VIRTUAL FILE-SHARING NETWORK

• US 20100169392A1
• Filed: 03/15/2010
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Actona Technologies Limited (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zach, Idan, Kaminsky, Daniel, Glixman, Shahar, Bortnikov, Vita, LEV RAN, Etai, Ben Kiki, Danit, Ben Shaul, Israel Z., Cidon, Israel
• Granted Patent: US 9,547,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/827
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1774 Locking methods, e.g. locking methods for file systems allowing shared and concurrent access to files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/192 Implementing virtual folder structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A method for enabling access to a data resource, which is held on a file server (25) on a first local area network (LAN) (21a), by a client (28) on a second LAN (21b). A proxy receiver (48) on the second LAN (21b) intercepts a request for the data resource submitted by the client (28) and transmits a message via a wide area network (WAN) (29) to a proxy transmitter (52) on the first LAN (21a), requesting the data resource. The proxy transmitter (52) retrieves a replica of the data resource from the file server (25) and conveys the replica of the data resource over the WAN (29) to the proxy receiver (48), which serves the replica of the data resource from the proxy receiver (48) to the client (28) over the second LAN (21b).

Claims

1. A method for enabling access to data resources held on a file server on a first local area network (LAN) by a client on a second LAN, the method comprising, at a proxy receiver on the second LAN:

receiving, from a proxy transmitter on the first LAN, metadata read by the proxy transmitter from the file server and transmitted to the proxy receiver via a wide area network (WAN); and

based on the metadata, constructing at the proxy receiver a directory of the data resources on the file server, for use by the client in accessing the data resources.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the metadata includes file attributes of the data resources, which file attributes are stored in a directory object on the file server, and wherein receiving the metadata comprises receiving the file attributes read by the proxy transmitter from the directory object.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data resources comprise files, and wherein the metadata includes file attributes that are stored in the files, and wherein receiving the metadata comprises receiving the file attributes read by the proxy transmitter from the files.

4. A method according to claim 1, and comprising intercepting at the proxy receiver a file system request with respect to one of the data resources in the directory submitted by the client over the second LAN, and, responsive to the file system request, serving data from the one of the data resources from the proxy receiver to the client over the second LAN.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data resources comprise files having respective file attributes and content, wherein the metadata includes the file attributes, and wherein receiving the metadata comprises receiving, from the proxy transmitter via the WAN, the file attributes of at least one of the files without receiving the content of the file.

6. Apparatus for enabling access to data resources held on a file server on a first local area network (LAN) by a client on a second LAN, the apparatus comprising a proxy receiver located on the second LAN, the proxy receiver comprising:

a cache; and

a processor, which is configured to receive, from a proxy transmitter on the first LAN, metadata read by the proxy transmitter from the file server and transmitted to the proxy receiver via a wide area network (WAN), and to construct, in the cache, a directory, based on the metadata, of the data resources on the file server, for use by the client in accessing the data resources.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the metadata includes file attributes of the data resources, which file attributes are stored in a directory object on the file server, and wherein the processor is configured to receive the file attributes read by the proxy transmitter from the directory object.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data resources comprise files, and wherein the metadata includes file attributes that are stored in the files, and wherein the processor is configured to receive the file attributes read by the proxy transmitter from the files.

9. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to intercept a file system request with respect to one of the data resources in the directory submitted by the client over the second LAN, and, responsive to the file system request, to serve data from the one of the data resources to the client over the second LAN.

10. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data resources comprise files having respective file attributes and content, wherein the metadata includes the file attributes, and wherein the processor is configured to receive, from the proxy transmitter via the WAN, the file attributes of at least one of the files without receiving the content of the file.

11. Apparatus for enabling access to data resources held on a file server on a first local area network (LAN) by a client on a second LAN, which is coupled to the first LAN via a wide area network (WAN), the apparatus comprising a proxy transmitter, which comprises:

a network interface configured to be coupled to the first LAN; and

a processor, which is configured to read, via the network interface, metadata from the file server, and to transmit the metadata via the WAN to a proxy receiver on the second LAN, thus causing the proxy receiver to construct a directory, based on the metadata, of the data resources on the file server, for use by the client in accessing the data resources.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data resources comprise files having respective file attributes and content, wherein the metadata includes the file attributes, and wherein the processor is configured to transmit the file attributes of at least one of the files without transmitting the content of the file.

13. A computer software product for enabling access to data resources held on a file server on a first local area network (LAN) by a client on a second LAN, the product comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer on the second LAN, cause the computer to operate as a proxy receiver, so as to receive, from a proxy transmitter on the first LAN, metadata read by the proxy transmitter from the file server and transmitted to the proxy receiver via a wide area network (WAN), and to construct a directory, based on the metadata, of the data resources on the file server, for use by the client in accessing the data resources.

14. A product according to claim 13, wherein the data resources comprise files having respective file attributes and content, wherein the metadata includes the file attributes, and wherein the instructions cause the first computer to receive, from the proxy transmitter via the WAN, the file attributes of at least one of the files without receiving the content of the file.