Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for creating a view for a plurality of data units is provided. A portion of the plurality of data units are stored in one or more storage drives that are in a lower power mode of operation in the storage system. The method includes determining a subset of data units stored in a storage system based on one or more filter criteria. Metadata is determined that represents the subset of data units in the storage system. A view is then created from the metadata. For example, a dynamic or static view may be created. The view is then stored such that it is always accessible on an always on storage drive. The metadata may be used to provide information about the data units in the storage drives that are in a lower power mode of operation without having to power on the storage drives.