Patent ID: 7831562

Claim:
A system for performing a backup operation, comprising: a media server; and a plurality of servers, including a first server, coupled to the media server via one or more networks, wherein one or more of the plurality of servers stores data to be backed up; wherein the media server includes a processor subsystem and a memory subsystem, wherein the memory subsystem has stored therein a set of program instructions executable by the processor subsystem to: establish a first network connection with the first server to initiate the backup operation; receive first control information over the established first network connection, wherein the first control information specifies one or more tasks for the media server to perform as part of the backup operation, and wherein said first control information includes information indicative of one or more additional servers within the plurality of servers; subsequently establish network connections with the one or more additional servers indicated by the first control information, including a first additional server that is configured to provide second control information to the media server, wherein the second control information indicates that the media server is to establish a network connection with one or more subsequent servers within the plurality of servers; receive data to be backed up via at least one of the established network connections; and store the received data on a storage medium accessible to the media server.