Patent ID: 8156086

Claim:
A method for verifying data copies in a storage management system, the method comprising: performing a first storage operation on a first set of data in a first location to generate a plurality of data chunks, wherein said performing the first storage operation for at least one of the plurality of data chunks further comprises: generating a second set of data associated with the first set of data, generating a first set of metadata associated with the first set of data, and storing the second set of data and the first set of metadata on a storage device; storing a copy of the first set of metadata in an index remote to the storage device; generating a second set of metadata associated with the second set of data stored on the storage device; comparing the first set of metadata in the index with the second set of metadata to verify whether or not differences exist between the first and second sets of data without accessing the first and second sets of data; performing a second storage operation on the second set of data, the second storage operation comprising: generating a third set of data associated with the second set of data, generating a third set of metadata comprising information for retrieving the third set of data, and storing the third set of data in a second location; and comparing the first set of metadata in the index with the third set of metadata to verify whether or not differences exist between the first and third sets of data.