File access scheme in distributed data processing system

• US 5,752,060 A
• Filed: 12/23/1994
• Issued: 05/12/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Yoshida, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowler, Alyssa H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARRITY, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US08/364,385
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 395/800, 395/200, 395/600, 395/200.01, 364/242.94, 364/282.1, 364/DIG. 1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17 using an input/output type connection, e.g. channel, I/O port
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/148 File search processing
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A file access scheme in a distributed data processing system for executing an access to a file in response to a file server to effect a data processing includes a device for executing an input/output processing such that each processing module unit operates as a subroutine of a data processing unit and executes input/output processing to the file controlled by itself and a device for executing data transfer processing such that the processing module unit operates as a subroutine of the data processing unit and implements a data transfer processing between the processing module unit and the file server of other processing modules.

Claims

1. A file access apparatus in a distributed data processing system, said distributed data processing system storing files comprising data, one of said files being accessed, and said data from one of the files being transferred, by an open instruction, said file access apparatus comprising:

a network comprising communication lines;

data modules coupled to the network via the communication lines, at least one of the data modules comprising;

a disk comprising a data domain and storing a subset of the files in the data domain,

a file server coupled to the disk and transferring the data via the communication lines, said file server comprising identification means for identifying which of said data modules transmitted the open instruction

a data processing unit coupled to the file server and generating and transmitting the open instruction, said data processing unit corresponding to the data domain and comprising;

an input/output processing unit coupled to the file server and transferring the data between the data processing unit and the disk by executing an input/output operation accessing the disk by directly assigning the data domain as a corresponding input/output domain; and

a data transfer unit transferring the data, via the communication lines and using the open instruction, between the data processing unit of the at least one of the data modules and a file server in another of the data modules, wherein

when the file server receives the open instruction, the file server determines whether the open instruction was transmitted by the data processing unit connected to the file server, determines if the data domain includes the one of the files, and transfers the data through the input/output processing unit if the data domain includes the one of the files and if the data processing unit connected to the file server transmitted the open instruction, and copies the one of the files to the data domain by transferring the data using the open instruction through the data transfer unit to the communication lines and through the file server and an input/output processing unit in the another of the data modules if a data domain storing a subset of the files stored on a disk in the another of the data modules includes the one of the files, and wherein said identification means comprises;

open instruction receiving means for receiving the open instruction to open the file on said disk;

processing module discriminator means for determining which of said data modules transmitted the open instruction;

binding processing means for enabling the data processing unit to call one of the data transfer unit and the input/output processing unit to access the file.