Control of multiple layer aggregation logical volume management data and boot record

A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-readable program code for handling input/output (“I/O”) requests and transactions to multiple-layer aggregated logical volumes of computer-readable media in a computer system, said logical volumes having a plurality of computer-readable media partitions aggregated into a single computer-readable entity by one or more aggregators, and said logical volume containing an extended boot record (“EBR”) for describing the construct of the logical volume, said EBR being stored in a partition of the logical volume, wherein the program code when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps of:

• providing a logical volume manager function responsive to I/O requests to said multiple layer logical volume;
• creating a plurality of logical volume manager (“LVM”) data areas within said multiple-layer logical volume, each said partition containing an LVM data area and each said aggregator having an LVM data area;
• setting a first EBR present flag in the LVM data area corresponding to the partition in which said EBR is stored;
• setting a second EBR present flag in the LVM data area corresponding to the aggregator for the partition in which the first EBR present flag was found;
• setting additional EBR present flags in the LVM data areas corresponding to the aggregators for the aggregator in which the second EBR present flag is set until the topmost aggregator is reached such that the partition containing the LVM data area having the first EBR present flag may be quickly and efficiently found by following the path of EBR present flags set in the LVM data areas of the aggregators which aggregate the partition.

A system for creating and managing multiple layer aggregation logical volumes of computer-readable media in a computer, said logical volumes comprising a plurality of computer-readable partitions and a plurality of partition aggregators, said computer having a said system comprising:

• at least one computer-readable media device having at least one processor capable of executing computer software, said computer being interfaced to at least one computer readable media device or devices computer-readable media partition, said system comprising:
• a multi-layer logical volume manager which allows multiple layers of aggregations of said computer-readable media partitions by multiple aggregators to be combined logically accessible as a single entity by said computer processor and software being executed by said computer processor;
• a plurality of logical volume management (“LVM”) data areas, one each disposed in each partition of said multi-layer logical volume, and one each associated with each aggregator of said multi-layer logical volume;
• a fake extended boot record (“EBR”) disposed in one of said partitions, said fake EBR containing indicators compatible with standard computer system disk utility functions, said indicators containing a indication of multiple layer logical volume construction for the logical volume;
• a plurality of flags disposed in LVM data areas associated with the partition containing the fake EBR and disposed in each LVM data area associated with each aggregator of said partition such that the location of the fake EBR may be quickly and efficiently found by searching said LVM data areas for said flags, and traversing a path formed by said flags from topmost aggregator to the partition in which the fake EBR is stored.