Patent ID: 7660834

Claim:
A method, comprising: providing a plurality of storage pools including one active-only storage pool, wherein each storage pool includes files, wherein the active-only storage pool is intended to include only active files and not inactive versions of files, and wherein the active-only storage pool includes at least a first aggregate including a plurality of files, wherein the files in the first aggregate are maintained in a sequential ordering; deactivating one file in the first aggregate in the active only storage pool to produce an inactive version of the file, wherein the first aggregate includes the inactive version of the file; determining inactive versions of files in the first aggregate; generating a second aggregate in the active only storage pool including the active files from the first aggregate in the sequential ordering of the first aggregate and not including the determined inactive versions of files from the first aggregate, wherein the second aggregate replaces the first aggregate in the active-only storage pool, wherein files are stored sequentially in the first and second aggregates in a manner in which data is stored in a sequential access storage device, and wherein the active versions of the files in the first aggregate storage pool are written in the sequential ordering of the first aggregate to the second aggregate such that the active version of the files are stored sequentially in the second aggregate; copying the first aggregate to a copy of the first aggregate in an additional storage pool of the plurality of storage pools, wherein the copy maintains the determined inactive version of files in the first aggregate; and maintaining aggregate information for the first aggregate, wherein the information for the first aggregates indicates the first aggregate identifier, a number of files in the first aggregate, and a size of the first or second aggregate, wherein the first aggregate is located in the active-only storage pool and the additional storage pool.