Patent ID: 8055629

Claim:
A method for making a data object stored in an archive immutable, comprising: receiving at least one first archive instruction to write the data object to an archive; writing the data object to the archive, responsive to receiving the at least one first archive instruction; receiving a second archive instruction to write a control file to the archive, only after the data object has been completely written to the archive, the control file being a different file than the data object; responsive to receiving the second archive instruction, determining whether the control file corresponds to an instruction that the data object should be rendered immutable; responsive to determining that the control file corresponds to the instruction that the data object should be rendered immutable, rendering the data object immutable within the archive, wherein receipt of the control file signals that the data object has been completely written to the archive, such that no further data of the data object is to be received for writing to the archive, and wherein prior to receipt of the control file, it is not known whether the data object is to be rendered immutable within the archive, both before and after the data object has been completely written to the archive.