Dynamic triggering of block-level backups based on block change thresholds and corresponding file identities

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• by a second computing device comprising one or more hardware processors:
• executing an application,
• tracking data block changes generated by the application,
• tracking a file system comprising one or more data files accessible to the application including a first data file, and
• transmitting, to a first computing device, point-in-time representations of changed data blocks in the one or more data files, and
• further transmitting information indicating that first data blocks correspond to the first data file;
• by the first computing device, which comprises one or more hardware processors:
• maintaining a first mapping that identifies the first data file based on one or more of the first data blocks, and
• based on identifying, within the point-in-time representations, a first set of changed data blocks that correspond to the first data file,
• determining that the first data file passed a threshold measure of changed data blocks;
• and
• by the second computing device, executing a block-level backup of the first set of changed data blocks,
• wherein the block-level backup generates a secondary copy that is associated with the first data file and not with others of the one or more data files accessible to the application.