PEER-TO-PEER REDUNDANT FILE SERVER SYSTEM AND METHODS

• US 20130018928A1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Overland Storage Incorporated (Silicon Valley Technology Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: Overland Storage Incorporated (Silicon Valley Technology Partners LLC)
• Inventors: Lacapra, Francesco, Steele, Peter Wallace, Sartirana, Bruno, Hua, Ernest Ying Sue, Lin, I Chung Joseph, Li, Samuel Sui-Lun, Diller, Nathanael John, Ramsdell, Thomas Reynold, Nguyen, Don, Tran, Kyle Dinh
• Granted Patent: US 9,740,707 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/822
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1834 implemented based on peer-to-peer networks, e.g. gnutella p2p communication protocols H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• 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]

Abstract

Peer-to-peer redundant file server system and methods include clients that determine a target storage provider to contact for a particular storage transaction based on a pathname provided by the filesystem and a predetermined scheme such as a hash function applied to a portion of the pathname. Servers use the same scheme to determine where to store relevant file information so that the clients can locate the file information. The target storage provider may store the file itself and/or may store metadata that identifies one or more other storage providers where the file is stored. A file may be replicated in multiple storage providers, and the metadata may include a list of storage providers from which the clients can select (e.g., randomly) in order to access the file.

Claims

1-46. -46. (canceled)

47. A method for maintaining peer set nodes of a computer file storage system, the method comprising:

identifying waiting nodes associated with a current peer set based on a node-selection algorithm, the node-selection algorithm producing, at a root node, in a first computer process, an updated list of the current peer set nodes; and

in a second computer process, conducting a dialog among the identified nodes, the dialog establishing a hierarchy and role distribution among the nodes.

48. A method according to claim 47, wherein identifying the waiting nodes associated with the current peer set of nodes comprises:

receiving, by a waiting node, from the root node, a message containing descriptors of waiting nodes associated with the current peer set.

49. A method according to claim 47, wherein conducting the dialog comprises:

sending invitations, by each of node-inviters, to be received by nodes-invitees, each invitation triggering a node-invitee to respond by sending an acknowledgment to a corresponding node-inviter,

receiving at least one acknowledgment by at least one node-inviter,

wherein a node-inviter and a node-invitee are waiting nodes identified as being associated with the current peer set.

50. A method according to claim 49, wherein the dialog indicator is positive if each of node-inviters received acknowledgments from each of node-invitees, and wherein the dialog indicator is negative otherwise.

51. A method according to claim 50, further comprising:

in a third computer process, allocating replacement nodes for the current peer set if the dialog success indicator is negative.

52. A method according to claim 49, wherein conducting the dialog further comprises:

passing messages received from the root node by each of node-inviters to each of node-invitees.

53. A method according to claim 49, wherein conducting the dialog further comprises:

passing a message by at least one of node-inviters to be received by the node-invitees, the message containing descriptors of waiting nodes associated with the current set and received by the at least one of node-inviters from the root node.