Method and system utilizing data fragments for efficiently importing/exporting removable storage volumes

A virtual storage system comprising:

• a direct access storage device;
• a plurality of removable storage volumes, operatively coupled to said direct access storage device to receive data;
• and
• a storage manager, coupled to said direct access storage device and said plurality of removable storage volumes, wherein said storage manager writes a plurality of data fragments to the end of a removable storage volume prior to exporting said removable storage volume, each of said plurality of data fragments being a portion of a corresponding data file located in said removable storage volume, said portion including an identifier stub of said data file, said identifier stub being a copy of an identifier, of said data file, as written by a host using said data file.

A virtual storage system, comprising:

• a direct access storage device;
• a plurality of removable storage volumes, operatively coupled to said direct access storage device to receive data;
• and
• a storage manager, coupled to said direct access storage device and said plurality of removable storage volumes, wherein said storage manager reads a plurality of data fragments of a removable storage volume, each of said data fragments being a portion of a corresponding data file located in one of said removable storage volumes, said portion including an identifier stub of said data file, said identifier stub being a copy of an identifier, of said data file, as written by a host using said data file, wherein said storage manager is capable of updating a tape volume cache utilizing information contained in said plurality of data fragments without having to read each of said plurality of data files in said removable storage volume.

A method for formatting a data tape that allows for efficient importing/exporting of said data tape from a first virtual storage system to a second virtual storage system, said method comprising the steps of:

• writing a plurality of data files to said data tape;
• utilizing a plurality of filemarks to separate said plurality of data files from each other;
• and
• writing a plurality of data fragments at the end of said data tape, wherein each of said plurality of data fragments is a portion of a corresponding data file in said data tape, said portion including an identifier stub of said data file, said identifier stub being a copy of an identifier, of said data file, as written by a host using said data file, thus allowing said second virtual storage system to update a tape volume cache in said second virtual storage system without having to read any of said plurality of data files in said data tape.

A computer program product, comprising:

• a computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for implementing a method for efficiently importing/exporting a removable storage volume from a first virtual storage system to a second virtual storage system, said computer executable instructions when executed performing the steps of:
• writing a plurality of data fragments to the end of said removable storage volume used by said first virtual storage system, wherein each of said plurality of data fragments is a portion of a corresponding data file located in said removable storage volume, said portion including an identifier stub of said data file, said identifier stub being a copy of an identifier, of said data file, as written by a host using said data file;
• transferring said removable storage volume to said second virtual storage system;
• and
• updating a tape volume cache in said second virtual storage system utilizing said plurality of data fragments without having to read each of said plurality of data files.