Patent ID: 7568124

Claim:
At a client computer system in a computerized environment in which one or more backup servers back up data owned and/or created by a client and stored at one or more production servers, a method of at least the client specifying one or more protection intents for the data, such that backup of the data is driven at least in part at the data level, comprising the acts of: opening a client interface; identifying data at one or more production servers, wherein the data are to be protected by one or more backup servers; selecting through the client interface one or more protection intents for the data to be protected, wherein the selected one or more protection intents include one or more properties; and revealing the selected one or more protection intents to the one or more backup servers, such that the one or more backup servers can backup the data to be protected in accordance with the selected one or more protection intents, wherein the act of revealing the selected one or more protection intents further comprises an act of associating the selected one or more protection intents with the data to be protected, such that the one or more backup servers can identify the one or more protection intents when scanning the data to be protected at the one or more production servers.