1. A method of locating data objects on which to perform a data management operation within a data storage management system, comprising: receiving a request to perform a data management operation that includes at least one criterion for identifying data objects managed by the storage management system; accessing a metabase containing metadata describing data objects managed by the storage management system and finding specific metadata that identifies data objects managed by the storage management system satisfying the at least one criterion; resolving references in the specific metadata to data objects managed by the storage management system that satisfy the at least one criterion; providing results that contain the resolved references to the data objects managed by the storage management system that satisfy the at least one criterion on which to perform the data management operation; and wherein resolving references comprises locating data objects within an auxiliary copy and specifying a path for accessing the data objects using the auxiliary copy.