Creating a customized bootable image for a client computing device from an earlier image such as a backup copy

Abstract

According to certain aspects, a method of creating customized bootable images for client computing devices in an information management system can include: creating a backup copy of each of a plurality of client computing devices, including a first client computing device; subsequent to receiving a request to restore the first client computing device to the state at a first time, creating a customized bootable image that is configured to directly restore the first client computing device to the state at the first time, wherein the customized bootable image includes system state specific to the first client computing device at the first time and one or more drivers associated with hardware existing at time of restore on a computing device to be rebooted; and rebooting the computing device to the state of the first client computing device at the first time from the customized bootable image.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a client computing device;   a storage manager that executes on a computing device distinct from the client computing device;   a data storage device; and   wherein the storage manager is configured to:
 receive a request to reboot the client computing device to a first point in time, 
 locate, at the data storage device, a first backup image of the client computing device at a previous point in time, wherein the first backup image includes a system state of the client computing device, 
 create a customized bootable image for the client computing device, comprising:
 obtain a generic bootable image comprising a standard kernel and drivers, and 
 replace at least one of: the standard kernel and the drivers of the generic bootable image with a corresponding component from the first backup image of the client computing device at the previous point in time, 
 wherein the corresponding component is not found in the generic bootable image; and 
 
   wherein the storage manager is further configured to:
 using the customized bootable image, reboot the client computing device to the system state at the previous point in time. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to replace one or more internal settings of the generic bootable image with one or more internal settings from the first backup image to create the customized bootable image. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to add to the customized bootable image one or more internal settings from the first backup image. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the previous point in time is the first point in time. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the previous point in time is closest to the first point in time among backup images of the client computing device stored in the system. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a media agent in communication with the data storage device, wherein the media agent accesses information in a media agent index to locate the first backup image at the data storage device. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein components of the system state of the client computing device comprise a kernel, one or more drivers, and internal settings. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the customized bootable image is stored at the data storage device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to: using the customized bootable image, reboot another client computing device to the system state at the previous point in time of the client computing device. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to:
 use the generic bootable image as a template for creating the customized bootable image.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the request is received by the storage manager when a user requests to restore the client computing device to a system state at the first point in time. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 a target client computing device;   a storage manager that executes on a computing device distinct from the target client computing device;   a data storage device; and   wherein the storage manager is configured to:
 receive a request to reboot the target client computing device to a system state of an other client computing device at a first point in time, 
 locate, at the data storage device, a first backup image of the other client computing device, wherein the first backup image includes a system state of the other client computing device at a previous point in time, 
 create a customized bootable image for the target client computing device, comprising:
 obtain a generic bootable image comprising a standard kernel and drivers, and 
 replace at least one of: the standard kernel and the drivers of the generic bootable image with a corresponding component from the first backup image of the other client computing device, 
 wherein the corresponding component is not found in the generic bootable image, and 
 based on determining that the target client computing device comprises hardware not included in the other client computing device, add to the customized bootable image one or more drivers for the hardware of the target client computing device; and 
 
   wherein the storage manager is further configured to:
 using the customized bootable image, reboot the target client computing device to the system state of the other client computing device at the previous point in time. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to replace one or more internal settings of the generic bootable image with one or more internal settings from the first backup image to create the customized bootable image. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to add to the customized bootable image one or more internal settings from the first backup image. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the previous point in time is the first point in time. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the previous point in time is closest to the first point in time among backup images of the other client computing device stored in the system. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the system further comprises a media agent in communication with the data storage device, and wherein the media agent accesses an index to locate the first backup image at the data storage device. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein components of the system state of the other client computing device comprise a kernel, one or more drivers, and internal settings. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the customized bootable image is stored at the data storage device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to: use the generic bootable image as a template for creating the customized bootable image.