Patent ID: 8386744

Claim:
A method for migrating data to a mass storage system including a cache memory and a long-term memory, comprising: receiving, by a controller, an incoming data partition for storage in the mass storage system; allocating, by the controller, logical storage for the incoming data partition in the mass storage system; analyzing, by the controller, the incoming data partition, wherein if the incoming data partition includes only zero data: logically defining the incoming data partition, creating a partition data record (PDR) for the incoming partition, and providing a logical address for the incoming data partition without ever allocating physical storage space in the long-term memory, wherein the PDR is utilized to generate a partition comprising only zeroes when a request to read the incoming partition is received; and transmitting, by the controller, an acknowledgment to a management node in response to determining that the incoming data partition includes only zero data, the acknowledgement indicating that the incoming data partition has been migrated to the mass storage system while no physical space has been allocated.