Method and system for offline indexing of content and classifying stored data

1. In a data management system residing within a private computer network, a method for indexing multiple content items that is performed by one or more computing systems, each computing system having a processor and memory, the method comprising:

selecting a secondary copy of the multiple content items from the private computer network,

wherein the secondary copy of the multiple content items is a copy of the multiple content items that is not a primary copy of the multiple content items,

wherein the primary copy is available from one or more computers within the private computer network,

wherein the secondary copy of the multiple content items is created at a first time, and

wherein the secondary copy of the multiple content items is selected at a second time later than the first time;

identifying at least some of the multiple content items within the secondary copy; and for each of the identified content items:

analyzing substantially all of the contents of an identified content item, by the one or more computing systems; and

creating and/or updating multiple index entries within a content index, by the one or more computing systems,

wherein an index entry corresponds to an identified content item,

wherein an index entry is created and/or updated based upon the analysis of substantially all of the contents of an identified content item,

wherein the analyzing and creating and/or updating are performed without impacting the one or more computers from which the primary copy of the multiple content items is available,

wherein the index entry is created and/or updated to include an availability criterion,

wherein the availability is based upon a location of the identified content item, and

wherein the availability criterion includes an indication of a time required to access the identified content item based upon the availability.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a secondary copy comprises examining backup data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a secondary copy comprises examining a change journal.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a secondary copy comprises examining a data snapshot.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index comprises creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index in response to receiving a search request.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index comprises creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index in response to an index update policy.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising before creating and/or updating the content index, eliminating duplicate content within the selected secondary copy.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index comprises creating and/or updating the multiple index entries within the content index incrementally based on incremental changes to one or more of the multiple content items.

9. A computer system for indexing and searching multiple content items, the computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a secondary copy component configured to select a secondary copy of the multiple content items,

wherein the secondary copy of the multiple content items is a copy of the multiple content items that is not a primary copy of the multiple content items,

wherein the primary copy is available from one or more computer systems,

wherein the secondary copy of the multiple content items is created at a first time, and

wherein the secondary copy component selects the secondary copy of the multiple content items at a second time later than the first time;

a content indexing component configured to, for at least some of the multiple content items included in the selected secondary copy:

analyze content of a content item, including analyzing a summary of the content item as well as analyzing additional content of the content item; and

based upon the analysis, create/update a content index,

wherein the content indexing component performs the analyzing and creating and/or updating without consuming resources of the one or more computer systems from which the primary copy of the multiple content items is available; and

an index searching component configured to identify one or more indexed content items based on a received search query,

wherein the index searching component provides an availability criterion for at least some of the identified one or more indexed content items,

wherein the availability is based upon a location of the identified one or more indexed content items, and

wherein the availability criterion includes an indication of a time required to access the identified one or more indexed content items based upon the availability.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the content indexing component is further configured to decrypt encrypted content.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the content indexing component is further configured to create and/or update the content index based on an indexing policy.

12. The system of claim 9 further comprising a data classification component configured to classify content and add classifications to the content index.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the secondary copy component is further configured to select a secondary copy of the multiple content items from among multiple secondary copies of the multiple content items based on the time required to access each of the multiple secondary copies of the multiple content items.

14. In a data management system residing within a private computer network, a method for indexing content that is performed by one or more computing systems, each computing system having a processor and memory, comprising:

selecting a secondary copy of the content from the private computer network,

wherein the secondary copy of the content is a copy of the content that is not a primary copy of the content,

wherein the primary copy is available from one or more computers within the private computer network,

wherein the secondary copy of the content is created at a first time, and

wherein the secondary copy of the content is selected at a second time later than the first time;

identifying at least some of the content within the secondary copy;

analyzing attributes of the identified content, by the one or more computing systems;

based upon the analysis, classifying the identified content, by the one or more computing systems; and

updating a content index that includes the classifications of the identified content, by the one or more computing systems,

wherein the analyzing, classifying, and updating are performed without impacting the one or more computers that store the primary copy of the content,

wherein the content index includes an availability of at least the identified content,

wherein the availability is based upon a location of the identified content, and

wherein the availability includes an indication of a time required to access the identified content based upon the availability.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein updating the content index comprises determining a state of protection of the identified content.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein updating the content index comprises determining whether the identified content is encrypted.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein updating the content index comprises determining whether the identified content has associated access control information.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein updating the content index comprises determining a topology of a network in which the identified content is stored.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein updating the content index comprises determining whether the identified content contains one or more specified keywords.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising before updating the content index, eliminating duplicate content within the selected secondary copy.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein updating a content index comprises updating the content index incrementally based on incremental changes to the content.