Patent ID: 7155558

Claim:
A method for providing access to a raw data storage unit (DSU) in a computer system, the computer system comprising a computer, a system-formatted DSU containing a file system, the raw DSU having a unique identification (ID), and one or more data storage interfaces for providing one or more storage users within the computer with access to the system-formatted DSU and the raw DSU, the method comprising: creating a raw DSU mapping (RDM) file with a persistent name within the file system on the system-formatted DSU, the RDM containing the unique ID of the raw DSU and an indicator indicating that the file is a RDM; resolving the unique ID to a current name for the raw DSU; receiving an attempted access to the RDM file at a RDM offset; and sending a corresponding attempted access to the raw DSU at a raw DSU offset, the raw DSU offset corresponding to the RDM offset.