Patent ID: 8904126

Claim:
A system for performing a plurality of prescribed data management functions in a manner that reduces redundant access operations to primary storage, said system comprising: a data management engine for performing data management functions, including at least: a first data management function operable to create a point-in-time image of primary storage data and store the point-in-time image in secondary storage, wherein point-in-time images of data include a reference to a complete image of data at a specific point in time and difference data indicating changes to the data at a later, specific point in time occurring after the specific point in time of the complete image, and a second data management function that is different than the first data management function operable to create at least one back-up copy of the created point-in-time images and to store the created point-in-time images in the backup storage, said data management engine being responsive to an electronic service level agreement (SLA) that specifies a schedule for performing data management functions including the first data management function and the second data management function, wherein, in response to the schedule requiring the first data management function and the second management function to be performed sequentially at a first time and involving at least a same portion of the primary storage data, the data management engine: creates a point-in-time image of the primary storage data and stores the point-in-time image in the secondary storage to satisfy the SLA requirement to perform the first data management function at the first time; calculates difference data comprising differences between the point-in-time image stored in the secondary storage and a previously stored backup-copy of a second point-in-time image stored in the backup storage; and communicates the difference data to the backup storage to update the previously stored back-up copy of the primary data in the backup storage to satisfy the SLA requirement to perform the second data management function at the first time, such that the primary storage is accessed only once for satisfying the first data management function and the second data management function to be performed sequentially at the first time.