Patent ID: 7031987

Claim:
A method for database systems to access data from other database systems, the method comprising the steps of: a first database system directly storing first database records in first data blocks having a first data block size; concurrently with said first database system directly storing first database records in first data blocks having a first data block size, said first database system directly accessing a copy of second data blocks in which a second database system directly stored second database records; said second data blocks having at least one data block with a second data block size different than said first data block size; wherein each block of said first data blocks and of said second data blocks is an atomic unit of storage space allocated within a file to store one or more records of a database; the first database system generating metadata that specifies a plurality of block sizes for data blocks directly accessible to said first database system; wherein said metadata defines tablespaces and specifies for each tablespace of said tablespaces a particular data block size for data blocks in said tablespace; integrating said copy of said second data blocks within said first data base system as at least one tablespace that includes said copy of said second data blocks; and wherein the step of integrating includes modifying said metadata to reflect said second data block size for said at least one tablespace.