Patent Document ID: 20040117345
Application ID: 10665062
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for managing data, the method comprising the steps of: maintaining a plurality of persistent data items on persistent storage accessible to a plurality of nodes, the persistent data items including a particular data item stored at a particular location on said persistent storage; assigning exclusive ownership of each of the persistent data items to one of the nodes, wherein a particular node of said plurality of nodes is assigned exclusive ownership of said particular data item; when any node wants an operation performed that involves said particular data item, the node that desires the operation to be performed ships the operation to the particular node for the particular node to perform the operation on the particular data item as said particular data item resides at said particular location; while the first node continues to operate, reassigning ownership of the particular data item from the particular node to another node without moving the particular data item from said particular location on said persistent storage; after the reassignment, when any node wants an operation performed that involves said particular data item, the node that desires the operation to be performed ships the operation to said other node for the other node to perform the operation on the particular data item as said particular data item resides at said particular location.