Patent ID: 7624133

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, stored as instructions in a memory and executed by a processor, said method comprising: receiving an identifier of a component of a database to be restored, wherein the database corresponding to the identifier comprises a compositional structure of one or more components wherein said components have relationships therebetween, and the identifier comprises a target time period for the restored component; determining the compositional structure of the database at the target time period; selecting a compositional set of backups of the database from a plurality of compositional sets of backups, wherein each of the compositional sets of backups comprises an identified grouping of backups of one or more components of the database created during a time period at which the compositional structure of the database was the same, the identification of the grouping of backups is performed at the time of each backup comprising a compositional set of backups, wherein said identification comprises inspecting one or more of the names of all files associated with the database comprising the data to backed up and the creation dates of all those files in order to determine whether any of the files were created since the previous backup of one or more components of the database, and establishing a current compositional structure as not substantially the same as that of a prior compositional structure when any of the files were created since the previous backup of one or more components of the database, and the selected compositional set of backups comprises backups created during a time period at which the compositional structure of the database is substantially the same as the determined compositional structure; and identifying at least one backup from the compositional set of backups from which the component of the database corresponding to the identifier is recovered.