Method and apparatus for providing a volume image backup of selected objects

An apparatus for providing a volume image backup, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a driver, executable by the one or more processors, for accessing metadata and mapping information for at least one object of a source volume, wherein the source volume comprises a plurality of data blocks,
• the mapping information identifies the at least one data block that stores at least a portion of the at least one object,
• the changed block information indicates one or more of the plurality of data blocks that have changed since a previous backup of the source volume,
• the metadata comprises information regarding a source file system hierarchy of the source volume, and
• the at least one object is selected from a plurality of objects that are arranged using the source file system hierarchy;
• and
• a backup module coupled to the driver for processing the metadata and the mapping information, wherein the backup module is configured to
• allocate at least one image file for the at least one selected object,
• determine that the at least one object is changed in the source volume,
• in response to a determination, identify the at least one data block,
• wherein
• the backup module is configured to perform the identification using the mapping information, and
• the backup module is configured to perform the identification by comparing the mapping information with the changed block information to identify the at least one data block,
• configure a destination file system hierarchy of the at least one image file using the metadata, wherein
• the backup module is configured to configure the destination file system hierarchy to reflect the source file system hierarchy with respect to the at least one object,
• and
• initiate a write operation, wherein
• the write operation is configured to write a copy of the at least one data block for the at least one object in the at least one image file,
• the backup module is configured to perform the initiation using the mapping information and in accordance with the destination file system hierarchy,
• a virtual file filter is configured to capture the write operation prior to applying the write operation on the at least one image file, and
• the virtual file filter is further configured to redirect the write operation to an incremental image file, wherein the incremental image file indicates changes to the at least one image file.

A system for creating volume image backups using selected objects of a source volume, comprising:

• storage, comprising:
• a source volume that comprises a plurality of objects and a plurality of data blocks;
• and
• a backup server coupled to the storage, comprising:
• a driver for accessing metadata a changed block information, and mapping information for at least one object that is selected from the plurality of objects, wherein
• the mapping information identifies the at least one data block that stores at least a portion of the at least one object,
• the changed block information indicates one or more of the plurality of data blocks that have changed since a previous backup of the source volume,
• the metadata comprises information regarding a source file system hierarchy of the source volume, and
• the at least one object is selected from a plurality of objects that are arranged using the source file system hierarchy, and
• a backup module coupled to the driver for processing the metadata and the mapping information, wherein the backup module is configured to
• configure a destination file system hierarchy for the at least one object of at least one image file,
• allocate at least one image file, wherein
• the at least one image file is configured to store one or more data blocks of the at least one selected object,
• determine that the at least one object is changed in the source volume,
• in response to the determining, identify the at least one data block, wherein
• the backup module is configured to perform the identification using the mapping information, and
• the backup module is configured to perform the identification by comparing the mapping information with the changed block information to identify the at least one data block,
• initiate a write operation, wherein
• the write operation is configured to write a copy of the at least one data block for the at least one object in the at least one image file,
• the backup module is configured to perform the initiation using the mapping information and in accordance with the destination file system hierarchy,
• a virtual file filter is configured to capture the write operation prior to applying the write operation on the at least one image file, and
• the virtual file filter is further configured to redirect the write operation to an incremental image file, wherein the incremental image file indicates changes to the at least one image file.