WO2007138463A2

WO2007138463A2 - Local data archiving method and system thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2007138463A2
Application number: PCT/IB2007/001425
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pankaj Anand; Nitin Arora; Puneet Trehan; Rakesh Sharrma; Aniruddha Chaudhuri; Pankaj Sharma
Original assignee: Pankaj Anand; Nitin Arora; Puneet Trehan; Rakesh Sharrma; Aniruddha Chaudhuri; Pankaj Sharma
Priority date: 2006-05-31
Filing date: 2007-05-31
Publication date: 2007-12-06
Also published as: WO2007138463A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a system for archiving user's data automatically according to a predetermined schedule on to an archival media. The method and the system provided by the present application intelligently keep a watch on files that are created or modified and tag them for the purpose of archive and archives the tagged files on the archival media at the scheduled time period.

Description

LOCAL DATA ARCHIVING METHOD AND SYSTEM THEREOF

Field of the Invention:

Background and Prior Art Description:

To avoid accidental loss of your data by archiving your files to CD, DVD, USB drive, external hard drive, or network drive is a very commonly known method. For the purpose of convenience, the process of archiving data (or files) on an archival media which is local (i.e. not connected through internet) is being called in the present application as local archiving. In the present application, archiving and back up are used interchangeably.

Local archiving allows a user to archive (back up) his/her personal data to CD, DVD, USB drive, external hard drive, or network drive. Thus, local archiving provides the user with a local copy of the records, documents, and other materials of personal interest in case of accidental loss.

However, to the best of the Applicants knowledge, all methods of local archiving that exist are based on the user's intelligence. In other words, the method of local archiving does not have the capability of determining when to take backup of the data, what data should be archived etc. This necessitates the user to remember a lot of things such as when the last back up was taken, what files have been added after the backup was taken, what files have been amended after the last backup was taken. Since the method is completely dependent upon the user, the user either archives files which are not modified or fails to archive the files which are newly created or modified. This results in huge loss of data, which is very difficult to recreate. Thus, there exits a need to provide an improved archival method and system archives user's data efficiently on a local archival media. Objects of the Invention:

The main object of the present invention is to provide an intelligent method and a system for archiving user's data automatically according to a predetermined schedule on to a local archival media.

Summary of the Invention:

The method of the present application automatically prepares a computer machine on which data is stored for archival. As it is common to have user data stored in more than one storage location (called folders), at the start of the method, watch locations are defined. The watch locations are defined as the storage locations where a watch for (a) creation of new file(s) and/or (b) modifications of exiting file(s) is kept. Windows Desktop and My Documents are the locations which are chosen as the watch locations by default by the method of the present application. However, the method of the present application can also be customized and other storage locations such as C: drive, D: drive, E: drive etc. can also be chosen as the watch locations.

In addition to defining the watch location, the user is also provided the option of defining watch file types. Watch file types are defined as the types of files whose creation or modification must be identified in the selected watch locations. By default, the method of the present application keeps a watch for creation and/or modification of all types of files. However, the method of the present application can also be customized to keep a watch for only specific files types such as .mp3, .mpeg, .jpg, .vdo, .doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.

The user can also categorize the storage locations thus chosen in two categories. The first category being a deep watch location and the second category being a shallow watch location. If a particular storage location (folder) is categorized as a deep watch location, the entire storage location including any sub-storage locations included within the storage location are watched. In other words, if a folder is categorized as a deep watch location, the entire folder and also any sub-folders contained inside the selected folders are watched. By way of example, the Windows Desktop and My Documents locations are set up as deep watch locations. If a particular storage location is categorized as a shallow watch location, only that storage location is kept under watched and no watch is kept on any sub-storage locations included within the storage location. In other words, if a folder is categorized as a shallow watch location, only the specified folder is watched and no watch is kept over any sub-folders contained inside the selected folder.

The user can categorize one or more of the storage locations thus chosen into any one of the above mentioned two categories.

The user is then prompted to choose the archival media on which he wishes the archival to be taken. By way of example, the user can chose the archival media to be any one of the following:

CD, DVD, USB drive, external hard drive, or network drive. The user can change the archival media at any time.

Once the above mentioned choices are made, the method of the present invention automatically proceeds with taking the archival at a predetermined scheduled time.

Detailed Description of the Invention: Accordingly, the present invention a method for archiving user's data automatically according to a predetermined schedule on to an archival media, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining the details regarding at least one of the following (i) the watch location(s), (ii) watch file type(s)- (iii) category of the storage location(s) and (iv) archival media;

(b) periodically keeping a watch on the watch location(s) for (a) creation of new fϊle(s) and/or (b) modifications of exiting file(s);

(c) preparing a file list wherein the list comprises details of the files that (a) have not been archived and/or(b) created newly after a previous archival and/or (c) modified after a previous archival; and

(d) storing the files on the list on a local archival media at a predetermined scheduled time. In an embodiment of the present invention, for security reasons or size issues, encryption or compression are enabled by default for the archived files. The content of encrypted files is transformed from text to code, obscuring the information to make it unreadable by people who do not know how. to decrypt it. Un-compressed files are compressed into a form that minimizes the space required to store or transmit it.

In another embodiment of the present invention, two types of archives are made available namely full archival or quick archival. In the full archive mode, a complete set of data based on the watch file types and locations that have been set up are archived. On the other hand, in the quick archive mode only those watched files that have changed since the last full or quick archive are archived. By way of example, archiving of all files can be scheduled in a full archival mode or archival of all files with .jpeg as extension can be scheduled in a full archival mode or all files available on a particular list can be archived in a full archival mode.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method can be scheduled so as to obtain a full archive of all watch locations every month or every fortnight or every week or ^"after any other predetermined interval of time period as desired by the user. When the full archive is being performed, all files (i.e. all watch file types) in the watch location(s) are archived. Similarly, the method can be scheduled so as to obtain a quick archive of all watch locations every one week or every four days or every two days or after any other predetermined interval of time period as desired by the user. The method of the present invention ensures to archive all files that are created or modified after the last full archive or quick archive during a current full archive or quick archive.

In addition to the facility of scheduling, the user can also archive the contents of one or more watch locations on demand at any time. For example, if the user modifies a file and wishes to archive it immediately, the user can archive the file manually on an archival media. When the files are being archived manually, the interval that is set for automatic archives can be reset.

The method of the present invention enables a user to interrupt an automatic or manual archive if it occurs at an inappropriate time. For example, if the user is performing a resource-intensive task and an automatic archive starts, the user can stop the archival process. When the user stops an automatic archival process, the interval that is set for automatic archives can be reset.

The method of the present application allows a user to automatically schedule archives to any plug n play device. Unlike the current available applications which blindly archive any files that the user chooses, the method of the present invention intelligently keeps a watch on the new files created or modified and tags them archive. Therefore, the method of the present invention not only helps the user to identify the files which have not been archived (i.e. must be archived) but also could stop the user from archiving a file which has already been archived and not modified subsequently.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the data can be archived on the archival media in: (a) as it is;

(b) in an encrypted mode;

(c) in a compressed mode;

(d) in an encrypted and compressed mode.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the change in the state of the file is identified i.e. the change in the state of the file original to a modified and every time a sub sequent modification is carried out is identified and stored in a list.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, details as to whether the file has been archived or nor and if a file has been archived, the date on which the data has been archived and the archival media on which the data has been archived and other related information are stored in the list, which can be displayed to the user.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the process of archival is made on a single click.

In one more embodiment of the present invention, the process of archival is scheduled. In one another embodiment of the present invention, warnings are provided to the user for the process of connecting the archival media to the user computer from where data needs to be archived prior to the scheduled time period.

Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawing:

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to exemplary embodiments as illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views. The figures together with a detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate the embodiments and explain various principles and advantages, in accordance with the present invention where: Figure 1 illustrates the block diagram of the method of the present invention.

The following paragraphs are provided in order to describe the working of the invention and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation of the claims.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments:

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps of taking backup such that the backup procedure is faster, less bandwidth consuming and at the same time reliable.

Accordingly, the method steps have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method. An element proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical steps in the process or method that comprises the steps.

As can be noticed from figure 1, the process of taking archival (10) starts by determining as to whether archival timer has elapsed or as to whether the user has in the interim initiated the archival process (11). Once the either of the two events has occurred, connection of storage medium upon which archived data is to be stored is checked and more particularly, connection of CD or DVD or USB or Hard Drive or Network Share is tested (12). If the storage medium is readily available, the files to be archived as selected (14). On the other hand, if the storage medium is not connected or not available, then the user is prompted to connecting or loading the appropriate storage medium (13). Once the appropriate medium has been connected or loaded the method proceeds to step 14. In step 14, the selection of the files is made in such a manner that only those files that are either newly created or modified since last time when the archival process was conducted as selected for quick archival. On the other hand, if the method is being run for the first time, full archival is performed, wherein in the full archival all files contained in the designated location are archived.

Thereafter, the files which are selected for archival are compressed and/or encrypted in step 15. After the compression and/or encryption step is performed, a single archive file is obtained.

Subsequently, an index file is created in step 16. The index file contains information about all the files that are being archived.

The archive file and the index file is then stored on the storage medium in step 17. In order to help in assisting easy identification of the data contained on a particular storage medium, the storage medium is labeled in step 18. The labeling here means storing on the storage medium data which can be used for identifying as to when the archival method was done and/or the details of the computer terminal upon which the archival was performed etc. Further details of the archival process are given in the following paragraphs. Archival Process

Master Index File: Application generated file during Full Archive containing all the Archival related information to restore the user data in its original state. This is binary serialized file having the following information. Structure of this is as follow

1) ArchivalSetlndex Example: 1/4 ArchivalSet ( This is first out of 4 CD burned in one session)

2) ArchivalSefName Example: 240507_14-06-30F

3) ArchivalJob (For internal use) 4) FullRecurrencePattern (Full Archive Interval)

5) IncrementalRecurrencePattern (Quick Archive interval)

6) SourceLocation[] (Array of all the locations that are under watch when archiving has been done)

7) DestinationLocationfJ (Destination location on which archiving has been done) 8) ExclusionLocation[] (Excluded locations at the time of archiving)

9) EncryptionProvider ( BlowFish etc)

10) EncryptionLevel

11) CompressionProvider (Sevenzip, zip etc)

12) ArchivalMedia (CD/DVD, HDD, network location) 13) Filter[] (Array of filters at the time of archiving)

14) ArchivalFiles(Collection of all the archival files which are archived in this colllection)

15) IncrementalLocations (Array of all the incremental location)

16) ArchivalSet WriteTime (Exact time when archiving has been dome) 17) ArchivedLocation(Location at which archiving has been done)

18) ArchivalType ( What type of archive is this Full, Incremental).: In the current case it will be FULL

Incremental Index File : Application generated during Quick Archive file containing all the Archival related information to restore the user data in its original state. Structure of this is as follow: 1) ArchivalSetlndex Example: 1/4 ArchivalSet ( This is first out of 4 CD burned in one session)

2) ArchivalSetName Example: 240507__14-06-30F

3) Archival Job (For internal use) 4) FullRecurrencePattern (Full Archive Interval)

5) IncrementalRecurrencePattern (Quick Archive interval)

7) DestinationLocation[] (Destination location on which archiving has been done) 8) ExclusionLocation[] (Excluded locations at the time of archiving)

9) EncryptionProvider ( BlowFish etc)

10) EncryptionLevel

11) CompressionProvider (Sevenzip, zip etc)

12) ArchivalMedia (CD/DVD, HDD, network location) 13) FilterfJ (Array of filters at the time of archiving)

14) ArchivalFiles(Collection of all the archival files which are archived in this collection)

15) IncrementalLocations (Array of all the incremental location)

18) ArchivalType ( What type of archive is this Full, Incremental).: In the current case it will be INCREMENTAL

Archival Manager: A software component responsible for Archiving user's data

Archival Destination Media: The location where the application will archive user's data e.g. CD, DVD, USB drives, Local Hard Disks, or a Network Share

Archival Type: Archival can be done in two modes full or incremental. Full Archival Mode archives all the files from source locations to the archival destination whereas incremental mode only archives the files which were modified after last archival schedule. Archival Schedule: This is a specified time period after which the archival process runs and archives user's data.

GZIP gzip (GNU zip) is a compression utility designed to be a replacement for compress. Its main advantages over compress are much better compression and freedom from patented algorithms, gzip produces files with a .gz extension, gunzip can decompress files created by gzip, compress or pack. The detection of the input format is automatic.

The format of the .gz files generated by gzip is described in RFCs (Request For Comments) in ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/documents/zlib/zdoc-index.html. Some additional information on the gzip format is given at http ://www. gzip .or g/format.txt. A brief description of the compression and decompression algorithms used by gzip is given at http://www.gzip.org/algorithm.txt. A more informal introduction written by Antaeus Feldspar is given at http://www.gzip.org/deflate.html. Please refer http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc 1952.html for more information.

Blowfish

Blowfish is an encryption algorithm that can be used as a replacement for the DES or IDEA algorithms. It is a symmetric (i.e. uses the same secret key for both encryption and decryption) block cipher (encrypts data in 8-byte blocks) that uses a variable-length key, from 32 (4 bytes) bits to 448 bits (56 bytes). Blowfish was designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier as an alternative to existing encryption algorithms. Designed with 32- bit instruction processors in mind, it is significantly faster than DES. Since its origin, it has been analyzed considerably. Blowfish is unpatented, license-free, and available free for all uses. The algorithm consists of two parts: a key-expansion part and a data- encryption part. Key expansion converts a variable key of at least 4 and at most 56 bytes into several subkey arrays totalling 4168 bytes. Blowfish has 16 rounds. Each round consists of a key-dependent permutation, and a key and data-dependent substitution. All operations are XORs and additions on 32-bit words. The only additional operations are four indexed array data lookups per round. Blowfish uses a large number of sub keys. These keys must be pre-computed before any data encryption or decryption. A more detailed article describing the Blowfish algorithm can be found at http://www,schneier.com/blowfish.html

PROCESS FLOW

1. Archival Manager starts archival process.

2. Check the archival destination which can be CD, DVD, Local Hard Disk, or a Network Share.

3. If the destination media is CD/DVD, then the estimated available disk space is read from the configuration. The application maintains the information about the standard sizes of CDs and DVDs. If the destination media is of any other type, the available space is fetched for that media or location.

4. If the Archival Type is incremental and it is being performed on CD/DVD, then last create Master Index file is checked for existence and validity. 5. If the master index file exists and is valid, then the application continues with the archival process with Archival Type set to Incremental. Otherwise, the application sets the Archival Type to Full.

6. Now total number of files and their size is fetched from database for all the files eligible for Archiving according to Archival Type (Full/Incremental). The database contains the metadata of the files to he archived.

7. Estimate size of Archive is calculated according to the compression and encryption settings. User may choose to select or deselect compression or encryption or both for the archive. The application provides compression and encryption functionality for archives. Compression being used is Gzip and the encryption algorithm is Blowfish 448 bit.

8. User is informed about estimate size and media requirement according to media type.

9. Again estimate size is calculated according to if user had changed settings in previous step. 10. Temp folder space is checked for space availability otherwise user is asked for drive containing enough space where application can store it's temporary files. The temporary storage is used to store compressed and enctγpted archive before archival. 11. If media type is CD/DVD then

12. Archival Thread is impersonated with user provided credentials if required and the actual space on the destination media is queried

13. User is asked to insert removable media. 14. In case the destination media already contains some data, a user interface is displayed confirm overwriting of the data present on the destination media , 15. An estimated compression ratio is calculated and files are added in the archive based on that. If the estimated compression ratio is less than the actual compression ratio achieved, then more files are added in the archive. Similarly if the estimated compression ratio is less than the compression ratio achieved then the files are removed from the archive as well.

16. The compressed archive is then encrypted depending on the user encryption settings.

17. Destination location folder name is chosen depending upon the type of media and current date and time.

18. Files records are arranged in the hierarchy depending upon the archival settings.

19. Index file is created on temporary location and new Master Index File is created in case of Incremental Archive (This file contains the updated record of all the quick archives present). 20. These index files are also added in to list of files to be written on to Destination media.

21. This list of files is sent to be written on to destination media.

22. In case of any error while archiving the message is shown to user and archiving is stopped. 23. Temporary files are deleted. This is a cleanup operation. 24. The archival process if completed.

It will be appreciated that method steps of the invention described herein may be implemented using one or more conventional processors and unique stored program instructions that control the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions described herein. Alternatively, some or all method steps could be implemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions or in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each method or some combinations of certain of the method steps are implemented as custom logic. Of course, a combination of the two approaches could be used. Thus, method and means for these functions have been described herein. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

The foregoing detailed description has described only a few of the many possible implementations of the present invention. Thus, the detailed description is given only by way of illustration and nothing contained in this section should be construed to limit the scope of the invention. The claims are limited only by the following claims, including the equivalents thereof.

Claims

N WE CLAIM:

1. A method for archiving user's data automatically according to a predetermined schedule on to an archival media comprises the following steps: (a) obtaining the details regarding at least one of the following (i) the watch location(s), (ii) watch file type(s) (iii) category of the storage location(s) and (iv) archival media; (b) periodically keeping a watch on the watch location(s) for (a) creation of new file(s) and/or (b) modifications of exiting file(s); (c) preparing a file list wherein the list comprises details of the files that (a) have not been archived and/or(b) created newly after a previous archival and/or (c) modified after a previous archival; and (d) storing the files on the list on a local archival media at a predetermined scheduled time.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the files are stored in an encrypted and/or compressed form upon the storage medium.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein if the file is stored in the encrypted form, the content of encrypted files is transformed from text to code thereby obscuring the information to make it unreadable by un-authorized people.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein if the file is stored in compressed form, the content of an original file is compressed into a form that minimizes the space required to store or transmit the same.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the archival process is comprised of two modes namely full archival mode and quick archival mode.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein in the full archive mode, a complete set of data based on the watch file types and locations that have been set up are archived.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein in the quick archival mode only those watched files that have changed since the last full or quick archival are archived.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the method is scheduled by the user so as to obtain a full archive of all watch locations every month or every fortnight or every week or after a predetermined interval of time period,

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the method is scheduled by the user to as to obtain a quick archive of all watch locations every one week or every four days or every two days or after a predetermined interval of time period.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data is archived on the archival media in: (a) as it is form;

(b) in an encrypted mode;

(c) in a compressed mode;

(d) in an encrypted and compressed mode.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the change in the state of the file is identified i.e. the change in the state of the file original to a modified and every time a sub sequent modification is carried out is identified and stored in a list.

12. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein details as to whether the file has been archived or nor and if a file has been archived, the date on which the data has been archived and the archival media on which the data has been archived and other related information are stored in the list, which can be displayed to the user.

13. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the process of archival is made on a single click.

14. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the process of archival is scheduled.

15. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein warnings are provided to the user for the process of connecting the archival media to the user computer from where data needs to be archived prior to the scheduled time period.