Patent ID: 8898428

Claim:
A method for accessing host data records stored in a virtual tape storage (VTS) system, the method comprising: building a mapping table that comprises a plurality of entries, wherein each entry includes a physical block ID (PBID) correlated to a starting logical block ID (SLBID) stored to the VTS system, wherein the mapping table is created while a logical volume is being copied to sequential access storage media of the VTS system; receiving a mount request to access at least one host data record in the VTS system, the mount request including at least: a block count field indicating a number of physical blocks to return; and a block size field indicating a size of each physical block; determining a SLBID that corresponds to the at least one requested host data record; determining a PBID that corresponds to the SLBID; accessing a physical block on a sequential access storage medium corresponding to the PBID; and outputting at least the physical block corresponding to the PBID without outputting an entire logical volume that the physical block is stored to.