An external request to perform a file operation within a resource manager is received. The resource manager selects a resource manager file identifier that is to be an attribute of a file associated with the file operation. The file operation and the resource manager file identifier are logged in a log entry of a log. Subsequent to logging the log entry, the log entry is accessed during a forward pass through the log, for example, during a roll-forward recovery. If it is determined that the resource manager file identifier in the log entry is assigned to the file, the first log entry is not processed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the resource manager file identifier in the log entry is not assigned to the file, the resource manager file identifier is selected to be assigned to a file when the first log entry is processed.