Patent ID: 7698334

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for distributing meta-data relating to a plurality of data containers in a striped volume set, comprising: striping the data containers across a plurality of volumes configured to form the striped volume set, wherein the plurality of volumes are stored across a plurality of computers with each computer storing at least one volume and wherein each volume is a logical arrangement of a plurality of storage devices; storing a canonical copy of the meta-data of each of the plurality of data containers in the striped volume set in a meta-data volume, wherein the canonical copy of the meta-data comprises an access control list; organizing the meta-data into a plurality of categories, wherein a first category comprises meta-data that changes for every data access request served by the striped volume set, and wherein a second category comprises meta-data that is read for every data access request served by the striped volume set; and designating each data volume as a container attribute volume for at least one data container in the striped volume set, wherein the container attribute volume comprises the meta-data of the first category and the second category, and wherein the container attribute volume serves as a first tier caching and distribution point within the striped volume set.