Patent ID: 7818536

Claim:
A method of processing a transaction that comprises storing a plurality of content units on at least one storage system in a computer system comprising at least one host and the at least one storage system, wherein the at least one storage system comprises a plurality of zones, wherein each content unit stored on the at least one storage system is associated with an object identifier that includes at least a portion that is used to map to one of the plurality of zones on the at least one storage system on which the corresponding content unit is to be stored, and wherein the method comprises acts of: sending, to the at least one storage system, a first request to store a first of the plurality of content units in the transaction, the first request comprising the first of the plurality of content units and a first identifier that comprises at least a portion of the object identifier for the first of the plurality of content units and maps to a first one of the plurality of zones; receiving from the at least one storage system, in response to the first request, a second identifier that maps to a second one of the plurality of zones, different from the first one of the plurality of zones; and sending, to the at least one storage system, a response that responds to receipt of the second identifier.