Method and apparatus for interfacing with a stateless network file system server
First Claim
1. A method of interfacing between a network client and a network server, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving a request from the network client for accessing a file in the network server;
(b) determining if there is a pseudo-open state for the file in the server, the pseudo-open state can be created and recreated at will; and
(c) establishing a pseudo-open state for the file in the server if there is no pseudo-open state for the file, the pseudo-open state being associated with a pseudo-open identification and kept in the server partially by a file system and partially by a disk process.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for interfacing with a stateless NFS (Network File System) server. A pseudo-open state is created for a file when a request from a network client for accessing the file is received in a network server. The term pseudo-open data relates to a set of data that is kept in a network server. The pseudo-open describes the state of a file being currently accessed via an NFS server in the network server. The pseudo-open data differs from normal file state data in that it can be created or recreated at will, thus preserving the stateless functionality of the NFS server. Thus, if a request is received at any time and there is no pseudo-open state established for the file, the pseudo-open state will be established or reestablished at that time. If, on the other hand, a request is received for which a pseudo-open state already exists, the overhead of creating the pseudo-open state is avoided, and the existing data is used. The pseudo-open state is stored in a file-system data structure called VNODE. Each active file has an associated VNODE. The pseudo-open state of a file can be then closed. The state of the file can be changed to a higher or lower level of access privilege via open-promotion or open-demotion operations, respectively. Open-demotion refers to the change of a file state to a lower level of access privilege.
82 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of interfacing between a network client and a network server, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a request from the network client for accessing a file in the network server; (b) determining if there is a pseudo-open state for the file in the server, the pseudo-open state can be created and recreated at will; and (c) establishing a pseudo-open state for the file in the server if there is no pseudo-open state for the file, the pseudo-open state being associated with a pseudo-open identification and kept in the server partially by a file system and partially by a disk process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 22)
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9. A method of interfacing between a network client and a network server, the network server including an NFS server, a file system and a disk process, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving, by the NFS server, a request from the network client for accessing a file in the network server; (b) locating, by the file system, a data structure associated with the file in file system, each file currently in use having such a data structure; (c) creating, by the file system, the data structure for the file if the data structure is not found for the file; (d) checking, by the file system, the data structure to determine if there is a pseudo-open state for the file in the network server, the pseudo-open state can be created and recreated at will; and (e) issuing, by the file system, a pseudo-open request to the disk process for establishing the pseudo-open state for the file if there is no pseudo-open state for the file, the pseudo-open state being associated with a pseudo-open identification and kept in the server partially by a file system and partially by a disk process. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23)
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15. An apparatus for interfacing between a network client and a network server, comprising:
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a first portion in the network server configured to receive a request from the network client for accessing a file in the network server; a second portion in the network server configured to locate a data structure associated with the file in file system, each file currently in use having such a data structure; a third portion in the network server configured to create the data structure for the file if the data structure is not found for the file; a fourth portion in the network server configured to check the data structure to determine if there is a pseudo-open state for the file, the pseudo-open state can be created and recreated at will; and a fifth portion in the network server configured to issue a pseudo-open request to the disk process for establishing the pseudo-open state for the file if there is no pseudo-open state for the file, the pseudo-open state being associated with a pseudo-open-identification and kept in the server partially by a file system and partially by a disk process. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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24. A method of interfacing between a network client and a network server, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a request from the network client for accessing a file in the network server; (b) determining if there is a pseudo-open state for the file in the server; and (c) establishing a pseudo-open state for the file in the server if there is no pseudo-open state for the file (d) determining whether the request is for a read or write access; (e) determining the current access state of the file; and (f) if the current access state of the file is read only and the request is for a write access, changing the current access state of the file to read and write. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification