US Patent 11907083 Transparent snapshot-based file system consistent virtual machine protection

A command is received by a data protection agent to conduct a file system-consistent backup of a virtual machine (VM) having a copy service. A first request is issued to the copy service indicating that all files of the VM are to be backed up and that archive attributes of all the files should remain unchanged. A second request is issued to a snapshot data mover for a snapshot of the VM. The snapshot request is passed to a virtual machine manager. Upon the snapshot data mover receiving an identifier identifying the snapshot from the virtual machine manager, the snapshot identifier is passed to the data protection agent, thereby allowing the agent to locate the snapshot and conduct the backup.