Patent ID: 8677039

Claim:
For use in a storage network operable with a block mode access storage protocol, a method for operating a compression system operatively coupled with at least one computing device and at least one storage logical unit configured to store compressed data, said method comprising: creating in the storage logical unit a corresponding virtual logical unit configured to virtually represent, in non-compressed form, the data stored in the storage logical unit, wherein a size of the virtual logical unit corresponds to an estimated size of raw data which, being compressed, would substantially amount to a size of the storage logical unit; mapping the compressed data stored in the compressed sections and their representation in the virtual logical unit; receiving requests to “read a given data range” from the at least one computing device, the requests addressed to the storage logical unit; intercepting the “read given data range” requests prior to the storage logical unit receiving the requests; addressing the intercepted “read given data range” requests to the virtual logical unit such that the intercepted “read given data range” requests are received by the virtual logical unit instead of received by the storage logical unit; and reading a data range corresponding to the given data range from the virtual logical unit.