Method and apparatus for identifying and eliminating duplicate data blocks and sharing data blocks in a storage system
US8849767B1 · kind B1 · utility
20Cited by
10References
28Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 2005 |
| Grant date | Sep 30, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 16, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0683
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for sharing data blocks in a hierarchical file system in a storage server includes allocating a plurality of data blocks in the file system, and sharing data blocks in the file system, without using a persistent point-in-time image, to avoid duplication of data blocks. A method for identifying data blocks that can be shared includes computing a fingerprint for each of multiple data blocks to be written to a storage facility and storing the fingerprint with information identifying the data block in an entry in a set of metadata. The set of metadata is used to identify data blocks which are duplicates.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.