Patent ID: 8707087

Claim:
A method for allowing restoration of information to an information handling system using information from other information handling systems comprising: storing information from all information handling systems on a network to an off site datastore; creating a common database, the common database cataloging information stored to the off site datastore; storing the common database of the cataloged information to the off site datastore; creating individual respective catalogs of information stored to the off site datastore for respective information handling systems on the network; allowing access to respective catalogs of individual information handling systems by other information handling systems on the network so as to allow peer to peer awareness of information which is available on all of the information handling systems on the network; storing in a database identities of all information handling systems in the network; determining whether a restoration is desirable; and, when a restoration is desirable, booting an information handling system to be restored to restoration media; obtaining, via the information handling system to be restored, access to the database describing identities of information handling systems in the network; recovering information for restoration from other functioning information handling system on the network as possible; determining whether there is any additional information to be restored that is not available from the functioning information handling systems; and, if there is any additional information to be restored, then obtaining the additional information from the off site datastore.