Novell, Inc.

Cort D Ouderkirk

Nicholas Huston Franklin

Ted Kelly Bradford

An automatic volume block resizer for automatically resizing a volume in a disk drive system. The original volume includes original volume blocks each having an original volume block size, and the resized volume including new volume blocks each having a new volume block size. The volume block resizer comprises means for automatically aligning files contiguously on new volume block boundaries and means for redefining the volume for use with the new volume block size. The file aligning means comprises means for moving original volume blocks to available locations on the volume to create disk space equivalent to the new volume block size and to store the files on the new volume block boundaries. The files are stored contiguously; that is, they are defragmented as they are realigned onto the new volume block boundaries. The realignment is performed through the manipulation of original volume blocks of data. Also, an original file allocation table and a directory entry table are maintained throughout the volume resizing process to provide a recovery mechanism should the volume resizer be unable to complete resizing the volume. In addition, a new file allocation table is maintained during the resizing process. Once completed, the volume defining means comprises means for updating volume definition tables and partition information on the disk drive system with the new file allocation table and updated directory entry table reflecting the new volume block size. In one embodiment, the realigned and defragmented files include only files having a size equal to or greater than the new volume block size. The files and ending data fragments smaller than the new volume block size are suballocated. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the new volume block size is selected by the system administrator from a plurality of possible volume block sizes.

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Provo, UT, United States of America

Cort D Ouderkirk