BACKGROUND

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for performing efficient data replication based on compression ratio history.

Data replication is a common mechanism implemented in a number of storage products to avoid data loss due to program bugs, human errors, or catastrophic events. Normally, such data replication is done periodically, such as once a day. In such a case, a source system at a production site, and a target system at the data replication site, are normally physically distant from one another for dispersion of risk purposes. Data in the source system is transferred to the target system over one or more computer or data communication networks, such as Wide Area Networks (WANs), e.g., the Internet, and Local Area Networks (LANs).

In such replication over a computer or data communication network, data compression is also commonly used to reduce the size of data transferred over the network. This is because, in many cases, the network represents a bottleneck for the whole replication process and thus, it is beneficial to minimize the amount of data transfer over the network as much as possible and thereby increase the speed by which the replication process is performed.

One example of a data replication mechanism with compression is the “rsync” data replication tool which provides a compress option to compress the data transferred over the network. The rsync data replication tool uses “zlib”, a Linux library for data compression. IBM SONAS and IBM Storwize V7000 Unified, available from International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., use the rsync data replication tool as a data transfer engine for its data replication function.

SUMMARY

In one illustrative embodiment, a method is provided, in a first data processing system, for performing a data replication operation to replicate data from the first data processing system to a second data processing system. The method comprises storing, by the first data processing system, a compression ratio history in association with data to be replicated to the second data processing system. The compression ratio history stores at least one compression ratio for at least one previously executed data replication operation. The method further comprises determining, by the first data processing system, whether a data compression operation should be applied to the data for a current data replication operation based on the at least one compression ratio in the compression ratio history. The method also comprises, in response to determining that data compression should be applied to the data, performing, by the data processing system, the data compression operation on the data and performing the current data replication operation to replicate the compressed data to the second data processing system. In addition, the method comprises, in response to determining that data compression should not be applied to the data, performing, by the data processing system, the current data replication operation to replicate the data without compression to the second data processing system.

In other illustrative embodiments, a computer program product comprising a computer useable or readable medium having a computer readable program is provided. The computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to perform various ones of, and combinations of, the operations outlined above with regard to the method illustrative embodiment.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, a system/apparatus is provided. The system/apparatus may comprise one or more processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors. The memory may comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform various ones of, and combinations of, the operations outlined above with regard to the method illustrative embodiment.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in, or will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of, the following detailed description of the example embodiments of the present invention.

