Patent ID: 8229954

Claim:
A method in a computer system for accessing data stored in multiple copies, the method comprising: displaying a user interface configured to receive a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; receiving through the user interface a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; querying an index to locate one or more data copies from multiple data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the multiple data copies include primary copies and secondary copies, wherein the secondary copies include at least one backup copy, and wherein the querying includes accessing a database of metadata to determine which of the multiple data copies contain the requested data without accessing the computer systems where the primary copy is stored; and displaying a list of results comprising data copies located by the query that satisfy the request, wherein a user can access the one or more data copies by selecting a desired copy from the displayed list, wherein querying an index comprises accessing a database of metadata that categorizes data, and wherein the database provides a list of data objects organized according to the categories of the data objects.