Abstract: A backup system and method for a large data store employs a new and enhanced summary change log data structure that records all file system changes comprises inode entry records augmented with additional fields to indicate inodes representing related child and parent file system objects. A single preprocessing pass through the summary change log augments all of the appropriate inode fields with the appropriate inode numbers of family members to create a graph structure that can be traversed in hierarchical order starting at a root inode to quickly identify all created and modified file system objects for inclusion in an incremental backup.