Patent ID: 7120654

Claim:
A system, comprising: a storage area network (SAN) including a SAN channel; and a plurality of computing devices linked to the SAN channel, including a first host and a second host; wherein the first host is configured to: initiate a replication of a file, wherein the file is managed by the second host, wherein to initiate the replication, the first host is further configured to send to the second host a request for SAN-relative extent information indicating a location of a primary version of the file; receive the SAN-relative extent information from the second host; generate local extent information from the SAN-relative extent information, wherein the local extent information comprises a storage element identifier relative to the first host; and complete the replication of the file using the local extent information, wherein, to compete the replication of the file, the first host is further configured to: retrieve at least a portion of the primary version using the local extent information; and select a target physical storage location within a backup storage element of the SAN at which to store a replica of the at least a portion of the primary version in accordance with a policy manager, wherein the policy manager is configured to designate a storage element of the SAN as the backup storage element based at least in part on a security of a physical location of the storage element.