Patent ID: 8073816

Claim:
A method for performing in-place conversion of a data-storage volume from a first format to a second format, comprising: determining if a conversion from the first format to the second format can be performed on the data-storage volume, comprising: identifying an inventory of desired features of the data-storage volume from a volume manifest; and determining compatibility of the desired features with the second format, comprising: querying the volume manifest for a status of the desired features, comprising: querying the volume manifest to identify features present in the first format; and querying a feature mapping table to identify features that are supported in the second format; determining whether respective desired features are supported in the second format; and determining whether the respective desired features are implemented differently in the second format; converting the data-storage volume from the first format to the second format if it is determined that a conversion from the first format to the second format can be performed on the data-storage volume, and blocking data requests for the data-storage volume prior to the converting; and performing post-conversion operations if the converting is completed in a desired manner comprising: unblocking the data-storage volume for data requests; and notifying client users that the data-storage volume is accessible.