File system preventing file fragmentation

• US 20050108296A1
• Filed: 04/30/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Mori, Toshiaki, Moriyama, Kenzo, Nakamura, Takaki
• Application Number:
  US10/834,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20050108296A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1724 Details of de-fragmentation performed by the file system saving storage space on storage systems G06F3/0608; management of blocks in storage devices G06F3/064

Abstract

In a file system capable of reserving a storage area, disk fragments can be prevented and an insufficient file system area is hard to occur. A response time of writing a small size file can be shortened. When a file is written, a file size is compared with a plurality of preset threshold values and reservation is executed at a reservation size corresponding to the file size. If the reservation is failed due to an insufficient file system capacity, the reservation is again executed at an actual I/O size to effectively use the file system area. If the file size does not reach the preset smallest threshold value, the reservation is again executed at the actual I/O size and the reservation release process for the file equal to or smaller than the smallest threshold value is skipped.

Claims

1. A file system capable of reserving a write area, wherein when a file write process is performed, a file size or a file offset of a file to be written is compared with a threshold value designated in advance, and in accordance with a comparison result, a reservation size of a write area is changed.

2. The file system according to claim 1, wherein when the file write process is performed and if the file size or the file offset of the file to be written is equal to or larger than the threshold value designated in advance, reservation is performed at a reservation size designated in advance, and if the file size or the file offset is smaller than the threshold value, reservation is performed at a write request size.

3. The file system according to claim 2, wherein if the reservation at said reservation size is failed due to an insufficient file system area, reservation is again performed at the write request size.

4. The file system according to claim 2, wherein when an unused area of a reserved area is released and if a file size of a file to be released is smaller than a threshold value designated in advance, a release process is intercepted, whereas if the file size is equal to or larger than the designated threshold value, the release process is continued.

5. The file system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of threshold values of a file size and a plurality of reservation files corresponding to said threshold values are designated, and if the file size of a file to be written does not reach any one of said threshold values, reservation is performed at the write request size, whereas if the file size of the file to be written reaches any one of said threshold values, reservation is performed at the reservation size corresponding to the hit threshold value.

6. The file system according to claim 5, wherein when an unused area of a reserved area is released and if a file size of a file to be released is smaller than a smallest threshold value among said plurality of threshold values, a release process is intercepted, whereas if the file size is equal to or larger than the smallest threshold value, the release process is continued.

7. The file system according to claim 1, wherein if a write start offset is equal to or larger than a sum of the file size of the file to be written and a value designated in advance, reservation is performed at the write request size or a second reservation size different from said reservation size designated in advance.

8. A kernel-user interface according to claim 1, wherein when a user designates a value, said value is reflected upon a corresponding field of a table where the threshold values and reservation sizes used by the file system are stored.

9. A kernel-user interface according to claim 1, wherein a user can refer to values in a table where the threshold values and reservation sizes used by the file system are stored.

10. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a processor, a main memory, an I/O controller, a disk controller, an auxiliary storage and a network card, the information processing apparatus installing the file system.

11. A file write method wherein a storage area of a storage is managed in a block unit having a constant size, and in response to a write request of a file, a reservation operation is performed to set a write reservation size or a write reservation block of the file to sequentially perform a write process, the file write method comprises:

a first judgement procedure of comparing a file offset of the file to be written with a threshold value designated in advance for the file offset; and

a second judgement procedure of comparing a file size of the file to be written with a threshold value designated in advance for the file size,

said reservation operation is executed at a first reservation size designated in advance, if said first judgement procedure judges that the threshold value is hit, said reservation operation is executed at a second reservation size designated in advance, if said second judgement procedure judges that the threshold value is hit, and said reservation operation is executed at a write request size if both said first and second judgement procedures do not hit the threshold values.