Patent ID: 8296599

Claim:
A method comprising: detecting a failure of a first server node of a plurality of server nodes, wherein the first server node comprises a first set of lock status data associated with a first lock, and the first lock grants a first client of a plurality of clients exclusive access to data stored on a server storage device; in response to the detecting, transferring the first set of lock status data to a second server node of the plurality of server nodes, and refusing lock requests from at least one of the plurality of clients, wherein the lock requests are sent to the plurality of server nodes, and the plurality of server nodes implement a plurality of lock servers, and terminating operation of the plurality of lock servers; sending a reclaim notification to the first client from the second server node, wherein the reclaim notification informs the first client that the first server node is unavailable; receiving a reclaim lock request from the first client; and in response to the receiving of the reclaim lock request, granting, to the first client, the first lock, wherein the granting is based on the reclaim lock request.