Abstract: A first command is sent from a primary host system to a primary storage controller device, specifying that a first primary volume is to be flash-copied to a second primary volume. Flash-copying provides for completion of copying the first primary volume to the second primary volume to be signaled prior to data on the first primary volume being physically copied to the second primary volume. A first state of the first primary volume and the second primary volume is verified by the primary storage controller device to determine whether the first state permits flash-copying of the first primary volume to the second primary volume. A first query is sent from the primary storage controller device to a secondary host system, requesting whether a first secondary volume can be flash-copied to a second secondary volume. The first and second secondary volumes asynchronously mirror the first and second primary volumes, respectively.

Abstract: A process is selected for movement from a current node to a new node, based on an inertia of the process. The inertia is a quantified measure of the impact resulting from the process being inaccessible while being moved. The inertia can take into account the number of current external connections to the process; the larger the number of current external connections is, the greater the inertia. The inertia can take into account the extent to which the process accepts external connections; the greater the extent to which the process accepts external connections is, the greater the inertia. The inertia can take into account the desired availability of the process; the greater the desired availability is, the greater the inertia. The inertia can take into account a specified quality of service of the process; the higher the specified quality of service is, the greater the inertia.

Abstract: A markup language document representing computing elements of a computing architecture, such as data storage elements of a data storage architecture, is constructed and analyzed. A first computing element contained by a second computing element is represented; a first tag of the document corresponding to the first computing element is nested within a second tag of the markup language document corresponding to the second computing element. A non-containing/contained relationship from the first computing element to a third computing element is also represented; a pointer tag of the document corresponding to the data access path is nested within the first tag, and references a third tag of the document corresponding to the third computing element. Get-pointer-node and get-child-node application programming interfaces for the markup language are called to traverse among containing/contained relationships. Pointer tags are followed to traverse among non-containing/contained relationships.

Abstract: Transitioning a data file in an archive system from read-write to write-once-read-many (“WORM”) is triggered by a control file rather than using a timeout approach or a overload approach. A storage manager may receive a series of archive instructions to write a data file to an archive. During this time, the archive file may be in a read-write state. The storage manager may receive a control file, which may be structured, such as an XML file. Receipt of the control file signals to an storage manager archive system that the data file has been written to the archive and triggers the storage manager to make the data file immutable by switching it from read-write state to WORM state.