Patent ID: 7827150

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a client computer; a host computer coupled to the client and a backup store; and a server coupled to the host, the client, and an archival backup medium; wherein the host is configured to: mount a dataset stored on the client with a first application; use the first application to perform a backup operation to backup the dataset to the backup store, wherein the dataset on the backup store is mountable for read/write access; and associate the dataset on the backup store with first metadata that identifies the client as an origin of the dataset, wherein the first metadata enables restoration of the dataset to the client directly from the backup store; wherein the server is configured to: mount the dataset stored on the backup store with a second application different from the first application; use the second application to perform a backup operation to create an archival backup of the dataset stored on the backup store, and store the archival backup on an archival backup medium; associate the archival backup with second metadata that identifies the backup store as an origin of the dataset; and modify the second metadata to identify the client as an origin of the dataset rather than the backup store, wherein the second metadata as modified enables restoration of the archival backup directly from the archival backup medium to the client.