Patent ID: 8326803

Claim:
A method, comprising: intercepting a first write operation, wherein said first write operation is a write from a virtual machine to a virtual disk, and said first write operation is a change to a first data location; recording said change to said first data location, wherein said recording creates a first change record, and said first change record is stored separately from said first data location; performing a first backup operation, wherein said first backup operation, said intercepting, and said recording are performed by one or more applications executing on a host of said virtual machine, said first backup operation comprises a read request for said first data location, and said read request for said first data location is fulfilled based on said first change record; identifying said first data location, wherein first data of a data structure is stored at said first data location; creating a snapshot of said data structure; copying said first data to a secondary storage location, wherein, said recording comprises associating said first data to said first data location in said first change record, said first write operation is performed at said first data location after a completion of said recording and said copying, said first backup operation comprises answering said read request from said secondary storage location, said first backup operation creates a first backup data structure; responsive to a completion of said first backup operation, releasing said first data; intercepting a second write operation, wherein said second write operation is addressed to said data structure, and said second write operation is received after said releasing; identifying a second data location, wherein said second write operation is a change to said second data location, and second data of said data structure is stored at said second data location; recording said change to said second data location; and performing a second backup operation, wherein said second backup operation comprises copying said second data location to a second backup data structure, and said second backup operation is an incremental backup of said data structure.