Patent ID: 7865470

Claim:
A method for creating a backup plan for protecting data physically located at a production location by specifying namespace elements existing at a logical level, the namespace elements at the logical level representing one or more protectable data objects residing in the production location, the method performed in a computer comprising one or more processors and system memory, and comprising: for at least one or more namespace elements at a logical level, mapping the namespace elements to one or more protectable data objects located at a production location; performing an initial discovery which discovers said mapping between the at least one or more namespace elements at the logical level and the one or more protectable data objects located at the production location; receiving a selection of namespace elements for which a group backup plan is to be created; for the selected namespace elements, automatically tracking any changes that occur with respect to the production location for any of the protectable data objects that correspond to the selected namespace elements contained in the group backup plan; receiving a selection of protection intents for the selected namespace elements of the group backup plan, the protection intents identifying how the selected namespace elements are to be protected; and carrying out the received protection intents for the group backup plan for the selected namespace elements and their corresponding protectable data objects using the discovered mapping of the selected namespace elements and their corresponding protectable data objects located in the production location, by performing the group backup plan, the group backup plan consisting of one or more jobs and scheduling parameters for protecting the corresponding protectable data objects of the selected namespace elements.