Data replication across servers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016100004-A1
Application number	US-201414507005-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 6, 2014
Priority date	Oct 6, 2014
Publication date	Apr 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, systems, and computer program products for replicating data between redundant sources. In one embodiment, during a reverse replication process, roles of a source system and target system are altered such that the target system controls the replication process. The target system can identify objects to be transferred, build batches of objects for efficient transfer, and transmit the batches of objects to the source system. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention can reduce inefficient communication between a source system and a target system that might otherwise occur during replication processes controlled by the source system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for replicating data between redundant resources, the method comprising:
receiving, at a source computer system, an instruction to replicate the source computer system and a target computer system; identifying, by one or more computer processors, one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system; transmitting, by one or more computer processors, a request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects; generating, at the target computer, one or more batches of objects comprising the one or more identified objects; and transmitting the one or more batches of objects from the target computer system to the source computer system.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
responsive to transmitting the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects, transmitting an instruction from the source computer system to the target computer system to build the one or more batches of objects.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system comprises:
determining, by one or more computer processors, that the source computer system is unavailable for a period of time; and generating, by one or more computer processors, a list of one or more objects in the target system that are created, modified, or deleted during the period of time for which the source computer system is unavailable.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system comprises:
comparing, by one or more computer processors, a first list of objects on the source computer system with a second list of objects on the target computer system to identify one or more objects in the second list of objects that are not in the first list of objects.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
responsive to transmitting the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects, transmitting, from the source computer system to the target computer system, an instruction to initiate a replication operation.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects comprises a request in a structured query language.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the source computer system receives the instruction to replicate the source computer system and the target computer system in response to detecting that one or more objects stored in the source computer system have been modified since a previous replication.

8 . A computer program product for replicating data between redundant resources, the computer program product comprising:
one or more computer-readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media, the program instructions comprising:
program instructions to receive, at a source computer system, an instruction to replicate the source computer system and a target computer system;
program instructions to identify one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system;
program instructions to transmit a request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects;
program instructions to generate, at the target computer, one or more batches of objects comprising the one or more identified objects; and
program instructions to transmit the one or more batches of objects from the target computer system to the source computer system.

9 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media further comprise:
program instructions to, responsive to transmitting the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects, transmit an instruction from the source computer system to the target computer system to build the one or more batches of objects.

10 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions to identify one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system comprise:
program instructions to determine that the source computer system is unavailable for a period of time; and program instructions to generate a list of one or more objects in the target system that are created, modified, or deleted during the period of time for which the source computer system is unavailable.

11 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions to identify one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system comprise:
program instructions to compare a first list of objects on the source computer system with a second list of objects on the target computer system to identify one or more objects in the second list of objects that are not in the first list of objects.

12 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media further comprise:
program instructions to, responsive to transmitting the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects, transmit, from the source computer system to the target computer system, an instruction to initiate a replication operation.

13 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects comprises a request in a structured query language.

14 . The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the source computer system receives the instruction to replicate the source computer system and the target computer system in response to detecting that one or more objects stored in the source computer system have been modified since a previous replication.

15 . A computer system for replicating data between redundant resources, the computer system comprising:
one or more computer processors; one or more computer-readable storage media; program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising:
program instructions to receive, at a source computer system, an instruction to replicate the source computer system and a target computer system;
program instructions to identify one or more objects stored in the target computer system that are not stored in the source computer system;
program instructions to transmit a request from the source computer system to the target computer system for the one or more identified objects;
program instructions to generate, at the target computer, one or more batches of objects comprising the one or more identified objects; and
program instructions to transmit the one or more batches of objects from the target computer system to the source computer system.

16 . The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage media further comprise:
program instructions to, responsive to transmitting the request from the source computer system to the target compute

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Anglin Matthew J
• Fruchtman Barry

Classifications

• G06F16/27

  Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor · CPC title

• G06F17/30864

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30581

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30389

  Physics · mapped topic

• H04L67/1097

  for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS] · CPC title