Shared file system for digital content

• US 6,260,040 B1
• Filed: 01/05/1998
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kauffman, Steven Victor, Lewis, Lara Marie, Willey, James Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/002,951
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/8, 707/9, 707/200, 707/203, 395/200.03, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 345/329, 345/330, 345/331
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A distributed client server system for managing and storing digital files includes a digital library and a shared file system, wherein the digital library further includes a library client, a library server including a library catalog, and an object server and wherein the shared file system includes a workstation with a local storage and a shared file server with a shared file storage. The digital library maintains metadata about the files in the shared file system, in a database in the library catalog. The metadata for a file includes different names for different versions of the file and a check-in status flag. A read operation is performed on the shared file system by a user retrieving a file directly from the shared file system. A write operation is performed by the user invoking a digital library application, which in turn changes the status of the flag to “checked-out”. When a file is “checked-out” it can not be edited by any other user. When the “checked-out” file is saved, it is saved under a new name. When a user quits after editing the file, the status of the file is changed back to “checked-in”.

Claims

1. A distributed shared file system for storing digital data comprising:

a shared file system having a shared file system interface, said shared file system for storing shared user files;

a distributed client-server system having a distributed client-server system interface different from said shared file system interface, said distributed-client server system storing metadata related to said shared user files; and

a workstation, wherein the workstation is separately connected to the shared file system and the distributed client server system and the shared file system is connected to said distributed client-server system,

wherein users can access said shared file system using said shared file system interface,

wherein said users perform at least one of reading and copying operations of said shared user files directly from said shared file system without direct involvement of said distributed client-server system,

wherein upon an edit request by a user, the distributed client-server system directs the shared file system to send a copy of a shared file from the shared file system to the workstation,

wherein editing of said shared user files requires updating said metadata in said distributed client-server system.

2. A distributed shared file system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of workstations are connected to the shared file system.

3. A distributed shared file system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of shared file systems are connected to the distributed client-server system.

4. A distributed shared file system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of shared file systems are connected to the distributed client-server system and to one or more of the plurality of workstations.

5. A distributed shared file system according to claim 3, wherein one or more of the file servers, the workstations and the client-server system are located remote to one another.

6. A distributed shared file system according to claim 4, wherein the client-server system comprises a library client having a client storage area, an object server having an object storage area, and a library server including a library catalog, wherein the object server is connected to the library client and library server, the library server is connected to the object server and library client, and the library server is located remotely with respect to the library client.

7. A distributed shared file system according to claim 1, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

8. A distributed shared file system according to claim 2, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

9. A distributed shared file system according to claim 3, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

10. A distributed shared file system according to claim 4, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

11. A distributed shared file system according to claim 5, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

12. A distributed shared file system according to claim 6, wherein the workstation is connected to the distributed client-server system through a network browser.

17. A system according to claim 1 wherein said users perform editing operations through the distributed client-server system.

13. A method for reading from a distributed shared file system including a file server having a file storage medium having a file recorded thereon, a distributed client-server system having at least a client, an object server, and a library server, and a workstation having a local storage medium, wherein the workstation is separately connected to the shared file system and to the distributed client server system, and wherein the shared file system is connected to said distributed client-server system, the method comprising:

(a) receiving a request for access to read the file;

(b) determining if the user has permission to read the file, said determining being done based on metadata about the file stored in the distributed client-server system; and

(c) copying the file directly from the file storage medium of the file server to the local storage medium of the workstation if the user is determined to have permission to read the file, said copying being performed without direct involvement of the distributed client-server system.

14. A method of editing and saving files from a distributed shared file system including a file server having a file storage medium, a distributed client-server system having at least a client, at least an object server, a library server and a shared file management system employing a check-in flag and storing files based on a naming convention, and a workstation having a local storage medium, wherein the workstation is separately connected to the shared file system and to the distributed client server system, and wherein the shared file system is connected to said distributed client-server system, the method comprising:

(a) sending an edit file request from the workstation to the shared file management system of the distributed client-server system;

(b) in response to the edit file request the shared file management system checking to determine if a user has edit permission for the file with corresponding metadata stored in the distributed client-server system;

(c) in response to the edit file request, if the user is determined to have edit permission, the shared file management system checking to determine if the file is checked-out;

(d) the shared file management system, via said corresponding metadata stored in the distributed client-server system, indicating the file as checked-out if the user has edit permission and the file is not checked-out and directing the file server to copy the file from the file storage medium to the local storage medium;

(e) sending a save message to the shared file management system to save the file to the file server if the file has been edited;

(f) in response to the save message the shared file management system checking to determine if the file has been edited; and

(g) if the file is determined to have been edited the shared file management system directing the file server to copy the edited file from the local storage medium to the file storage medium and naming the edited file with a name different from the file copied from the shared file management system.

15. A method according to claim 14, further comprising:

(h) performing a quit operation after copying the edited file to the file storage medium, comprising;

(h1) sending a quit message to the file management system;

(h2) the file management system saving the file, if a save message is received with the quit message;

(h3) the file management system recording the name of the user and comments; and

(h4) the file management system indicating the file as checked-in.

16. A computer program product for connecting a shared file system to a digital library in a system that includes a workstation that is separately connected to the shared file system and to the digital library, wherein the shared file system includes a file server and a storage medium, and the digital library system includes a client, an object server and a library server, the computer program product including a computer readable medium comprising:

a computer-readable distributed client-server system code;

a computer-readable shared file system code; and

a computer-readable workstation program code;

wherein the distributed client-server system code logically maintains a version control system including a check-in status of a file and a plurality of versions of the file with different versions having different names;

wherein the shared file system code physically maintains the plurality of versions of each file;

wherein, in response to performance of a read operation on the file, the shared file system code causes the file to be copied directly to a local storage unit of the workstation;

wherein, in response to performance of an edit operation on the file, the distributed client-server system code is requested to provide the file, and the distributed client server system code checks a check-in status of the requested file, and either sends a message to the requester when the file is already checked-out, or directs the file server to copy the latest version of the requested file to the local storage unit of the workstation and changes the status of the file to checked-out; and

wherein a save and quit operation is personnel by requesting the distributed client-server system code to direct the workstation program code to copy the file from the local storage unit to storage controlled by the shared file system code under a new name, recording comments and the user name along with the new name for the file and changing the status of the file to checked-in.

18. A method of managing files in a distributed shared file system including a workstation, a shared file system and a digital library, wherein the workstation is separately connected to the shared file system and to the distributed client server system, and wherein the shared file system is connected to said distributed client-server system, wherein said shared file system stores user files, and wherein said digital library stores metadata relating to said user files, said method comprising:

(a) copying one of said user files, having a first name, to a local storage unit in response to a request;

(b) indicating the file as checked-out when an editing operation is performed by setting metadata associated with the file to reflect a checked-out state;

(c) indicating the file as checked-in after completion of the edit operation, by setting the associated metadata to reflect a checked-in state; and

(d) saving the edited file in the shared file system under a second name, different from the first name.