Classification of virtualization data

1. A method of classifying data of virtual machines in a heterogeneous computing comprising virtual machines and non-virtual machines, wherein the method is performed by one or more computing systems, each computing system having a processor and memory, the method comprising:

accessing a secondary copy of at least some data stored by a virtual machine;

creating metadata associated with the secondary copy of the at least some data of the virtual machine;

storing the metadata in an index, wherein the index also comprises of metadata associated with data stored on at least one non-virtual machine;

accessing a journal file for tracking operations performed on the at least some data stored on the virtual machine;

determining at least one modified data object within the at least some data stored by the virtual machine that has been modified;

accessing or creating metadata associated with the at least one modified data object; and

updating the index with the accessed or created metadata associated with the at least one modified data object.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least some data stored by the virtual machine resides on a filesystem of a virtual machine host hosting the virtual machine.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for at least one modified data object:

generating a substantially unique identifier for the at least one modified data object;

determining, based on the substantially unique identifier, that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device; and

in response to determining that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device, storing the at least one modified data object on a secondary storage device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secondary copy of the at least some data stored by a virtual machine was created according to a storage policy, wherein the storage policy specifies how or when to copy data from one or more virtual machines to a secondary storage data store.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the storage policy comprises a data structure comprising one or more preferences or criteria associated with performing a storage operation.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the index is performed by a journaling agent, wherein the journaling agent includes a virtual filter driver module.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the journaling agent is deployed on a virtual I/O port or data stack.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the journaling agent operates in conjunction with a virtual file management module to record operations executed on the virtual machine.

9. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium carrying instructions, which when executed by at least one data processor, executes operations to classify data of virtual machines in a heterogeneous computing environment that includes virtual machines and non-virtual machines, the operations comprising:

accessing a secondary copy of the at least some data stored by a virtual machine;

creating metadata associated with the secondary copy of the at least some data of the virtual machine;

storing the metadata in an index, wherein the index also comprises of metadata associated with data stored on at least one non-virtual machine;

accessing a journal file for tracking operations performed on the at least some data stored on the virtual machine;

determining at least one modified data object within the at least some data stored by the virtual machine that has been modified;

accessing or creating metadata associated with the at least one modified data object; and

updating the index with the accessed or created metadata associated with the at least one modified data object.

10. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the at least some data stored by the virtual machine resides on a filesystem of a virtual machine host hosting the virtual machine.

11. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising:

for at least one modified data object:

generating a substantially unique identifier for at least one modified data object;

determining, based on the substantially unique identifier, that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device; and

in response to determining that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device, storing the at least one modified data object on a secondary storage device.

12. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the secondary copy of the at least some data stored by a virtual machine was created according to a storage policy, wherein the storage policy specifies how or when to copy data from one or more virtual machines to a secondary storage data store.

13. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the storage policy comprises a data structure comprising one or more preferences or criteria associated with performing a storage operation.

14. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein updating the index is performed by a journaling agent, wherein the journaling agent includes a virtual filter driver module.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the journaling agent is deployed on a virtual I/O port or data stack.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the journaling agent operates in conjunction with a virtual file management module to record operations executed on the virtual machine.

17. A system for classifying data of virtual machines in a heterogeneous computing environment that includes virtual machines and non-virtual machines the system comprising:

one or more computing systems, each computing system having a processor and memory, the one or more computing systems configured to:

access a secondary copy of at least some data stored by a virtual machine;

create metadata associated with the secondary copy of the at least some data of the virtual machine;

store the metadata in an index, wherein the index also comprises of metadata associated with data stored on at least one non-virtual machine;

access a journal file for tracking operations performed on the at least some data stored on the virtual machine;

determine at least one modified data object within the at least some data stored by the virtual machine that has been modified;

access or creating metadata associated with the at least one modified data object; and

update the index with the accessed or created metadata associated with the at least one modified data object.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least some data stored by the virtual machine resides on a filesystem of a virtual machine host hosting the virtual machine.

19. The system of claim 17 , the one or more computing systems further configured to:

for at least one modified data object:

generate a substantially unique identifier for the at least one modified data object;

determine, based on the substantially unique identifier, that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device; and

in response to determining that an instance of the at least one modified data object has not been stored on a secondary storage device, store the at least one modified data object on a secondary storage device.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the secondary copy of the at least some data stored by a virtual machine was created according to a storage policy, wherein the storage policy specifies how or when to copy data from one or more virtual machines to a secondary storage data store.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the storage policy comprises a data structure comprising one or more preferences or criteria associated with performing at least one storage operation.

22. The system of claim 17 , wherein updating the index is performed by a journaling agent, wherein the journaling agent includes a virtual filter driver module.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the journaling agent is deployed on a virtual I/O port or data stack.

24. The system of claim 22 , wherein the journaling agent operates in conjunction with a virtual file management module to record operations executed on the virtual machine.