Patent ID: 7865517

Claim:
A method in a computer system for accessing data available from each of multiple copies, the method comprising: displaying a web-based user interface configured to communicate a request to access at least one data object; receiving through the web-based user interface a request identifying at least one data object to be accessed; querying an index to locate data copies that contain the identified at least one data object, wherein the data copies were created from source data, wherein at least one of the data copies is stored on magnetic tape, while another of the data copies is stored on magnetic disk, wherein for each of the two or more data copies the index contains information regarding an availability of the data copy, and wherein the availability information includes information associated with a first time required to retrieve a first data object and a second time required to retrieve a second data object, wherein the second time is greater than the first time; and displaying, via that web-based interface, a list of results comprising the data copies located by the query that satisfy the request, wherein the list includes information regarding relative speed at accessing at least some of the data copies, and wherein a user can access one or more of the data copies located by the query through the displayed list.