Patent ID: 7577786

Claim:
A method of retrieving a desired backup file from a tape drive to a restore process, the method comprising the steps of: a) indexing, by an accelerator in a table, information about locations of backup files previously stored on tape volumes of a tape set; b) obtaining, from a client, a name of the desired file to be retrieved from one or more respective tape volumes of the tape set; c) sending, to the tape drive, a read message to read the desired file, the read message indicating that the tape volumes of the tape set are to be sequentially read for retrieval of the desired file; d) intercepting, by the accelerator, the read message; e) searching, by the accelerator in the table, using the obtained name of the desired backup file, for location information regarding the desired backup file stored on the tape set, the location information indicating the one or more respective tape volumes of the tape set where the desired file is stored and a number of files on each of the one or more respective tape volumes of the tape set to be skipped before the desired file; f) sending, by the accelerator, one or more read commands to the tape drive to read the desired backup file from the one or more respective tape volumes using the location information; g) sending, to the restore process by the accelerator, simulated file header record information stored in the table and associated with file header records to be skipped before the desired file; and h) retrieving, by the restore process, the desired backup file after the restore process receives the simulated file header record information.