Partial sharing of secondary storage files in a data storage system

Abstract

The data storage system according to certain aspects can allow users to share a portion of a file (e.g., a document) in secondary storage. The user may specify a portion of a secondary storage file to share and send a link to the portion to another user. The other user can access the shared portion from the link, and just the shared portion may be restored from secondary storage. The data storage system according to certain aspects can also provide a native view of secondary storage data on a client computer. The index data and/or metadata relating to secondary storage data may be stored in native format (e.g., format of the application(s) that generated the secondary storage data) so that the secondary storage data can be displayed in a native view. The index data and/or metadata may be synchronized on the client without synchronizing the secondary storage data itself.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method of sharing a portion of a file in secondary storage, the method comprising:
 using one or more computing devices comprising computer hardware:
 storing secondary copies of a plurality of files residing or previously resided in a primary storage subsystem, wherein the secondary copies are stored in one or more secondary storage devices residing in a secondary storage subsystem in a backup format that is different than a native format of the plurality of files in the primary storage subsystem; 
 receiving, from a first client computing device in the primary storage subsystem, a request to share a portion of a first file of the plurality of files; 
 in response to the request, generating a link associated with the portion of the first file, wherein the link references the portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format in the one or more secondary storage devices; and 
 transmitting the link to a second client computing device different from the first client computing device along with preview data in the native format associated with the portion of the first file. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, in response to activation of the link on the second client computing device, causing the portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format to be restored for presentation on the second client computing device without causing an entire first file stored as a secondary copy to be restored from the one or more secondary storage devices. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising transmitting the link to the second client computing device in an email, wherein the email includes a preview of the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on a user selection of a subset of paragraphs in the first file. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on a user selection of a subset of pages in the first file. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on one or more user-identified search terms, wherein the one or more user-identified search terms appear in the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on one or more user-identified search criteria, wherein the portion of the first file satisfies the one or more user-identified search criteria. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the link comprises a start secondary storage offset and an end secondary storage offset identifying the portion within the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the link comprises a query used to identify the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second client computing device is not allowed to access another portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format that corresponds to a different portion outside the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the link is configured to provide, to the second client computing device, access to another portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy that corresponds to a different portion outside the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         13 . A data storage system configured to share a portion of a file in secondary storage, the system comprising:
 computer hardware configured to execute instructions that cause the computer hardware to:
 store secondary copies of a plurality of files residing or previously resided in a primary storage subsystem, wherein the secondary copies are stored in one or more secondary storage devices residing in a secondary storage subsystem in a backup format that is different than a native format of the plurality of files in the primary storage subsystem; 
 receive, from a first client computing device in the primary storage subsystem, a request to share a portion of a first file of the plurality of files; 
 in response to the request, generate a link associated with the portion of the first file, wherein the link references the portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format in the one or more secondary storage devices; and 
 transmit the link to a second client computing device different from the first client computing device along with preview data in the native format associated with the portion of the first file. 
   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the computer hardware to, in response to activation of the link on the second client computing device, cause the portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy in the backup format to be restored for presentation on the second client computing device in the native format without causing an entire first file stored as a secondary copy to be restored from the one or more secondary storage devices. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the computer hardware to transmit the link to the second client computing device in an email, wherein the email includes a preview of the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on a user selection of a subset of paragraphs or pages in the first file. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the portion of the first file is identified based on one or more user-identified search criteria, wherein the identified portion of the first file satisfies the one or more user-identified search criteria. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the link comprises a start secondary storage offset and an end secondary storage offset identifying the portion within the first file stored as a secondary copy. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the link comprises a query used to identify the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the second client computing device is not allowed to access another portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy that corresponds to a different portion outside the portion of the first file. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the link is configured to provide, to the second client computing device, access to the portion of the first file stored as a secondary copy that corresponds to another portion outside the portion of the first file.