Patent ID: 9244969
Filing Date: 2016-01-26
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A method for mounting virtual machine disks, comprising: receiving, from a client, a request to access a virtual machine disk in a first repository in a first virtual server of a plurality of virtual servers, wherein the plurality of virtual servers including a plurality of virtual machine disks, wherein the first repository including a first portion of the virtual machine disks; providing, by the first virtual server, access to the first repository in response to the access request from the client; receiving, from the client, a selection of a virtual machine disk from the first repository in response to client access the first repository; determining, by the first virtual server, whether the selected virtual machine disk is located in the first repository using a network database, wherein the network database includes location information of the virtual machine disks; sending, by the first virtual server, the selected virtual machine disk to the client when the first virtual server determines that the selected virtual machine disk is located in the first repository; sending, by the first virtual server, a file level referral redirecting the client to a second repository in a second virtual server of the plurality of servers when the first virtual server determines that the selected virtual machine disk is not located in the first repository, wherein the file level referral comprises a file stub that includes file level function information describing a link between the virtual machine disks on the first and second virtual servers not visible to the client; receiving, by the first virtual server, the selected virtual machine disk from the second repository in response to an access request from the client using the file level referral; and sending, by the first virtual server, the selected virtual machine disk received from the second repository to the client.