Seamless remote traversal of multiple NFSv4 exported file systems

• US 20060106827A1
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hsiao, Duen-wen, Brown, William Boyd, Burnett, Rodney Carlton
• Granted Patent: US 7,389,298 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method for transparently navigating through exported file system namespaces on a server using a single mount. When an exported file system is mounted onto a client, the client creates a file system ID structure for the exported file system, wherein the file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a file system ID. The client also creates an internal virtual file system structure for the exported file system ID structure, wherein the internal virtual file system structure includes a virtual file system ID. Once the file system and virtual file system structures are created, the client links the file system objects created within the mount to the file system ID structure until a user moves from one exported file system to a second exported file system and a new file system ID is detected.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for seamlessly traversing multiple exported file systems transparently using a single network mount, comprising:

mounting an exported file system onto a client;

creating a file system ID structure for the exported file system, wherein the file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a file system ID;

creating an internal virtual file system structure for the exported file system ID structure, wherein the internal virtual file system structure includes a virtual file system ID; and

linking file system objects created within the single network mount to the file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that a user on the client has moved from one exported file system to a second exported file system, creating a second exported file system ID structure for the second exported file system, wherein the second file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the second exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a second file system ID;

creating a second internal virtual file system structure for the second exported file system ID structure, wherein the second internal virtual file system structure includes a second virtual file system ID; and

linking file system objects created within the mount to the second file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second file system ID structure inherits all of the user tunable properties from the file system ID structure.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user tunable properties include access control information.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the user tunable properties are selectively controlled on a per file system ID structure basis using path names to objects within the file system ID.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual file system ID is used to uniquely describe objects within a mounted file system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual file system ID allows for distinguishing objects in different server file systems encountered on the client.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording parent information in the exported file system ID structure, wherein recording the parent information allows the client to service a request to traverse a file namespace backwards to a root of the single network mount.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the recorded parent information in the exported file system ID structure includes a pathname to the exported file system ID structure'"'"'s root.

10. A system for seamlessly traversing multiple exported file systems transparently using a single network mount, comprising:

a bus system;

a communications unit connected to the bus, wherein data is sent and received using the communications unit;

a memory connected to the bus system, wherein a set of instructions are located in the memory; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processor unit executes the set of instructions, wherein the set of instructions mounts an exported file system onto a client;

creates a file system ID structure for the exported file system, wherein the file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a file system ID;

creates an internal virtual file system structure for the exported file system ID structure, wherein the internal virtual file system structure includes a virtual file system ID; and

links file system objects created within the single network mount to the file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions further creates a second exported file system ID structure for the second exported file system in response to a determination that a user on the client has moved from one exported file system to a second exported file system, wherein the second file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the second exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a second file system ID;

creates a second internal virtual file system structure for the second exported file system ID structure, wherein the second internal virtual file system structure includes a second virtual file system ID; and

links file system objects created within the mount to the second file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the second file system ID structure inherits all of the user tunable properties from the file system ID structure.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user tunable properties include access control information.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the user tunable properties are selectively controlled on a per file system ID structure basis using path names to objects within the file system ID.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the virtual file system ID is used to uniquely describe objects within a mounted file system.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the virtual file system ID allows for distinguishing objects in different server file systems encountered on the client.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions further records parent information in the exported file system ID structure, wherein recording the parent information allows the client to service a request to traverse a file namespace backwards to a root of the single network mount.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the recorded parent information in the exported file system ID structure includes a pathname to the exported file system ID structure'"'"'s root.

19. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for seamlessly traversing multiple exported file systems transparently using a single network mount, comprising:

first instructions for mounting an exported file system onto a client;

second instructions for creating a file system ID structure for the exported file system, wherein the file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a file system ID;

third instructions for creating an internal virtual file system structure for the exported file system ID structure, wherein the internal virtual file system structure includes a virtual file system ID; and

fourth instructions for linking file system objects created within the single network mount to the file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

fifth instructions for creating a second exported file system ID structure for the second exported file system in response to a determination that a user on the client has moved from one exported file system to a second exported file system, wherein the second file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the second exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a second file system ID;

sixth instructions for creating a second internal virtual file system structure for the second exported file system ID structure, wherein the second internal virtual file system structure includes a second virtual file system ID; and

seventh instructions for linking file system objects created within the mount to the second file system ID structure until a new file system ID is encountered.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the second file system ID structure inherits all of the user tunable properties from the file system ID structure.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the user tunable properties include access control information.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the user tunable properties are selectively controlled on a per file system ID structure basis using path names to objects within the file system ID.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the virtual file system ID is used to uniquely describe objects within a mounted file system.

25. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the virtual file system ID allows for distinguishing objects in different server file systems encountered on the client.

26. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

fifth instructions for recording parent information in the exported file system ID structure, wherein recording the parent information allows the client to service a request to traverse a file namespace backwards to a root of the single network mount.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the recorded parent information in the exported file system ID structure includes a pathname to the exported file system ID structure'"'"'s root.

28. A method in a data processing system for navigating through multiple exported file systems transparently using a single network mount, comprising:

mounting a first exported file system onto a client;

determining that a user on the client has traversed from a first exported file system into a second exported file system;

creating a file system ID structure for the second exported file system, wherein the file system ID structure is populated with unique properties of the second exported file system, and wherein the unique properties include a file system ID; and

retrieving file system wide data for each file system ID, wherein the file system wide data is retrieved by performing operations on an individual file system object associated with a file system ID.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the determining step is performed by detecting a change in major and minor device numbers.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the user on the client is bound by the settings provided for each individual file system ID.