A method for copying a logical volume in a data storage system includes forming a first logical volume, storing in physical storage of the data storage system a quantity of data of the first logical volume, and receiving a first command to copy the first logical volume to a second logical volume. In response to the first command, meta-data is formed having a size that is independent of the quantity of the data. In response to a second command to access the data, the meta-data is used to access the data.