Patent ID: 7523278
Filing Date: 2009-04-21
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. In a system that includes one or more clients in communication with a server that performs a backup operation of data from the one or more clients, the data being organized into one or more backup groupings, a method for saving the data from a first client, the method comprising: identifying one or more backup groupings to be backed up, the one or more backup groupings including data stored in one or more directories that are located on a plurality of volumes; sending the identified one or more backup groupings to a server; receiving a modified listing of backup groupings from the server, the modified listing including the identified one or more backup groupings along with an initiating backup grouping and a terminating backup grouping for use by the client to create, maintain and delete a single snapshot, the initiating backup grouping and the terminating backup grouping not being tied to any data on the client; upon receiving the modified listing of backup groupings, generating a single snapshot of data from the corresponding volumes in each identified backup grouping; identifying the single snapshot including at least a portion of one or more directories corresponding to the identified one or more backup groupings; and referencing the single snapshot in order to perform a backup of some or all of the data corresponding to the identified one or more backup groupings.