METHOD FOR ACCESSING DISTRIBUTED FILE SYSTEM

• US 20090228496A1
• Filed: 05/08/2009
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nakatani, Yoji, Iwasaki, Masaaki, Enko, Yutaka
• Application Number:
  US12/437,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20090228496A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

In order to access a distributed file system (DFS) of the present invention using a conventional protocol such as the one for an NFS or a CIFS without making a modification on a client side, a gateway unit for receiving a conventional protocol and performing processing in conformity the protocol is provided for a DFS server. The gateway unit emulates a directory structure in a file system such as the NFS or CIFS. When the DFS is a write-once read-many file system, update processing is converted into processing for creating a new generation file, and reference processing is converted into access to a latest generation file in a generation-managed file group. The gateway unit then accesses a DFS file via a DFS processing unit.

Claims

1. A distributed file system (DFS) comprising:

a plurality of DFS servers coupled to a network, for distributing a file for storage; and

a gateway unit for converting a protocol for accessing a centralized file system into a protocol capable of accessing the distributed file to access the distributed file;

wherein at least one of the DFS servers is provided with the gateway unit.

2. The distributed file system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway unit creates a request for the distributed file system from a request for the centralized file system, thereby accessing the distributed file system, and creates a result of the request for the centralized file system from a result of the request for the distributed file system, using the protocol for the centralized file system.

3. The distributed file system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway unit receives the request for making access in the centralized file system having a directory structure and accesses the distributed file system not having the directory structure, a file in the centralized file system being identified by a location of a directory in which the file resides and a unique file name in the directory, while the file in the distributed file system being identified by an identifier uniquely assigned in the distributed file system irrespective of a location of the file.