Patent ID: 8433732

Claim:
A method for retrieving data for a user at a device, comprising: examining selected data backed up to a virtual tape library (VTL) maintained in a selected format in a first non-tape storage medium, by a processor associated with the VTL; identifying, by the processor, within the selected data one or more first directories containing one or more respective first files; for each of the one or more first directories, generating, by the processor, a respective second directory; for each of the one or more first files, generating, by the processor, a respective second file based at least in part on the corresponding first file, wherein each second file comprises an indicator identifying a memory location of the corresponding first file in the VTL, based at least in part on the corresponding first file, without the backed up data in the respective corresponding first file; storing one or more of the second directories and one or more of the second files in a second non-tape storage medium; receiving from the user via the device a request specifying at least one of the second files; retrieving from the specified second files respective indicators; accessing the at least one first file, based at least in part on the respective indicators; and providing data from the at least one first file to the user's device in response to the request.