US Patent 9563521 Data transfers between cluster instances with delayed log file flush

Techniques for processing changes in a cluster database system are provided. A first instance in the cluster transfers a data block to a second instance in the cluster before a redo record that stores one or more changes that the first instance made to the data block is durably stored. The first instance also transfers, to the second instance, a block change timestamp that indicates when a redo record for the one or more changes was generated by the first instance. The first instance also separately sends, to the second instance, a last store timestamp that indicates when the last redo record that was durably stored was generated by the first instance. The block change timestamp and the last store timestamp are used by the second instance when creating redo records for changes (made by the second instance) that depend on the redo record generated by the first instance.