TECHNIQUES FOR ESTABLISHING A FILE SYSTEM THAT EXPOSES A VIRTUAL FILE SYSTEM FOR BACKUP OPERATIONS

Techniques for establishing a files system that exposes a virtual file system for backup operations are presented. Changes to files of a file system are maintained separately or collected and presented as a VFS. The VFS is then used to perform backup operations. Moreover, the files identified in the VFS can be customized based on search parameters, criterion, and/or criteria supplied by a user or supplied as parameters to backup and VFS mount operations.