Patent ID: 8463749

Claim:
In a data protection system having a production location, a storage location, and a data protector, a method for restarting a validation of a data process between data stored on a production location and data stored on a storage location using metadata, the method comprising: at the data protector, receiving a metadata checkpoint from the storage location, the checkpoint including an identification of a particular protected object up to which metadata has been calculated independently by both the production location and the storage location so as to validate data sent by the production location against data applied to a replica data store by the storage location; at the data protector, transmitting a command to restart application of records at the storage location; at the data protector, transmitting a command to restart transmission of records from the production location; at the data protector, generating a marker, wherein the marker is a token generated by the data protector that is cycled through the system to clear metadata and metadata checkpoints before validation of data resumes; at the data protector, transmitting the marker to the production location, causing metadata and metadata checkpoints at the production location to be cleared, and causing metadata and metadata checkpoints at the storage location to be cleared as a result of the production location sending the marker to the production location; at the data protector, receiving the marker from the storage location, which was received by the storage location from the production location; and at the data protector, and as a result of receiving the marker, such that the data protector is aware that metadata for the system that had previously been generated has been transmitted from the production location to the storage location, transmitting a command to restart validation the command including an indication of a position from which to restart validation, the position being from the particular protected object identified in the received metadata checkpoint.