1. A system for synchronizing a secondary volume with a primary volume in a continuous data protection system, comprising:
scanning means for scanning a region of the primary volume;
comparing means for comparing said scanned region with a corresponding region of the secondary volume;
storing means for storing an identification of said scanned region in a compare delta map when said comparing means returns a discrepancy between said scanned region and said corresponding region;
copying means for copying data from the primary volume to the secondary volume, using said compare delta map as a guide to locate the data to copy; and
revising means for revising said compare delta map by removing any changes made to the primary volume during a scan interval, which is a period of time required to scan the primary volume, said revising is performed prior to said copying.
2. The system according to claim 1, :wherein said scanning means scans all regions of the primary volume.
3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a present delta map, covering the changes made to the primary volume from the time of a previous delta map in a delta map chain to the time said scanning means was first activated; and
a point in time (PIT) map, based upon said present delta map.
4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said comparing means uses said PIT map to determine which region of the secondary volume is compared to said scanned region of the primary volume.
5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a dirty region log, wherein only those regions of the primary volume that are listed in said dirty region log are accessed by said scanning means and said comparing means.
6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said dirty region log includes only the regions of the primary volume that have been modified but not yet committed to the secondary volume.
7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said revising means includes:
a scan delta map, including the changes made to the primary volume during said scan interval; and
subtracting means for subtracting the entries in said scan delta map from said compare delta map.
8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said copying means uses said revised compare delta map as a guide to locate the data to copy.
9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a host change delta map, including any changes made to the primary volume during a copy interval, which is a period of time required by said copying means to complete copying data from the primary volume to the secondary volume;
merging means for merging said revised compare delta map into said host change delta map, to create a fix-up delta map; and
inserting means for inserting said fix-up delta map into the end of a delta map chain.
10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:
selecting means for selecting a delta map in said delta map chain;
marking means for marking said selected delta map as suspect;
adjusting means for adjusting said revised compare delta map by subtracting the changes contained in said selected delta map; and
wherein said selecting means selects the first delta map prior to the start of said scan interval and then selects previous delta maps in said delta map chain until said revised compare delta map is empty.
11. A network storage system for synchronizing a secondary volume with a primary volume in a continuous data protection system, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage system to perform a plurality of operations, including:
scanning a region of the primary volume;
comparing said scanned region with a corresponding region of the secondary volume;
storing an identification of said scanned region in a compare delta map when said comparing returns a discrepancy between said scanned region and said corresponding region;
copying data from the primary volume to the secondary volume, using said compare delta map as a guide to locate the data to copy; and
revising said compare delta map by removing any changes made to the primary volume during a scan interval, which is a period of time required to scan the primary volume, the revising step being performed prior to the copying step.
12. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises:
repeating the scanning, comparing, and storing steps for each region of the primary volume.
13. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises:
creating a present delta map, covering the changes made to the primary volume from the time of the previous delta map in a delta map chain to the time the method was begun;
creating a point in time (PIT) map based upon the present delta map; and
wherein the creating steps are performed prior to the scanning step.
14. The network storage system of claim 13, wherein the comparing step uses the PIT map to determine which region of the secondary volume is compared to the scanned region of the primary volume.
15. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the scanning and comparing steps are optimized by using a dirty region log, wherein only those regions of the primary volume that are listed in the dirty region log are scanned and compared.
16. The network storage system of claim 15, wherein the dirty region log includes only the regions of the primary volume that have been modified but not yet committed to the secondary volume.
17. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the revising step further comprises:
creating a scan delta map, including the changes made to the primary volume during the scan interval; and
subtracting the entries in the scan delta map from the compare delta map.
18. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises:
creating a host change delta map, including any changes made to the primary volume during a copy interval, which is the period of time required to complete the copying step;
merging the revised compare delta map into the host change delta map, to create a fix-up delta map; and
inserting the fix-up delta map into the end of the delta map chain.
19. The network storage system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of operations further comprises:
selecting the first delta map prior to the start of the scan interval;
marking the selected delta map as suspect;
adjusting the revised compare delta map by subtracting the changes contained in the selected delta map; and
selecting the previous delta map in the delta map chain and repeating the marking and adjusting steps until the revised compare delta map is empty.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A conveyor system apparatus comprising:
(a) a primary conveyor; and
(b) a conveying belt comprising:
(i) a belt deck
(ii) a frame supporting the belt deck, the frame comprising a base, a deck support and a support arm having a first connector including a hinge attached to the base; and
(iii) a second connector including a locking mechanism selectively moveable to the belt deck,
whereby the deck support is configured to be cantilevered between a horizontal operating position and a substantially vertical maintenance position to allow said primary conveyor to convey when said conveying belt is in both said horizontal operating position and said vertical maintenance position.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt deck comprises a belt tension assembly.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an upstream accumulator.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said upstream accumulator comprises: a frame; at least one belt; at least one pair of opposed rollers; and a motor attached to at least one of said rollers.
5. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an accumulator control system.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said accumulator control system comprises: a package \u201con\u201d detector and a package \u201coff\u201d detector.
7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said accumulator control system further comprises a control interface to said primary conveyor.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the deck is trapezoidal shaped.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deck comprises a plurality of extruded tubes.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of extruded tubes are joined to one another with finger splices.
11. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said support arm includes one end selectively moveable to the cantilevered deck.
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first connector is attached to the base and the second connector is attached to the cantilevered deck.
13. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the locking mechanism comprises an over center latch and a secondary spring lock.
14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a belt drive coupled to the frame.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said belt drive comprises a plurality of belts, a pair of opposed rollers, and a motor attached to one of the rollers.
16. A conveyor system apparatus comprising:
(a) a primary conveyor; and
(b) a conveying belt comprising:
(i) a cantilevered belt deck;
(ii) a frame supporting the cantilevered belt deck, the frame comprising a base, a deck support and a support arm having a first connector including a hinge attached to the base; and
(iii) a second connector including a locking mechanism selectively moveable to the belt deck,
whereby the deck support is configured to be cantilevered between a horizontal operating position and a substantially vertical maintenance position, to allow said primary conveyor to convey when said conveying belt is in both said horizontal operating position and said vertical maintenance position; and
(iv) a motor for moving the deck support with respect to the base.
17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the belt deck comprises a belt tension assembly.
18. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising an upstream accumulator.
19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said upstream accumulator comprises: a frame; at least one belt; at least one pair of opposed rollers; and a motor attached to at least one of said rollers.
20. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising an accumulator control system.
21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said accumulator control system comprises: a package \u201con\u201d detector and a package \u201coff\u201d detector.
22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said accumulator control system further comprises a control interface to said primary conveyor.
23. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a portion of the deck is trapezoidal shaped.
24. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the deck comprises a plurality of extruded tubes.
25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the plurality of extruded tubes are joined to one another with finger splices.
26. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said support arm includes one end selectively moveable to the cantilevered deck.
27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the first connector is attached to the base and the second connector is attached to the cantilevered deck.
28. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the locking mechanism comprises an over center latch and secondary spring lock.
29. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a belt drive coupled to the frame.
30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said belt drive comprises a plurality of belts, a pair of opposed rollers, and a motor attached to one of the rollers.
31. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the deck support is pivotal about an axis.
32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the axis is horizontal.
33. The apparatus according to claim 32 wherein the deck support comprises a mounting plate.
34. The apparatus according to claim 33 wherein the axis is substantially parallel to the mounting plate.
35. The apparatus according to claim 31 further comprising a hinge coupled to the base and the deck.
36. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the base comprises longitudinal members and elevation members.
37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the longitudinal members and the elevation members are tubular.
38. The apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the deck support comprises longitudinal members and elevation members.
39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the longitudinal members and the elevation members are tubular.
40. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the motor comprises a pneumatic cylinder.
41. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the base comprises a triangular portion and the deck support comprises a triangular portion such that the triangular portion of the deck support rests atop the triangular portion of the base when the belt deck is in the operating position.
42. A conveyor system apparatus comprising:
(a) a primary conveyor;
(b) a conveying belt comprising;
(i) a frame supporting a cantilevered belt deck, the frame comprising a base and a deck support coupled to the base and the belt deck, the deck support being configured to be movable between a horizontal operating position and a substantially vertical maintenance position;
(ii) a motor for moving the deck support with respect to the base; and
(iii) a support arm having one end selectively moveable to the cantilevered deck, wherein the support arm comprises a hinge attached to the base and an over center latch and secondary spring lock attached to the cantilevered deck.
43. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the belt deck comprises a belt tension assembly.
44. The apparatus according to claim 42, further comprising an upstream accumulator.
45. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said upstream comprises: a frame; at least one belt; at least one pair of opposed rollers; and a motor attached to at least one of said rollers.
46. The apparatus according to claim 43, further comprising an accumulator control system.
47. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said accumulator control system comprises: a package \u201con\u201d detector and a package \u201coff\u201d detector.
48. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein said accumulator control system further comprises a control interface to said primary conveyor.
49. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein a portion of the deck is trapezoidal shaped.
50. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the deck comprises a plurality of extruded tubes.
51. The apparatus according to claim 50, wherein the plurality of extruded tubes are joined to one another with finger splices.
52. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said cantilevered frame further comprises a support arm having one end selectively moveable to the cantilevered deck.
53. The apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the support arm comprises a first connector attached to the base and a second connector attached to the cantilevered deck.