1. A computer-implemented method of compressing data, comprising: a) receiving a current instance of data in an input buffer; b) selecting a candidate chunk of a representation of the current instance; c) computing a signature hash from a signature length range of data starting in the candidate chunk; d) identifying a matching dictionary entry having a matching signature hash from a multi-tiered dictionary, wherein the matching dictionary entry prospectively identifies a location of a prior occurrence of a selected range of consecutive symbols including the signature length range of data within at least one of the representation of the current instance of data and a representation of a prior instance of data in the input buffer; and e) forming a dedupe processed representation of the instance of data, wherein a dedupe item is substituted for the selected range of consecutive symbols if the selected range is verified as recurring, wherein the dedupe item identifies the location of the prior occurrence of the selected range.