Patent ID: 7739245

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a request for exclusive access to a first set of data, wherein the first set of data is associated with a first lock of a plurality of locks, a first block comprises the plurality of locks, and each lock of the plurality of locks in the first block is associated with a respective set of data; obtaining exclusive access to the first block, wherein said obtaining exclusive access to the first block comprises a block agent sending a single message to a block master, and the single message comprises a request to change an access level for all locks of the plurality of locks in the first block; and granting exclusive access to a plurality of sets of data associated with a respective plurality of the locks in the first block, wherein said granting exclusive access to the plurality of sets of data associated with the respective plurality of locks occurs subsequent to said obtaining exclusive access to the first block, and said granting exclusive access is performed by the block agent, wherein said receiving, said obtaining, and said granting are performed by at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor are executing instructions to implement a block agent.