US Patent 11693604 Administering storage access in a cloud-based storage system

Administering storage access in a cloud-based storage system includes: acquiring, by a first storage controller, in response to a protocol request for exclusive access to an area of storage, a first lease for the area of storage of the cloud-based storage system; and storing, by the first storage controller, a first identifier for the first lease in a predefined portion of the area of storage, where the predefined portion of the area of storage is accessible to a second storage controller.