Patent ID: 7895247

Claim:
A method for determining the usage of space in a database, comprising: storing, by a first database server, a first set of space usage data that identifies a first amount of free space remaining in a database for storing additional database data; said first database server making multiple sets of changes to said database, wherein in response to making each set of changes of said multiple sets of changes, updating said first set of space usage data; retrieving, from one or more second database servers, a second set of space usage data, that identifies a second amount of free space associated with the database; wherein the first set of space usage data is separate and distinct from the second set of space usage data; while said first database server is making multiple sets of changes, said second database server making multiple sets of changes to said database, wherein in response to making each set of changes of said multiple sets of changes, updating said second set of space usage data; updating the first set of space usage data with the second set of space usage data; and evaluating the usage of space in the database based on the updated first set of space usage data, wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.