Patent ID: 7437388

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a first agent on a first host; a second agent on a second host; a plurality of data sources; and a backup server configured to send a first request for a logical backup data set, said logical backup data set comprising data distributed on the plurality of data sources; wherein in response to the first request, the first agent is configured to: convey a first portion of the logical backup data set from a first data source of the plurality of data sources to the backup server; and send a second request for backup data to the second agent; wherein in response to the second request, the second agent is configured to convey a second portion of the logical backup data set from a second data source of the plurality of data sources; wherein the second agent is further configured to convey the second portion of the logical backup data set to the first agent; and wherein the first agent is further configured to convey the second portion of the logical backup data set to the backup server.