Patent ID: 8615493

Claim:
A method for administering a storage network comprising heterogeneous client devices, the method comprising: displaying with a management console information regarding backup data stored in one or more first storage devices, the backup data associated with a plurality of heterogeneous client computing devices, wherein the backup data of at least first and second client computing devices of the plurality of heterogeneous client computing devices is stored in different backup formats, and wherein the management console integrates a plurality of utilities for performing a plurality of data management operations on the backup data of the plurality of heterogeneous client devices, wherein the management console further provides a single interface for the plurality of utilities, the single interface including on-screen graphics representing the plurality of heterogeneous client devices; receiving a set of criteria for determining a select set of data to copy to one or more second storage devices, the set of criteria entered by a user via interaction with the single interface; selecting a first data management operation of the plurality of data management operations; with a first data connector executing on one or more computer processors and that is communication with the management console, obtaining first backup data from backup data of the first client computing device of the plurality of heterogeneous client computing devices, the first data connector corresponding to a backup format associated with the first data; and with a second data connector executing on one or more computer processors and that is communication with the management console, obtaining second backup data from backup data of the second client computing device of the plurality of heterogeneous client computing devices, the second data connector corresponding to a backup format associated with the second data; performing the first data management operation on a first subset of the first backup data that meets the set of criteria and a second subset of the second backup data that meets the set of criteria, said performing comprising: storing the first subset in the one or more second storage devices; and storing the second subset in the one or more second storage devices, wherein the versions of the first and second subsets stored on the one or more second storage devices are designated for longer term retention than the versions of the first and second subsets stored in the one or more first storage devices.