Abstract:
A data retrieval system comprising a first computing device communicatively coupled to a second computing device; the first computing device having a processor that supports operation of at least one software application that is used for retrieving data; the second computing device communicatively coupled to one or more storage media; the software application having a retrieval module for retrieving data from the one or more storage media; a storage and backup map that maps to the second computing device; and a data index stored on the second computing device that indicates to the retrieval module a particular location of the data that is to be retrieved by the retrieval module.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/261,984, filed Oct. 30, 2008, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/720,842, filed Nov. 24, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/774,301 filed on Jan. 30, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,436, issued Dec. 2, 2003, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/179,345, filed on Jan. 31, 2000, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to data retrieval and more particularly to the logical view and access to data managed by a modular data and storage management system. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional methods require a user to know ahead of time where exactly data is stored in order to retrieve it. The user needs to be aware of the operating system and server platform type from which the data was originated. In addition, the user needs to know the media type (magnetic disk, optical, tape, or other media) the data is stored on. Moreover, the user needs to know of the exact media on which the data is stored in addition to when and where it was stored. 
     Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art will become apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior art with the present invention as described herein. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Various aspects of the present invention are realized through a data retrieval system that includes a computer system having a processor that supports operation of at least one software application that is used for retrieving data in the computer system. A plurality of storage media are communicatively coupled to the processor with the plurality of storage media having data stored in at least one of the plurality of storage media. The software application has a retrieval module for retrieving data from the plurality of storage media, and a storage and backup map is included that indicates to the retrieval module a particular location of the data that is to be retrieved by the retrieval module. 
     In certain embodiments, the software application of the data retrieval system includes a tool bar that allows access to particular characteristics of a file that has been stored in at least one of the plurality of storage media. The particular characteristics may include file creation date, file backup dates, and file access dates. The software application could also include a view menu that offers a user an option to select a date in which to begin displaying a history of a selected file(s). 
     Various aspects of the present invention may also be realized through a method for retrieving data in a computer system. The computer system has a plurality of storage media where the data is stored, and the method involves, not necessarily in this order, requesting access to selected data of the computer system; activating a retrieval control to find a particular location of the selected data that has been requested; searching, with the retrieval control, the plurality of storage media for the selected data based upon instructions contained in a storage map; retrieving an indication of the selected data from the particular location in the plurality of storage media; and displaying the indication such that a user has an option of gaining additional information regarding the selected data. 
     The method may also include selecting the indication to display a backup history of a portion of the selected data, to display a history of access times for a portion of the selected data, or to display an origination date of a portion of the selected data. 
     Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent with further reference to the drawings and specification which follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a retrieval system that operates according to principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of another exemplary retrieval system that operates in accordance with the principals of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration of an exemplary file browser that can be used for viewing data prior to retrieval of the data from the retrieval systems of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exemplary file browser illustrated in accordance with principals of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary file browser where an exemplary find mechanism is illustrated. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary standard Windows application and how the retrieval system of the present invention may interact therewith. 
         FIG. 7  is an exemplary retrieval system wherein a computing system is illustrated and is similar to the software application of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary Windows application such as Windows Explorer as it operates under principles according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates another exemplary standard Windows application as it may interact with the retrieval system of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an exemplary retrieval system that is illustrated in greater detail than the retrieval systems of previous figures of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram of another exemplary retrieval system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     An exemplary description of the present invention is a retrieval system that allows end users to view and access in the logical format that they are used to with their applications or systems. The users just have to define the general outline (such as part of the file name or file path or approximately when the data may have existed or the desired point-in-time view of the data) of the data that they are looking for. The data will then be retrieved and presented to the user regardless of the media type that it was stored on or platform type on which it was controlled. The user can then select the exact version of the data desired. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a retrieval system  100  that operates according to principles of the present invention. The retrieval system  100  includes software applications  102  that a user interacts with to retrieve data from various storage media. The software applications  102  communicate with a retrieval control  104  that determines where to retrieve data from the storage media based on instructions and information available in a storage and backup map  106 . The retrieval control  104  typically receives data from the storage media that the software applications  102  have requested. When the software applications  102  request data, the retrieval control  104  determines whether to retrieve the data from a first storage media  108 , a second storage media  110 , or any number of other storage media down to an nth storage media  112 . The retrieval control  104  locates the data to be retrieved according to storage information available in the storage and backup map  106  and the retrieval control  104  is then able to determine which storage media the data will be retrieved from regardless of migration of the data after initial storage in the storage media. 
     For example, the retrieval control  104  may retrieve data from the second storage media  110  that was initially stored in the first storage media  108  and, unbeknownst to the software applications  102  had since migrated to the second storage media  110 . In addition, the retrieval control  104  could retrieve data from any other of the storage media which are illustrated. The storage and backup map  106  is continually updated when data is moved between storage media, e.g., from the first storage media  108  into the nth storage media  112 . Of course, the data could be moved in either direction and between any of the storage media while the storage and backup map  106  is updated with the changes. In this manner, the software application  106  is enabled to request and retrieve data from the storage media by means of a simple request for the data. Advantageously, the user is not required to know the latest location of the data in the storage media to request the data. Thus, retrieval of data from many types of storage media is available without assistance beyond the retrieval system  100  itself. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an exemplary retrieval system  200  that operates in accordance with the principals of the present invention. The retrieval system  200  includes a software application  202  and a retrieval manager  204  that interoperate to retrieve data from different storage media in the retrieval system  200 . The software application  202  includes an interface module  206  and a backup retrieval  208 . Thus, when the software application  202  desires to retrieve data, it begins by sending a request through the interface module  206  where the retrieval manager  204  then accesses a storage and backup map  210  to find the exact location of the data that is to be retrieved. The data may be located in a first storage media  212 , a second storage media  214 , or any number of storage media down to an nth storage media  216 . The data that is to be retrieved may be stored on any of the storage media, and over time, may migrate from one storage media to the other. The storage and backup map  210  tracks the migration of the data so that the current location of the data is always available for access by the software application  202 . 
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of an exemplary file browser  300  that can be used for viewing data prior to retrieval of the data from the retrieval systems  100  or  200 . The file browser  300  includes a tool bar  302  that enables a user to access the data in various manners. Although the file browser  300  can be implemented in various manners, the file browser  300  is generally divided into a folder hierarchy  304  where folder names can be viewed and a file list  306  where particular files of the selected folder are displayed. The file list  306  includes a file information bar  308  that can be dynamically modified for viewing different information concerning the files of the file list. Corresponding to the items selected for viewing in the file information bar  308  are, first, a column reflecting the name of the files that exist in the particular folder that has been selected. In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , foldername 2  has been selected in the folder hierarchy  304  and filename 1 , filename 2 , and filename 3  appear as the files in the foldername 2 . Each of the files in the file list  306  includes backup information which includes the backup date and time of the filename. This information is listed in a second column of the file list  306  under the title “backup version date” from the file information bar  308 . Filename 1  shows three different backup dates and times. This is because a user has opened the versions of the file name other than the latest version that has been most recently saved. For example, filename 2  shows the default display under the backup version portion of the file information bar  308 . This is the default because a plus sign is shown and other backups that have been completed are not shown with regard to filename 2 . Although only 3 backups are indicated for filename 1 , other files that are displayed in the file list  306  may contain many more backups based on the history of the file. The third column indicates the size of the files at the time they were backed up. 
       FIG. 4  is an exemplary file browser  400  illustrated in accordance with principals of the present invention. The file browser  400  includes a toolbar  401  similar to the file browser  300  and specifically, the view menu  402  of the tool bar is illustrated to indicate that a user may select what portions of a file to view. As illustrated, a user may select a detailed display of a file and a date for which the user desires to view the history of the file. For example, if the user selects “as of date” as illustrated, a view “as of date” box  404  appears on the file browser  400 . The user may select the date of interest for file viewing. For example, the user may desire to see all backups that have been made of files that are in foldername 2  as of Sep. 12, 1999. When the user makes the selection, the user will press an okay button  406  and the files that are displayed in file list  408  will only include those file which existed prior to Sep. 12, 1999. Thus, a quick comparison of the files shown in the file list  408  to those files shown in the file list  306 , show dates earlier than Sep. 12, 1999. Of course, the view “as of date” box  404  could be modified to include a time selection as well as a day selection, but for ease of understanding only a day box is illustrated. If the user has selected the view “as of date” box  404  but decides not to view a particular date, the user may press a cancel button  410  to return to the regular features of the file browser  400 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exemplary file browser  500  where an exemplary find mechanism is illustrated. The file browser  500  has a tool bar  501  that includes a find menu  502 . A user may select the find menu  502  to produce a find dialog box  504 . The find dialog box  504  includes a folder selector box  506  where the user may select a particular folder in which to search for a particular file. After selection of the particular folder to search, the user may enter a file name for which to search. This file name would be entered in a file name search box  508 . Of course, the file name may be entered with wild cards or other search techniques which are commonly available in most operating systems. After a file is entered into the file name search box  508 , the user may press a find button  510  and the search results are displayed in a found file box  512 . The user may use a scroll bar  514  for scrolling up and down the file list that is displayed in the found file box  512 . 
     When a user finds the file which they were searching for, the user may press the open button  516  to view the file. A backup button  518  is also available for a user to list the backup information for the particular file which they are searching. When the backup button  518  is pressed, a backup window  520  appears on the file browser  500  and a list of backup dates  522  is shown for the user to view. The user may scroll through the list of backup dates using scroll bar  524 , but other techniques may be available for searching the list of files that show up in the backup box  520 . When the user finds a particular backup date of interest, the user may open that file using an open button  526 . When the user has completed viewing the files in the backup box  520 , the user may cancel viewing the backup box  520  by pressing a cancel button  528 . A cancel button  532  is also available to cancel out of the find dialog box  504  completely. If the user is in need of further assistance the user may also press a help button  530 . Upon pressing the help button  530 , the user is given help in formats similar to a typical operating system help function. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary standard Windows application  600  and how the retrieval system of the present invention may interact therewith. The standard Windows application  600  may be an application such as a word processing application and a file menu  602  may be entered when a user desires to open a file. The user will select the open option of the file menu  602  and a file open application will intercept the request to the operating system to open a file open dialog box  604 . 
     The file open box  604  includes a folder selector box  606  where a user may enter the name of the desired folder to enter. Upon determining a folder name, e.g., foldername 2 , a file list  608  is displayed. The file list  608  includes a file information bar  610  that is modifiable but is shown including a name column and a backup version date column. As with other embodiments, the file names may be listed in the file list  608  with a default backup version date of the last backup that was completed for each file or the last save that was performed on each file. If a user desires to see a detailed history of backup dates, the user may press a plus button  622  which will then change to a minus button  624  as illustrated in the file list  608 . A scroll bar  612  is illustrated as a tool for a user to scroll through different file names to find the file which the user may desire to retrieve. 
     When a user has found the file of interest, the user may press an open button  614  to open the particular file. If a user is unable to find the desired file or desires to exit the file open dialog box  604 , the user may press a cancel button  616  to exit the file open dialog box  604 . The user is also able to press an information button  618  to get further information concerning each of the files. The information button  618  may allow the user to select particular options such as an “as of date”, a specific date, or even a range of dates. The file open dialog box  604  is illustrated with a help button  620  that can also operate similar to common operating system help buttons. 
       FIG. 7  is an exemplary retrieval system  700  wherein a computing system  702  is illustrated and is similar to the software application  202 . The computing system  702  includes a software application  704  that interacts with an installed file system  706  and a helper application  708 . The helper application  708  includes a backup retrieval module  710  for interacting with a retrieval manager  712 . The retrieval manager  712  interacts with storage media by obtaining information from a storage and backup map  714 . In this manner, the computing system  702  can retrieve data from any one of a first storage media  716 , a second storage media  718 , . . . and nth storage media  720 . As previously explained, data on the storage media may migrate from one storage media to another depending on various storage policies. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary Windows application  800  such as Windows Explorer. The Windows application  800  includes many of the same features as are commonly available on most Windows application. However, if the Windows application  800  is WINDOWS EXPLORER, only a single parent directory rather than numerous drives are illustrated in a folder hierarchy  802  on the left half of the windows application  800 . On the right half of the Windows application  800  is illustrated a file list  804 . The file list  804  includes a file information bar  806  that is dynamic and may be changed to reflect various pieces of information regarding the files in the file list  804 . 
     When a user views a file of interest from the file list  804 , the user may access an operations menu  808  that is available by right clicking on the file of interest or through other standard Windows operations. The options menu  808  is a standard Windows option menu but includes additional features such as a “backup” selection. If the user selects the backup option from the options menu  808 , a backup dialog box  810  opens. The backup dialog box  810  includes a list of dates for which the particular file was backed up over time. The different dates may be viewed through movement of a scroll bar  812  by the user. If the user finds a file of interest in the backup dialog box  810 , the user may open the particular file by clicking on the file and then clicking on an open button  814  to open the file. To open the file, the user may also double click on the file of interest as is commonly done in standard operating systems. Those skilled in the art and viewing this disclosure will understand that various other options may be available for selecting a particular file to view. When the user is complete with the backup dialog box  810 , the user may press a cancel button  816  to exit the backup dialog box  810 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates another exemplary standard Windows application  900  as it may interact with the retrieval system of the present invention. In the Windows application  900 , a file menu  902  is used to open a file. When a user selects the open option of the file menu, a file open dialog box  904  appears on the Windows application  900 . This file open dialog box  904  is not the standard Windows operating system dialog box but is produced by an application that intercepted the command from the open menu  902  when the user selected it, thereby allowing the file open dialog box  904  to be activated rather than the standard Windows open dialog box. The file open dialog box  904  includes a folder selector box  906  where the user may select a particular folder to find the file of interest to open. Upon selection of the appropriate folder in the folder selector box  906 , a list of available files is shown in the file open dialog box  904 . 
     The file open dialog box  904  includes a file information bar  908  that is adjustable to reflect the information that the user desires to view in the file list. In the file information bar  908  illustrated in  FIG. 9 , only a name column and a date column are illustrated, but the options could be modified according to a user&#39;s needs. The files listed in the file open dialog box  904  can be viewed through use of a scroll bar  910 . When the appropriate file is found, the user may select the file, in this example filename 3 , and open the file immediately with an open button  912 . However, the user may desire to view backup copies of filename 3  and therefore right click on filename 3  to select an open backup dialog box  914 . 
     The open backup dialog box  914  lists the backups that have been performed for the filename 3 , and the user is able to scroll through these backups to find the appropriate backup date by using a scroll bar  916 . Of course, other options for finding the appropriate backup file are available and this illustration is exemplary only. When the appropriate backup date is found, the user may press an open button  918  to open the version of the file that has been selected. When the user has completed using the open backup dialog box  914 , the user may press a cancel button  920  to exit the window and return to the file open dialog box  904 . At this point, the user may press a cancel button  922  to exit the file open dialog box  904 . A help button  924  is available as in a manner that is similar to standard operating system help buttons. 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an exemplary retrieval system  1000  that is illustrated in greater detail than earlier retrieval systems of the present disclosure. The retrieval system  1000  includes a computing device  1002 , a computing device  1004 , and a computing device  1006  that are interconnected and communicate with one another via a network  1007 . The computing device  1006  includes a magnetic disk media  1008  for storage of data that the computing device  1006  receives from the computing device  1002 . 
     The computing device  1002  includes software applications  1010  and installed file system  1012 . The installed file system  1012  works with an interface module to retrieve data in the retrieval system  1000 . When data is to be retrieved for the software application  1010 , the installed file system/interface module  1012  begins interacting with a retrieval manager  1014  of the computing device  1004 . The retrieval manager  1014  includes a master storage and backup map  1016 . In this embodiment, when the software application  1010  is directed to retrieve data, the data is sent to the installed file system/interface module  1012  and then to the software applications  1010 . To find the location of the data that is to be retrieved, the retrieval manager  1014  views the information in the master storage and backup map  1016 . The information from the retrieval manager  1014  is passed to the installed file system/interface module  1012  so that the computing device that knows the exact location of the data is then known and can be retrieved from the storage media. 
     For example, computing device  1006  may be where the system looks to retrieve the data of interest. The computing device  1006  includes a media module  1022  having a data index  1024  that would indicate the specific location of the data to be retrieved. This data will be stored in a storage media such as the magnetic disk media  1008  or optical media  1026 . Of course, other types of storage media are available and more than two storage media could be available from the computing device  1006 . When the data is found, it is then passed back to the software applications  1010  through the network  1007 . 
     The retrieval manager  1014  of the computing device  1004  may indicate that the data is stored at computing device  1028  based on the information found on the master storage and backup map  1016 . In this case, the retrieval system  1000  must look to a media module  1030  of the computing device  1028  where a data index  1032  indicates the exact location of the data to be retrieved. In this example, the data may be located in a magnetic tape media  1034  or other media. in addition, the retrieval manager  1014  may indicate that the data can be found by looking to computing device  1036  where a media module  1038  uses data index  1040  to find the exact location of the data on other storage  1042 . 
     It is understood that data may migrate from one storage media to another and the original location where the data is stored may vary over time. However, the movement of data is tracked by the respective data indexes  1024 ,  1032 , and  1040 , so that wherever the data happens to be currently located, the software application  1010  may retrieve the data without undo delay or undesired assistance. 
     Multiple variations exist for the retrieval system  1000  as shown by components illustrated in dashed lines. Specifically, a manager module  1046  may exist in the computing device  1002  where it interacts with a media module  1048  to obtain data directly from storage media  1050  without having to interact with other computing devices. In other embodiments, a media module  1052  may be located in the computing device  1004  where data is found in storage media  1054 . In another embodiment, a manager module  1044  may be present in the computing device  1036 . Those skilled in the art and viewing the present disclosure will understand that numerous possibilities exist using the same concepts. 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram of another exemplary retrieval system  1100 . The retrieval system  1100  includes a computing device  1102 , a computing device  1104 , and a computing device  1106 . The computing devices  1102 ,  1104 , and  1106  interact to retrieve data through either a storage area network  1108  or a network attached storage  1110 . 
     For example, computing device  1102  includes a software application  1112  that interacts with an installed file system  1114 . The installed file system  1114  interacts with a media module  1116  that could indicate that the data to be retrieved is located in storage media  1118 . Alternatively, computing device  1104  includes software applications  1120  that interacts with the installed file system  1122  to retrieve data. For the computing device  1104  to retrieve data, the installed file system  1122  may have to interact with the computing device  1106  because the computing device  1106  includes a retrieval manager  1124  that includes a master storage and backup map  1130 . When the information for retrieval is located, the information is passed back to the computing device  1104  and to the installed file system  1122 . 
     This information may be used by the installed file system  1122  to locate information that is stored on the storage area network  1108 . Of note, the storage area network  1108  is connected to the computing devices  1102  and  1104  through a high-speed fibre network  1123 . For example, the data may be located on a magnetic disk media  1132 , optical media  1134 , or a magnetic tape media  1136 . The installed file system  1122  will have the information that the storage area network  1108  needs to access the specific information. On the other hand, the installed file system  1122  may understand from the computing device  1106  that the information to be retrieved is located in the network attached storage  1110 . If this is the case, the network attached storage  1110  has a media module  1138  where the exact location of the data is found in a storage media  1140 . 
     As illustrated by dashed lines, numerous variations may be made to the illustrated retrieval system  1100 . For example, the storage area network  1108  may include a media module  1142  so that the computing device  1104  does not need to communicate with both a computing device  1106  and a computing device  1102  to access data across the fibre network  1123  from the storage area network  1108 . In addition, a media module  1144  may be located in the computing device  1106  to alter the data accessing techniques of the retrieval system  1100 . 
     Dashed lines also indicate that the storage area network may be connected directly to the network  1146  of the computing devices and dashed lines  1148  indicate that the network attached storage may be connected through the fibre network  1123  to the computing devices  1102 ,  1104  or across a regular network to the computing devices.