Patent ID: 8589513

Claim:
A method for storing data about a group, comprising: storing, on at least one data storage system, group data if a device of said at least one data storage system is included in said group, wherein said group data includes information used in connection with describing the group, the information used in connection with describing the group including a group definition that defines attributes of the group; determining, using the group data, whether the group can have a remote mirror, said determining whether the group can have a remote mirror including determining if said device is associated with another device on a remote data storage system; and if the group can have the remote mirror, storing a remote mirror of said group data on said remote data storage system, wherein said group data on said at least one data storage system includes a data storage system identifier identifying said remote data storage system as a designated remote data storage system of the remote mirror and a first attribute denoting that the group has a remotely defined counterpart group on said remote data storage system, the first attribute being different from the data storage system identifier identifying said remote data storage system, and wherein said remote mirror of said group data on said remote data storage system includes a data storage system identifier identifying said at least one data storage system and a second attribute which is a complementary attribute of said first attribute and which denotes that said remote mirror is the remotely defined counterpart group on the remote data storage system, the second attribute being different from the data storage system identifier identifying said at least one data storage system.