FILE SYSTEM ACCESS CONTROL BETWEEN MULTIPLE CLUSTERS

• US 20080071804A1
• Filed: 09/15/2006
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, Eugene, Gunda, Kalyan C.
• Application Number:
  US11/532,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071804A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1767 Concurrency control, e.g. optimistic or pessimistic approaches

Abstract

Disclosed are a method, information processing system, and computer readable medium for managing filesystem access control between a plurality of clusters. The method includes receiving, on a node in a home cluster, a request from a remote cluster. The request includes information to access a given filesystem managed by the node. The given filesystem is one of a plurality of filesystems in the home cluster. The information in the request is compared with a local data repository comprising data entries regarding the file system. In response to the information in the request matching the data entries in the file system, the remote cluster is granted access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

Claims

1. A method to manage filesystem access control between a plurality of clusters, the method on a node comprising:

receiving, on a node in a home cluster, a request from a remote cluster, the request including information to access a given filesystem managed by the node, wherein the given filesystem is one of a plurality of filesystems in the home cluster;

comparing the information in the request with a local data repository comprising data entries regarding the file system; and

in response to the information in the request matching the data entries in the file system, granting the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a first access right to the remote cluster for the given file system; and

assigning a second access right to at least one other remote cluster for the given file system.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

assigning a third access right to the remote cluster for at least one other filesystem in the plurality of filesystem.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system, denying the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the entries regarding the file system are entries within a table comprising access rights associated with at least one remote cluster.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system:

determining if the remote cluster is associated with at least one access right;

in response to the remote cluster being associated with at least one access right, determining that the request included an access right not granted to the remote cluster; and

allowing the request only for the access right associated with the remote cluster.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system:

determining if the remote cluster is associated with at least one access right;

in response to the remote cluster being associated with at least one access right, denying the request; and

notifying the remote cluster of that the request has been denied, wherein the notifying includes notifying the remote cluster of the access right associated with the remote cluster.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

dynamically changing at least one of the first access right assigned to the remote cluster and the second access right assigned to the other remote cluster; and

enforcing the at least one of first access right assigned which has been changed and the at least second access right which has been changed without the remote cluster re-mounting the given filesystem.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the information in the file request includes a name of the file system in the home cluster, at least one mount option, a name of the home cluster, and a name of the remote cluster.

10. A method to manage file system access control between a plurality of clusters, the method on a first node comprising:

coupling a data repository within a first cluster defining at least one remote cluster with permission to mount at least one remotely accessible file system that is a subset within a plurality of file systems in the first cluster;

receiving from a second node within a requesting remote cluster a request to mount the remotely accessible file system;

determining, based upon contents of the data repository, a permission of any node within the requesting remote cluster to mount the remotely accessible filesystem; and

permitting, in response to the determining, a mounting of the at least one remotely accessible file system by the second node.

11. An information processing system in a distributed processing cluster system for managing filesystem access control between a plurality of clusters, the information processing system comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory; and

a filesystem access manager communicatively coupled to the memory and processor, wherein the filesystem access manager is for;

receiving a request from a remote cluster, the request including information to access a given filesystem managed by a node, wherein the given filesystem is one of a plurality of filesystems in a home cluster;

comparing the information in the request with a local data repository comprising data entries regarding the file system; and

in response to the information in the request matching the data entries in the file system, granting the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

12. The information processing system of claim 11, wherein the filesystem access manager is further for:

assigning a first access right to the remote cluster for the given file system; and

assigning a second access right to at least one other remote cluster for the given file system.

13. The information processing system of claim 12, wherein the filesystem access manager is further for:

assigning a third access right to the remote cluster for at least one other filesystem in the plurality of filesystem.

14. The information processing system of claim 12, wherein the filesystem access manager is further for:

in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system, denying the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

15. The information processing system of claim 12, wherein in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system:

determining if the remote cluster is associated with at least one access right;

in response to the remote cluster being associated with at least one access right, determining that the request included an access right not granted to the remote cluster; and

allowing the request only for the access right associated with the remote cluster.

16. A computer readable medium for managing filesystem access control between a plurality of clusters, the computer readable medium comprising instructions for:

receiving a request from a remote cluster, the request including information to access a given filesystem managed by a node, wherein the given filesystem is one of a plurality of filesystems in a home cluster;

comparing the information in the request with a local data repository comprising data entries regarding the file system; and

in response to the information in the request matching the data entries in the file system, granting the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions for:

assigning a first access right to the remote cluster for the given file system; and

assigning a second access right to at least one other remote cluster for the given file system.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for:

assigning a third access right to the remote cluster for at least one other filesystem in the plurality of filesystem.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for:

in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system, denying the remote cluster access permission to the file managed by the node in the home cluster.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein in response to the information in the request failing to match the data entries in the file system:

determining if the remote cluster is associated with at least one access right;

in response to the remote cluster being associated with at least one access right, determining that the request included an access right not granted to the remote cluster; and

allowing the request only for the access right associated with the remote cluster.