apply a data access lock to data on a secondary storage device where a lock applying error is reported at the secondary storage device or devices when attempting to write or apply a data access lock then a transient condition is assumed to have occurred and possibly to have been caused by an improper access procedure for example direct access of the secondary by a workstation accordingly the error is ignored processing continues as if the failure had not occurred and an error is logged for later inspection by a system administrator where the system comprises multiple secondary drives the data access lock is applied or attempted on the other secondary drives lock applying errors encountered while attempting to remove a data access lock from a primary storage device where a lock applying error is reported at the primary storage device or devices when attempting to remove a data access lock then a lock applying failure should be reported back to the client or workstation source of the write towards the objective of facilitating continuous processing the ability to redirect processing to a surviving secondary drive after the loss of a primary it is desirable that the data replication software in addition to replicating writes also track reads and mirror read positioning on the secondary drive in order to be properly positioned in the correct data category of a large file when resuming processing.