Patent ID: 8010498
Filing Date: 2011-08-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. At least one computer-readable storage medium including an article of manufacture that stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising: replicating all directory structure of a file system of the computer from a primary volume of the computer to each of at least one secondary volume, wherein the directory structure identifies each of a plurality of files stored in the file system on the primary volume, and wherein, in response to the replicating all the directory structure, all of the directory structure of the file system is replicated on each of the at least one secondary volume; replicating all file metadata of the file system from the primary volume to the each of the at least one secondary volume, wherein the file metadata describes the each of the plurality of files stored in the file system on the primary volume, and wherein, in response to the replicating all the file metadata, all of the file metadata of the file system is replicated on each of the at least one secondary volume; ghosting, in response to the replicatings, file data of the file system from the primary volume to one of the at least one secondary volume, wherein the ghosted file data comprises a subset of files of the plurality of files stored in the file system on the primary volume, and wherein the ghosting comprises replicating the subset of files to the at least one secondary volume and removing the replicated subset of files from the primary volume and adding a unique reparse point to the primary volume for each of the replicated subset of files, and wherein each unique reparse point is stamped with hints that identify the at least one secondary volume as storing the ghosted file data; requesting from the primary volume one of the subset of files; unghosting, in response to the requesting, the one of the subset of files, wherein the unghosting includes copying the one of the subset of files from the one of the at least one secondary volume to the primary volume, and wherein the copying is based on the hints stamped on the unique reparse point of the one of the subset of files; and providing, in response to the requesting, the unghosted one of the subset of files from the primary volume.