Nutanix, Inc.
Efficient change block training

Abstract:

Snapshot data (e.g., changed blocks) resulting from operation of applications is captured in two forms: (1) in a bitmap that indicates if one or more blocks in a range of blocks has changed, and (2) as the changed block data itself. The changed blocks are sent to a remote disaster recovery location only once per snapshot period. Even through a particular block might have been changed many times during a snapshot period, only the last version of the changed block is sent to the remote disaster recovery location. The fact that a block has been changed can be parsimoniously managed by determining an address space for the source data, dividing the address space into a plurality of ranges, and indicating which blocks if any in a particular range have been changed. Such modification indicators are sent to the disaster recovery location only once per snapshot period.