Patent ID: 8099454

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of staging a file within a distributed computing system, the distributed computing system comprising a plurality of computers coupled for data communications through a data communications network, the distributed computing system further comprising files of computer data and computer program instructions for use by the computers, the computers comprising clients that use the files and servers capable of functioning as staging locations for files for use by the computers in the network, the method comprising: defining a topology of the network, the topology including a network hierarchy; mapping each computer to a network location in the topology of the network; selecting, in dependence upon the topology of the network and the network locations of the computers in the network, one or more servers on which to stage the file for use by clients in the network; and staging the file on the one or more selected servers, wherein selecting one or more servers on which to stage the file for use by clients in the network further comprises: identifying, for each client, in a plurality of clients that will use the file, a closest server within the topology of the network; counting a number of times that each identified closest server is identified as a closest server based on the plurality of clients that will use the file and the topology of the network; and selecting, for staging of the file, one or more closest servers based on the count of the number of times each identified closest server is identified as a closest server for clients in the plurality of clients that will use the file, wherein closest servers having higher counts are selected as closest servers.