Patent ID: 8108713

Claim:
A method comprising: connecting a first portable user computer to a second portable user computer via a data link; and the first portable user computer establishing a recovered data storage system with the second portable user computer based on a determined unavailability of a distributed storage system having multiple storage locations, the establishing including: identifying a first group of stored data elements to the second portable user computer, the first group of stored data elements having been stored in the first portable user computer based on replication thereof throughout the distributed storage system to a first group of the multiple storage locations including the first portable user computer, and receiving from the second portable user computer an identification of a second group of stored data elements having been stored in the second portable user computer based on the replication thereof throughout the distributed storage system to a second group of the multiple storage locations including the second portable user computer, the recovered data storage system based on the first and second groups of stored data elements.