Patent ID: 7937372

Claim:
A method of managing backup data, comprising: mounting a snapshot of a file system, each of the plurality of snapshots being taken at a particular time and each comprising a replica of the data set at that particular time; using a processor to access the mounted snapshot; and using the processor to add, for each of the one or more file system objects included in the accessed snapshot, index data indicating that each of the one or more file system objects is located within the accessed snapshot to an index associated with the snapshot in order to be able to determine, using the index and without having to again mount the accessed snapshot, whether an object of interest is included in the snapshot, wherein: each file system object in a file system has its own corresponding index entry; and adding to the index includes: encountering a file system object in the mounted snapshot; determining whether an index entry corresponding to the encountered file system object already exists; in the event the determination determines that an index entry corresponding to the encountered file system object already exists, adding information associated with the encountered file system object to the already-existing index; and in the event the determination determines that an index entry corresponding to the encountered file system object does not already exist: creating a new index entry that corresponds to the encountered file system object; and adding information associated with the encountered file system object to the created index.