Patent ID: 7454569

Claim:
A system that performs storage operations using hierarchically organized storage operation cells, the system comprising: a first storage manager component in communication with a manager index; a first storage operation cell comprising: a first media module that conducts first data between a client component and at least one storage device, a first index comprising information indicating the location of the first data on the at least one storage device, a second storage manager component directing storage operations performed by the first storage operation cell wherein the second storage manager directs the performance of a first storage operation of first data in response to instructions received from the first storage manager component, and wherein the first storage operation cell communicates at least a portion of the information in the first index to the manager index; and a second storage operation cell hierarchically coupled to the first storage operation cell, the second storage operation cell comprising: a second media module that conducts second data between a client component and the at least one storage device, a second index indicating the location of the second data on the at least one storage device, and a third storage manager component directing storage operations performed by the second storage operation cell wherein the third storage manager directs the performance of a second storage operation of second data in response to instructions received from the second storage manager component, wherein the second storage operation is different than the first storage operation, and wherein the second storage operation cell communicates at least a portion of the information in the second index to the manager index, wherein the first storage manager component instructs the second storage manager component regarding performance of storage operations in the first storage operation cell, wherein the second storage manager component instructs the third storage manager component regarding performance of storage operations in the second storage operation cell, wherein the first storage manager component maintains the manager index comprising the information received from the first and second indexes, wherein the manager index further comprises information about hierarchical associations between the first storage operation cell and the second storage operation cell, and wherein the first storage manager component instructs alternate storage operations in the first and second storage operation cells based on the manager index.