Patent ID: 7827137

Claim:
A method of seeding replication comprising: selecting one or more but not all files stored on a deduplicated storage system to be replicated; determining a plurality of segments referred to by the selected one or more but not all files, wherein a set of one or more segments of the plurality of segments are used to reconstruct a file of the one or more but not all files; creating a data structure that is used to indicate that at least the plurality of segments are to be replicated; selecting a candidate segment; and determining whether an indication indicates that the candidate segment stored on the deduplicating storage system is to be replicated, wherein the indication is based at least in part on the data structure; in the event that the indication indicates that the candidate segment stored is to be replicated, replicating the candidate segment; and selecting a next candidate segment, wherein the next candidate segment is selected based at least in part on proximity in a storage system to the selected candidate segment.