Patent ID: 8266453

Claim:
A method for a backup site to obtain backup data for a client using a portable storage device, the backup site and the client being coupled to a network, the method comprising: receiving a request from the client for a full backup data operation according to a backup service subscription of the client; determining whether to perform the full backup data operation using the network or using the portable storage device according to characteristics of the backup service subscription; when it is determined to perform the full backup data operation using the network, initiating a network operation to copy full backup data from the client to the backup site via the network; when it is determined to perform the full backup data operation using the portable storage device, performing the following steps: selecting, at the backup site, the portable storage device, the portable storage device being selected in accordance with the characteristics of the backup service subscription; correlating, at the backup site, the portable storage device with the client using a correlation device, wherein the correlating further includes providing a first key known to the backup site; shipping the portable storage device from the backup site to the client; copying the full backup data from the client to the portable storage device, wherein the copying to the portable storage device includes encrypting data associated with the full backup data using the first key and encrypting at least a portion of the full backup data using a second key that is not known to the backup site; receiving, at the backup site, the portable storage device having the full backup data; matching the portable storage device having the full backup data to the client using the correlation device; providing a direct coupling between the portable storage device having the full backup data and the backup site, wherein the direct coupling is separate from the network; and uploading the full backup data from the portable storage device to the backup site via the direct coupling, wherein the portion of the full backup data encrypted using the second key is stored at the backup site in encrypted form; and after obtaining the full backup data on the backup site, performing at least one incremental backup from the client to the backup site through the network, wherein the at least one incremental backup is based on at least one difference between data on the client site and the prior full backup data on the backup site.