Systems and methods to confirm replication data accuracy for data backup in data storage systems

Abstract

A data storage system, according to certain aspects, automatically determines the accuracy of replication data when performing data backup operations. For instance, the system performs data backup using replication data rather than source data to reduce the processing load on the source system. The backup data is then associated with the source data as if the backup had been performed on the source data. If the replication system fails, then backing up replication data results in backup data that does not accurately reflect the source data. The system automatically determines the accuracy of replication data during data backup.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of performing data backup in a data storage system, the method comprising:
 replicating source data generated by at least one software application executing on the client computing device and stored in a native format of the at least one software application in one or more primary storage devices associated with client computing device, to one or more replication storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices to generate replication data, the replication data stored in the native format of the at least one software application, wherein the source data and the replication data are substantially synchronized with respect to one another;   during a backup operation of the replication data, automatically determining with one or more processors whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data; and   when the one or more processors determine that the replication data is inaccurate, automatically backing up the source data to the one or more secondary storage devices to create a backup copy of the primary data on one or more secondary storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices and the one or more replication storage devices, wherein the backup copy is stored in a backup format different than the native format for the at least one software application.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises comparing one or more entries in a replication log with one or more corresponding entries in a source log. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the replication data is inaccurate when the one or more entries in the replication log and the one or more corresponding entries in the source log are not the same. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the comparing is performed by a replication agent. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the comparing is performed by a storage manager. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether a replication operation was successful based at least in part on a length of time to process source log to replication log transactions. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the replication data is determined to be inaccurate when the length of time exceeds a processing time limit. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether the replication logs have stopped. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether a portion of the content of the source logs has been transferred to the replication logs. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein when the one or more processors determine that the replication data is accurate, automatically backing up the source data to the one or more secondary storage devices to create a backup copy of the primary data on one or more secondary storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices and the one or more replication storage devices, wherein the backup copy is stored in a backup format different than the native format for the at least one software application. 
     
     
         11 . A system to create backup data in a data storage system, the system comprising:
 computer hardware including one or more computer processors; and   computer-readable storage comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer hardware to perform operations defined by the computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions configured to:
 replicate source data generated by at least one software application executing on the client computing device and stored in a native format of the at least one software application in one or more primary storage devices associated with client computing device, to one or more replication storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices to generate replication data, the replication data stored in the native format of the at least one software application, wherein the source data and the replication data are substantially synchronized with respect to one another; 
 during a backup operation of the replication data, automatically determine whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data; and 
 when the data is determined to be inaccurate, automatically backup the source data to the one or more secondary storage devices to create a backup copy of the primary data on one or more secondary storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices and the one or more replication storage devices, wherein the backup copy is stored in a backup format different than the native format for the at least one software application. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises comparing one or more entries in a replication log with one or more corresponding entries in a source log. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the replication data is inaccurate when the one or more entries in the replication log and the one or more corresponding entries in the source log are not the same. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the comparing is performed by a replication agent. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the comparing is performed by a storage manager. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether a replication operation was successful based at least in part on a length of time to process source log to replication log transactions. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the replication data is determined to be inaccurate when the length of time exceeds a processing time limit. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether the replication logs have stopped. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11  wherein automatically determining whether the replication data stored in the one or more replication storage devices is an accurate replication of the source data comprises determining whether a portion of the content of the source logs has been transferred to the replication logs. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11  wherein when the one or more processors determine that the replication data is accurate, automatically backing up the source data to the one or more secondary storage devices to create a backup copy of the primary data on one or more secondary storage devices different than the one or more primary storage devices and the one or more replication storage devices, wherein the backup copy is stored in a backup format different than the native format for the at least one software application.