Abstract: System and method for performing two-tier backups in file systems without requiring Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM). A two-tier backup mechanism may perform first-tier backups of dynamic and candidate static data, and second-tier backups of candidate static data. Data is examined by the two-tier backup mechanism and, if the data qualifies as candidate static data, metadata is created for the data. Candidate static data and its metadata are copied to first-tier backups along with dynamic data, and are also copied to second-tier backups a specified number of times, after which the static data is reclassified as “static copied data”. Only metadata for static copied data is written to the first-tier backups. Embodiments may be implemented in file systems that do not support HSM and in file systems that support HSM, whether HSM is operational or not.

Abstract: Embodiments of a LUN security utility which provides LUN security operations including, but not limited to, searching for and locating one or more LUNs, LUN selection, LUN to disk array port binding, LUN masking and fabric zoning operations in one utility. Embodiments may provide a central user interface that guides a user through configuring LUN security operations and allows the user to execute the configured LUN security operations with a single operation. Embodiments may provide a central point from which to perform LUN security operations including one or more of, but not limited to, LUN binding, LUN masking and fabric zoning. Using embodiments, LUN security operations may be performed as a single operation from the perspective of the user.

Abstract: A method may involve replicating a first change made to a primary volume. The first change is replicated to a secondary volume. A second change made to the primary volume is also replicated to the secondary volume. The second change is caused by a restore operation. Replicating the second change to the secondary volume involves recording an order of the second change relative to the first change.

Abstract: A method and system of providing periodic replication is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a method is provided which comprises creating a storage object corresponding to a data volume, wherein the storage object comprises a point-in-time copy of the data volume and a data volume map; and replicating the data volume utilizing the storage object.

Abstract: A method and system for providing multi-node file system access to files on a single-node storage stack. The method may include sending a data access request from a client system to a server system over a network. The data access request may comprise a request to access data which is stored on one or more storage devices whose access is controlled by the server system. The method may include using a mapping interface to determine a quantity of components in the storage stack. The method may further include using the mapping interface to communicate with the storage stack components to retrieve a physical location of the data on the storage devices and sending the physical location of the data to the client. The method may include the client bypassing the server to access the data on the storage devices at the physical location provided by the mapping interface.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for performing periodic replication using a log and a change map. According to one embodiment, a first region and a second region of a primary data volume are identified and a plurality of write operations to the primary data volume are tracked by tracking write operations to the first region utilizing a storage replication log and tracking write operations to the second region utilizing a storage replication change map. Thereafter, data associated with the plurality of write operations is replicated from the primary data volume to a secondary data volume utilizing at least one of the storage replication log and the storage replication change map.

Abstract: A client computer system of a cluster may send a request to create a file in a cluster file system. A server may create a file in response to the information and allocate space in a storage to the file. If a request to write to the file is received within a predetermined amount of time, the write may complete without requiring that additional operations be performed to allocate space to the file. If a write to the file is not received within the predetermined amount of time, the space allocated to the file when it was created may be de-allocated. The file system may additionally or alternatively perform a method for opening a file while delaying an associated truncation of space allocated to the file. If a request to write to the file is received within a predetermined amount of time, the write may be performed in the space already allocated to the file.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for replicating a data volume using a network appliance. In one embodiment, a first node transmits a first write-data transaction to a first data storage system and to the network appliance. A second node transmits a second write-data transaction to the first data storage device and to the network appliance. The network appliance transmits the first and second write-data transactions to a third node via a communication link for updating a replica of a data volume. The data volume is stored in the first data storage system and is updated with first and second data contained in the first and second write-data transactions, respectively. The replica of the data volume is stored in a second data storage system and is updated with the first and second data.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting file content similarity within a file system. The system may include a storage device configured to store a plurality of files and a file system configured to manage access to the storage device. The file system may be configured to compute a compressed size of at least a portion of a given file, and to store an indication of the compressed size in a named stream corresponding to the given file. In one specific implementation of the system, the file system may be further configured to determine a value of a file harmony metric from the compressed size of the concatenation of a first and second file and the compressed sizes of the first and second files, where the compressed sizes of the first and second files may be stored in a corresponding one of a plurality of respective named streams.

Abstract: A system and method for balancing input/output load for a plurality of storage devices, such as a plurality of disks. According to one embodiment of the method, accesses (e.g., read and/or write accesses) to chunks located on the storage devices may be monitored, where each chunk comprises one or more file system clusters. Data indicating a number of accesses to each chunk may be stored, and a list of most frequently used chunks may be determined based on the data. The most frequently used chunks may then be balanced across the plurality of storage devices.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that provides informed prefetching and enhanced memory utilization in a server cluster to improve failover and startup time of a resource group executed by a server cluster. When starting up or failing over a resource group on a given server, the method identifies information for prefetching, informs a file system executed by the server cluster of the identified information, accesses the identified information using the file system, and stores the identified information in main memory for use by the server in the server cluster in advance of when the server actually will need the identified information to failover or initiate resources. To enhance memory utilization the method also identifies pages in cache memory that are not needed for current services provided by a server. Generally these pages contain prefetched information that was already used at start up or failover of a resource group.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method and apparatus of balancing a load among a plurality of servers in a computer system. The method includes determining an estimated load value for an action as the action is being initiated, forwarding the estimated load value to a load balancer, and using the estimated load value to balance the load.

Abstract: A first read request is received from a computer system. Data from one mirror of a data volume is returned to the computer system in response to receiving the first read request. The computer system may check the returned data to determine whether it is corrupted. If corrupted, the computer system sends a second read request for the same data. Rather than returning the same corrupted data stored in the one mirror, a copy of the requested data is returned from an alternate mirror of the data volume.

Abstract: Methods and systems to access storage objects are provided. A reference to a storage object is used to determine a storage stack level associated with the reference. If the storage stack level is not the lowest level of a storage stack, then the reference is translated to a next stack level reference and passed through to a next stack level associated with the stack. References are translated and passed through iteratively until the lowest level of the stack is reached, wherein an absolute reference to the storage object is obtained and propagated back to an original referencing module, thereby providing access to the storage object.

Abstract: System and method for partial file migration in file systems by Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) applications. Embodiments may provide an automated mechanism for HSM applications to partially migrate files by migrating the inactive parts of the files to offline storage while leaving the active parts of the files on disk and active in the file system. In embodiments, access information including timestamps may be recorded and maintained at the subfile level to enable detection of inactivity at the subfile level and hence partial file migration by migrating only the inactive parts of files. The parts of files may be extents, blocks, or ranges. The access information may be recorded and maintained in-memory only, in a separate file on disk, or in extent descriptors for the files.

Abstract: A system and method for mail server backup. In one embodiment, the method may comprise storing one or more messages on a mail server, where each message is associated with an index time. The method may then perform a full backup by storing each message and a backup time associated with the full backup on a backup medium, and perform a partial backup by storing selected messages on the backup medium dependent upon a difference between the index time associated with each message and the backup time. In one embodiment the partial backup may be performed by backing up each message that includes an index time that is dated after the backup time. In a further embodiment, each message on the mail server is contained in a mail folder object, and storing the backup time may comprise modifying a data member of the mail folder object.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for adaptively implementing capabilities of a logical volume. If a particular capability is an inherent attribute of an existing storage device, the existing storage device is chosen to implement the volume. If the particular capability is not an inherent attribute of an existing storage device, one or more storage devices are selected and configured to provide the capability. If a capacity is requested for the logical volume and a storage device provides only a portion of the capacity, multiple storage devices having the capability are combined to provide the requested capability and capacity.

Abstract: System and method for maintaining temporal data in data storage at the logical device level. Embodiments of the temporal volume manager may provide an interface that allows applications and/or application agents to communicate with the temporal volume manager to manage and keep track of the temporal information on one or more temporal volumes. Embodiments may provide an infrastructure for applications that work on the history of data such as temporal databases, versioning file-systems/repositories, data archives, and streaming media to manage temporal data. In one embodiment, if an application does not want to use the temporal volume directly, application agents may be used to access the temporal volume. Embodiments may provide I/O controlled, application-controlled, and/or periodic checkpointing of temporal data on the temporal volume. One embodiment may provide a mechanism for generating temporal images (e.g.

Abstract: A method, system, language, and computer program product to enable a user to provide a high-level specification of storage requirements without having detailed knowledge of the underlying vendor-specific APIs and command line utilities for each possible storage device used to meet the storage requirements. The user does not specify how to implement the storage requirements. The system implements the high-level specification in hardware and/or software without further direction from the user.

Abstract: A method, system, computer system, and computer program product to support a distributed environment in which changes to data shared by multiple nodes are logged using private logs and managed by a coordinator. The coordinator recognizes invalidating operations and informs a reader when data need to be read again after an invalidating operation corrupted and/or caused the copy of the data read by the reader to be out-of-date. The coordinator can provide a location from which current valid data can be read. The coordinator can use an operations history to detect invalidating operations and operations trackers to determine when a node is not synchronized with the coordinator.