service generates a new backup periodically), or based on some other triggering event. Other types of triggering events may include new data or an amount of new data being stored in association with the application, events as may defined or occur within execution of the application (e.g., a new account has been created), or various other types and kinds of events. If a triggering event does occur, process may loop back to operation502and another application recovery point may be generated, and then process500may return to operation510.

In the event that a triggering event has not occurred, at operation510, process500may proceed to operation512, in which it may be determined if a request to restore the application has been received. If no restore request has been received, process500may loop back to operation510, etc. If a restore request has been received, then an application recovery point, such as may be indicated in the request, may be accessed, at operation514. In some cases, the recovery point may be indicated by an identifier or a time at which the recovery point was captured. Using that identifier, the application recovery point may be obtained, and instances of the computing resources included in the application recovery point may be launched or instantiated according to information contained in the corresponding resource recovery point to launch the application, at operation516. In some examples, operation510and512may be performed in parallel, such that the performance of operation512does not depend on the outcome of operation510.

FIG.6illustrates another example process600for generating and using an application recovery point to restore an application. In some examples, process600may be performed by backup service110and/or application service120, as described above in reference toFIG.1.

Process600may begin at operation602, in which snapshots of a collection of computing resources that collectively operate to provide an application, may be captured to generate an application recovery point. In some aspects, process602may also include obtaining an application definition that defines the application to be backed up and/or restored, at operation604. In some cases, the application definition may include one or more aspects of application definition122and302described above in reference toFIGS.1-3. The application definition may specify a number of computing resources that comprise the application. In some cases, process602may additionally include generating a first computing resource recovery point, at operation606, and any additional number of computing resource recovery points, as may be used to provide the application, at operation608. In some cases, operation602may be performed on a live or running application. In yet some instances, the application recovery point may include one or more of application snapshot332and/or data structures426,428described above in reference toFIGS.3and4.

Process600may proceed to operation610, in which it may be determined if a triggering event has occurred that prompts generating another recovery point for the application. If a triggering event does occur, process600may loop back to operation602and another application recovery point may be generated, and then process600may return to operation610. In the event that a triggering event has not occurred, at operation610, process600may proceed to operation612, in which it may be determined if a request to restore the application has been received. If no restore request has been received, process600may loop back to operation610, etc. If a restore request has been received, then an application recovery point, such as may be indicated in the request, may be accessed, at operation614. In some examples, operation610and612may be performed in parallel, such that the performance of operation612does not depend on the outcome of operation610. Stated another way, operation610may be performed independently of operation612, such that upon completion of operations602/608, operations610and612may be performed concurrently.

In some aspects, the logical IDs (e.g., names used to identify resources) or resource IDS (e.g., IDs usable by the service provider to access the underlying resources) of the computing resources identified in the application definition specified in the application recovery point may be translated to backup IDs of the captured snapshots of the resources themselves (e.g., as indicated in the computing resource recovery points generated at operations606and608), at operation616. In some cases, operation616may include appending the backup IDs of the resources into the application definition to generate a recovery application definition, such as recovery application definition334described above in reference toFIG.3. In some cases, the backup IDs of the resources may take a variety of forms, such as may be used by the provider of the resources themselves, such a computing resource service provider102described above.

Using the recovery application definition, instances of the computing resources of the application may be launched or instantiated according to information contained in the corresponding resource recovery point to launch the application, at operation616.

FIG.7illustrates aspects of an example system700for implementing aspects in accordance with an embodiment. As will be appreciated, although a web-based system is used for purposes of explanation, different systems may be used, as appropriate, to implement various embodiments. In an embodiment, the system includes an electronic client device702, which includes any appropriate device operable to send and/or receive requests, messages, or information over an appropriate network704and convey information back to a user of the device. Examples of such client devices include personal computers, cellular or other mobile phones, handheld messaging devices, laptop computers, tablet computers, set-top boxes, personal data assistants, embedded computer systems, electronic book readers, and the like. In an embodiment, the network includes any appropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, a satellite network or any other such network and/or combination thereof, and components used for such a system depend at least in part upon the type of network and/or system selected. Many protocols and components for communicating via such a network are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. In an embodiment, communication over the network is enabled by wired and/or wireless connections and combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the network includes the Internet and/or other publicly addressable communications network, as the system includes a web server706for receiving requests and serving content in response thereto, although for other networks an alternative device serving a similar purpose could be used as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

In an embodiment, the illustrative system includes at least one application server708and a data store710, and it should be understood that there can be several application servers, layers or other elements, processes or components, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. Servers, in an embodiment, are implemented as hardware devices, virtual computer systems, programming modules being executed on a computer system, and/or other devices configured with hardware and/or software to receive and respond to communications (e.g., web service application programming interface (API) requests) over a network. As used herein, unless otherwise stated or clear from context, the term “data store” refers to any device or combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrieving data, which may include any combination and number of data servers, databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard, distributed, virtual or clustered system. Data stores, in an embodiment, communicate with block-level and/or object-level interfaces. The application server can include any appropriate hardware, software and firmware for integrating with the data store as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for the client device, handling some or all of the data access and business logic for an application.

In an embodiment, the application server provides access control services in cooperation with the data store and generates content including but not limited to text, graphics, audio, video and/or other content that is provided to a user associated with the client device by the web server in the form of HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”), Extensible Markup Language (“XML”), JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets (“CSS”), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and/or another appropriate client-side or other structured language. Content transferred to a client device, in an embodiment, is processed by the client device to provide the content in one or more forms including but not limited to forms that are perceptible to the user audibly, visually and/or through other senses. The handling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the client device702and the application server708, in an embodiment, is handled by the web server using PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (“PHP”), Python, Ruby, Perl, Java, HTML, XML, JSON, and/or another appropriate server-side structured language in this example. In an embodiment, operations described herein as being performed by a single device are performed collectively by multiple devices that form a distributed and/or virtual system.

The data store710, in an embodiment, includes several separate data tables, databases, data documents, dynamic data storage schemes and/or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating to a particular aspect of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the data store illustrated includes mechanisms for storing production data712and user information716, which are used to serve content for the production side. The data store also is shown to include a mechanism for storing log data714, which is used, in an embodiment, for reporting, computing resource management, analysis or other such purposes. In an embodiment, other aspects such as page image information and access rights information (e.g., access control policies or other encodings of permissions) are stored in the data store in any of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data store710.

In some aspects, a backup service, such as backup service110descried above in reference toFIG.1, may be provided by system700. In some aspects, backup service110may be part of product data712. In some cases, backup service110may access with user information716, to store and access application backups, to facilitate backing up and restoring customer defined applications.

The data store710, in an embodiment, is operable, through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from the application server708and obtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto, and the application server708provides static, dynamic, or a combination of static and dynamic data in response to the received instructions. In an embodiment, dynamic data, such as data used in web logs (blogs), shopping applications, news services, and other such applications, are generated by server-side structured languages as described herein or are provided by a content management system (“CMS”) operating on or under the control of the application server. In an embodiment, a user, through a device operated by the user, submits a search request for a certain type of item. In this example, the data store accesses the user information to verify the identity of the user, accesses the catalog detail information to obtain information about items of that type, and returns the information to the user, such as in a results listing on a web page that the user views via a browser on the user device702. Continuing with this example, information for a particular item of interest is viewed in a dedicated page or window of the browser. It should be noted, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure are not necessarily limited to the context of web pages, but are more generally applicable to processing requests in general, where the requests are not necessarily requests for content. Example requests include requests to manage and/or interact with computing resources hosted by the system700and/or another system, such as for launching, terminating, deleting, modifying, reading, and/or otherwise accessing such computing resources.

In an embodiment, each server typically includes an operating system that provides executable program instructions for the general administration and operation of that server and includes a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a hard disk, random access memory, read only memory, etc.) storing instructions that, if executed by a processor of the server, cause or otherwise allow the server to perform its intended functions (e.g., the functions are performed as a result of one or more processors of the server executing instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium).

The system700, in an embodiment, is a distributed and/or virtual computing system utilizing several computer systems and components that are interconnected via communication links (e.g., transmission control protocol (TCP) connections and/or transport layer security (TLS) or other cryptographically protected communication sessions), using one or more computer networks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than are illustrated inFIG.7. Thus, the depiction of the system700inFIG.7should be taken as being illustrative in nature and not limiting to the scope of the disclosure.

The various embodiments further can be implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers, computing devices or processing devices that can be used to operate any of a number of applications. In an embodiment, user or client devices include any of a number of computers, such as desktop, laptop or tablet computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular (mobile), wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols, and such a system also includes a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as development and database management. In an embodiment, these devices also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicating via a network, and virtual devices such as virtual machines, hypervisors, software containers utilizing operating-system level virtualization and other virtual devices or non-virtual devices supporting virtualization capable of communicating via a network.