Integrated format conversion during disk upload

In a distributed or cloud computing environment, an method for efficiently receiving uploaded storage data at a remote service by not requiring null data from a local system to be uploaded, the method comprising:

• creating a blob at the remote service, wherein creating the blob at the remote service comprises initializing a plurality of data blocks in the blob, the data blocks initialized to null data;
• receiving a local file having sparseness, the sparseness including one or more data blocks having only null data, from a local system by receiving data blocks of the file that contain more than null data while not receiving one or more data blocks of the local file that only contain null data, such that the remote service receives data blocks that it cannot imply based on the sparseness of the local system;
• and
• writing the received data blocks of the file that contain more than null data to corresponding data blocks in the blob.

An upload tool for uploading local storage data to a remote service, the local data having sparseness, and the upload tool optimized to reduce the amount of data uploaded by taking into account the sparseness of the local data, the tool comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more computer readable media, wherein the one or more computer readable media comprise computer executable instructions that when executed by at least one of the one or more processors cause at least one of the one or more processors to implement:
• a first module configured to understand various local storage protocols and a remote storage protocol, the first module configured to determine sparseness of local files;
• and
• a second module configured upload local files to a remote service by taking into account sparseness of local files by not uploading data that the remote service can imply based on sparseness of the local files.