Patent ID: 7685109

Claim:
A searchable data service system, comprising: a plurality of computer devices configured to implement a searchable data service, wherein the searchable data service is configured to process query requests from client applications to locate searchable data service objects stored in respective searchable indexes that satisfy the query requests, wherein each searchable data service object specifies one or more attributes of a particular entity in a particular one of a plurality of independent data stores on one or more storage devices each on a network and separate from the plurality of computer devices that implement the searchable data service, wherein each searchable index stores searchable data service objects for a particular one of the plurality of independent data stores, and wherein the attributes include a unique entity identifier for locating the particular entity in the particular data store; wherein the searchable data service comprises a plurality of storage nodes each configured to: persistently store on the storage node a partition of one of the plurality of searchable indexes, wherein the partition is configured to store a set of the searchable data service objects stored in the respective searchable index; and repartition the partition to generate two or more new partitions on the storage node, wherein each of the two or more new partitions includes a different subset of the set of searchable data service objects stored in the original partition; wherein each partition of the searchable index is movable to a different storage node; and wherein each partition of the searchable index is replicable to one or more others of the storage nodes.