Transactional file system for realizing atomic update of plural files by transactions

• US 6,779,001 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2000
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanai, Tatsunori, Torii, Osamu, Maeda, Seiji, Yano, Hirokuni, Yao, Hiroshi, Kizu, Toshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones, Charcles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahmoudi, Hassan
• Application Number:
  US09/666,468
• Time in Patent Office: 1,427 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/101, 707/200, 707/202, 707/104.1, 707/1, 707/3, 707/7, 707/5, 707/103, 707/8, 707/204, 707/205, 714/3, 709/226, 709/101, 705/4, 705/40
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1471 involving logging of persistent data for recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1865 Transactional file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A transactional file system capable of realizing atomic update of plural files by transactions. In the transactional file system, a log entry containing information for validating all updates made by transaction collectively on a stable memory device, is generated for one or more files updated on a buffer region by the transaction since a start of a processing of the transaction until a commit of the transaction. Then, the log entry is written into the stable memory device at a time of the commit of the transaction.

Claims

1. A transactional file management method, comprising:

(a) generating a log entry containing an information for validating all updates made by a transaction collectively on a stable memory device, for one or more files updated on a buffer region by the transaction from a start of a processing of the transaction until a commit of the transaction; and

(b) writing the log entry into the stable memory device at a time of the commit of the transaction,

wherein the step (b) writes the log entry into the stable memory device by dividing the log entry into segments of a constant size.

2. The transactional file management method of claim 1, wherein the constant size of the segments is set equal to a size of data used for input/output of continuous data.

3. A composite transactional file system formed by a plurality of transactional file systems for managing files stored in a stable memory device and providing the files to processing by transactions, each transactional file system comprising:

a log entry generation unit configured to generate a log entry containing an information for validating all updates made by a transaction collectively on a stable memory device, for one or more files updated on a buffer region by the transaction since a start of a processing of the transaction until a commit of the transaction; and

a log entry writing unit configured to write the log entry into the stable memory device at a time of the commit of the transaction,

wherein when one transaction updates a plurality of files in more than one transactional file system, the log entry generation unit of each transactional file system generates the log entry containing said information for one or more files updated by said one transaction in said each transactional file system, and the log entry writing unit of each transaction file system writes the log entry into the stable memory device corresponding to said each transactional file system by embedding another information for identifying another log entry for said one transaction that is generated in another transactional file system, into the log entry.