Appeal No. 2002-1399
Application No. 09/121,254
BACKGROUND
The invention relates to a method for selectively controlling utilization of data
space in a “virtual tape system.” The method allows a user to designate whether data
can be deleted without any further action on the part of the user. Representative claim
1 is reproduced below.
1. A method for selectively controlling reutilization of data space in a virtual
tape system comprising:
a remote user selectively designating a particular data volume file for
automatic deletion by the virtual tape system after a predetermined expiration
date included as part of the data volume has elapsed, to allow the virtual tape
system to automatically reuse the storage space corresponding to the deleted
data without any further action by the user;
detecting if a received data volume file has been designated by the user;
and
prohibiting automatic deletion of the received data volume file from the
virtual tape system if the data volume file was not designated by the user.
The examiner relies on the following reference:
Yaker 6,137,864 Oct. 24, 2000
(filed Jul. 25, 1997)
-2-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007