Patent ID: 7809693
Filing Date: 2010-10-05
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A system, comprising: a storage operating system executed by a processor on a first storage system, the storage operating system configured to detect a failed volume served by the first storage system; means for detecting the failed volume served by the first storage system, the first storage system executing the storage operating system; means for replacing the failed volume with a sparse volume served by the first storage system, wherein the sparse volume comprises at least one pointer of a buffer tree referencing data that is not stored locally on a volume served by the first storage system; means for storing volume infrastructure metadata within the sparse volume, wherein the volume infrastructure metadata is copied from a second storage system; means for marking the at least one pointer of the buffer tree within the sparse volume with a pointer value, wherein the pointer value identifies that the data referenced by the at least one pointer of the buffer tree is stored on a volume served by the second storage system; means for waiting until the data referenced by the at least one pointer of the buffer tree within the sparse volume is requested by scanning the at least one pointer of the buffer tree; and means for receiving a request for the data referenced by the at least one pointer of the buffer tree marked with the pointer value and copying, in response to receiving the request, the data referenced by the at least one pointer from the second storage system to the sparse volume.