Patent ID: 8543784

Claim:
A method comprising: coordinating between a power management module and a backup module, wherein the coordinating comprises providing one of the power management module or the backup module with access to both power management information and a retention time for a backup image, the power management information is maintained by the power management module and is associated with a logical storage unit (LSU), wherein a disk storage array implements the LSU, the power management module comprises an interface configured to receive a query from the backup module via a network, wherein the query requests a current power state of the LSU, the power management module is configured to transmit the current power state of the LSU to the backup module over the network via the interface, in response to receiving the query, the backup module is configured to perform backups and restores, wherein each of the backups comprises copying a backup image to the LSU, and each of the restores comprises copying data from the LSU to a user system, the retention time is generated by the backup module, and the backup image comprises the retention time; selecting the LSU, based upon both the power management information and the retention time, wherein the selecting the LSU is performed by the one of the power management module or the backup module; and accessing the backup image on the LSU, in response to the selecting the LSU.