Filtered reference copy of secondary storage data in a data storage system

摘要

The data storage system according to certain aspects can filter secondary copies of data (e.g., backups, snapshots, archives, etc.) generated by multiple client computing devices into a single, filtered, global reference copy. A reference copy may be a filtered view or representation of secondary storage data in a data storage system. A reference copy may include a data structure that includes references to a subset of secondary storage data that meets certain filtering criteria. The filtering criteria may be specified by users according to user preference. Data included in a reference copy may be stored in native format (e.g., format of the application that generated the data) and be accessible through the application associated with the data.

主权项

1. A method of creating a filtered representation of secondary copy data in a networked data storage system, comprising:
using one or more media agents comprising computer hardware, copying data comprising a plurality of files residing in one or more primary storage devices in a primary storage subsystem to one or more secondary storage devices in a secondary storage subsystem to create a backup copy of the plurality of files, the plurality of files generated by applications executing on one or more client computing devices in the primary storage subsystem; further copying, with the one or more media agents, the data comprising the plurality of files to a reference copy data store to create a reference copy of the plurality of files; wherein the backup copy of the plurality of files is stored in the secondary storage subsystem in a backup format, and the reference copy of the primary files is stored in the reference copy data store in a native format associated with the applications that generated the plurality of files; creating an index of the reference copy of the plurality of files with a reference copy module comprising computer hardware, wherein the reference copy module stores the index in the reference copy data store; accessing with the reference copy module rules for creating a filtered representation, the rules including filtering criteria for identifying a subset of the plurality of files residing in the backup copy in the secondary storage subsystem; identifying with the reference copy module, files that meet the filtering criteria based on the index of the reference copy of the plurality of files stored in the reference copy data store without accessing the backup copy of the plurality of files stored in the secondary storage subsystem and without accessing the plurality of files stored in the primary storage subsystem; in response to determining that a first filtered representation includes at least a subset of the files that meet the filtering criteria, creating with the reference copy module a second filtered representation that comprises a data structure that comprises references to the subset of files associated with the first filtered representation and further comprises references additional files that meet the filtering criteria; and providing access to the second filtered representation, wherein the second filtered representation is viewable by a user and shows a listing of the subset of files associated with the first filtered representation and the additional files that meet the filtering criteria without accessing the backup copy of the plurality of files stored in the secondary storage subsystem and without accessing the plurality of files stored in the primary storage subsystem.