US Patent 7904466 Presenting differences in a file system

An embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus and method for presenting differences in a file system. In an embodiment, an application programming interface receives a request from a host, where the request is for a listing of changes in the file system within a time interval. A comparison unit determines each metadata container that has changed in the file system within the time interval. The application programming interface buffers at least one identifier that corresponds to a metadata container that has changed in the file system within the time interval. The application programming interface packages and transmits the at least one identifier to the host. The at least one identifier is readable on the host.