Patent ID: 8402250

Claim:
In a network of distributed data filers, a method for client-side deduplication (dedup) of data file information, the method comprising: a client device calculating a hash group for each block of data in a first file, where the hash group comprises a hash of the data performed using a plurality of hash protocols; the client device sending the calculated hash groups and first file metadata to a network-connected first host comprising a first metadata service (MDS) and a first data node (DN); the first MDS creating a first file map comprising a target address in the first DN, associated with each block of data; and the first MDS comparing the calculated hash groups to hash groups associated with stored blocks of data in a global dedup hash table which cross-references the hash group for each block of data stored in a distributed network of hosts to stored block addresses, wherein the first MDS of the first host sends the first file map to the client device with directions not to send a block of data associated with a matching group (matching data block) for storage if a hash group match is found.