Logical slicing of large virtual machines for backup storage

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program code, which when executed by a computer processor enables the computer processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

• obtaining, by a backup agent, a backup request for a full backup of a VM;
• in response to the backup request:
• performing a logical slicing of VM data associated with the virtual machine based on a slicing policy to obtain a set of logical slices;
• initiating generation of a backup of each logical slice in the set of logical slices to obtain a set of backup slices;
• storing the set of backup slices in a backup storage system;
• after storing the set of backup slices, obtaining a second backup request for a virtual synthetic backup of the VM;
• in response to the second backup request:
• obtaining a tracked changes file associated with the VM data after the full backup;
• performing a slicing analysis of tracked changes in the tracked changes file to identify a backup slice associated with each of the tracked changes;
• and
• based on the slicing analysis, initiating storage of the virtual synthetic backup using the tracked changes file and the set of backup slices.

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• memory comprising instructions, which when executed by the processor, perform a method, the method comprising:
• obtaining, by a backup agent, a backup request for a full backup of a VM;
• in response to the backup request:
• performing a logical slicing of VM data associated with the virtual machine based on a slicing policy to obtain a set of logical slices;
• initiating generation of a backup of each logical slice in the set of logical slices to obtain a set of backup slices;
• storing the set of backup slices in a backup storage system;
• after storing the set of backup slices, obtaining a second backup request for a virtual synthetic backup of the VM;
• in response to the second backup request:
• obtaining a tracked changes file associated with the VM data after the full backup;
• performing a slicing analysis of tracked changes in the tracked changes file to identify a backup slice associated with each of the tracked changes;
• and
• based on the slicing analysis, initiating storage of the virtual synthetic backup using the tracked changes file and the set of backup slices.