1. A computer-implemented method comprising: requesting metadata from an application executing on a virtual machine using a backup application, the backup application communicating with the virtual machine and the backup application being remote to the virtual machine, wherein the virtual machine is executing on hardware in a computer system, and wherein the virtual machine includes an operating system that controls execution of the application within the virtual machine, and wherein the computer system includes a virtual machine monitor executed on the computer system to control execution of the virtual machine on the computer system, and wherein the request originates external to the virtual machine, and wherein the request is transmitted to the virtual machine as one or more packets targeting a virtual network interface controller (NIC) within the virtual machine, and wherein the metadata describes a logical structure of application data stored on one or more virtual storage devices in the virtual machine and wherein the metadata identifies logical data objects within the application data stored on the one or more virtual storage devices in the virtual machine, wherein requesting the metadata comprises remotely logging into an account on the virtual machine to transmit the request for the metadata; requesting a first image of the virtual machine from the virtual machine monitor that controls the virtual machine using the virtual machine monitor's suspend command which generates a snapshot image of the virtual machine, wherein the virtual machine monitor is executing on the hardware in the computer, and wherein the first image includes one or more files representing the one or more virtual storage devices; performing storage mapping on the one or more virtual storage devices using the metadata to create a catalog of data objects in the logical structure and locations of the data objects on the one or more virtual storage devices; and storing the metadata and the first image as a backup of the virtual machine, wherein the metadata is stored separately from the first image.