Abstract: A system, method, and medium for automatically identifying, protecting, and recovering the critical services and components of a server. A backup application detects a request to perform a backup operation. In response, the backup application performs a discovery process to identify the critical services and components of a server. The backup application includes a user interface to display the critical services and components to an administrator. The critical services and components are then backed up to a backup storage device. The collection of critical services and components can then be recovered to a target server when a recovery operation is needed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for creating and using a snapshot in data backup and/or other data services. The method creates snapshot(s) of volume(s) using a select set of Snapshot Providers, transports the snapshots to a server for processing and processes the snapshots. Processing may include creating a backup, data mining the snapshot, and the like.

Abstract: A method for efficient backup and restore using metadata mapping comprises maintaining a first backup aggregation associated with a primary data object of a primary host at a secondary host, wherein the first backup aggregation includes a first backup version of the primary data object stored within a secondary data object at the secondary host. The method further comprises generating a second backup aggregation, wherein the second backup aggregation includes a second backup version of the primary data object and a backup metadata object corresponding to the secondary data object. The backup metadata object includes a pointer to the second backup version. The method may further comprise restoring the secondary data object, wherein said restoring comprises using the pointer to access the second backup version of the primary data object to restore at least a portion of the secondary data object.