Apparatus and method for hardware-based file system
First Claim
1. A file server system for accessing and utilizing a data storage system, the file server system including a network subsystem for receiving and responding to file service requests over a network and further including a file subsystem, in communication with the network subsystem, for satisfying the file service requests, the file subsystem comprising:
- a. a data bus arrangement, in communication with the network subsystem and the data storage system, for providing data to be stored in the data storage system and for retrieving data from the data storage system;
b. a plurality of linked sub-modules, wherein the linked sub-modules as a group are in communication with a control input for receiving file service requests and a control output for responding to file service requests and process such service requests and generate responses thereto over the control output, each sub-module configured to perform a distinct set of operations pertinent to processing of such file service requests;
wherein the control input and the control output are distinct from the data bus arrangement; and
c. a plurality of metadata memory caches, each metadata memory cache associated with a corresponding sub-module for storing metadata pertinent to operations of such sub-module.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hardware-based file system includes multiple linked sub-modules that perform functions ancillary to client data handling. Each sub-module is associated with a metadata cache. A doubly-rooted structure is used to store each file system object at successive checkpoints. Metadata is stored within an object and/or as a separate object. Provisions are made for allocating sparse objects. A delayed write feature is used for writing certain objects into non-volatile storage. Checkpoints can be retained as read-only versions of the file system. Modifications to the file system are accomplished without affecting the contents of retained checkpoints. The file system can be reverted to a retained checkpoint. Multiple file servers can be interconnected as a cluster, and each file server stores requests from another file server. Interconnections between file servers can be dynamically modified. A distributed locking mechanism is used to control access to file system objects stored by the file servers.
286 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A file server system for accessing and utilizing a data storage system, the file server system including a network subsystem for receiving and responding to file service requests over a network and further including a file subsystem, in communication with the network subsystem, for satisfying the file service requests, the file subsystem comprising:
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a. a data bus arrangement, in communication with the network subsystem and the data storage system, for providing data to be stored in the data storage system and for retrieving data from the data storage system; b. a plurality of linked sub-modules, wherein the linked sub-modules as a group are in communication with a control input for receiving file service requests and a control output for responding to file service requests and process such service requests and generate responses thereto over the control output, each sub-module configured to perform a distinct set of operations pertinent to processing of such file service requests;
wherein the control input and the control output are distinct from the data bus arrangement; andc. a plurality of metadata memory caches, each metadata memory cache associated with a corresponding sub-module for storing metadata pertinent to operations of such sub-module. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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2. A file server system for accessing and utilizing a data storage system, the file server system including a network subsystem for receiving and responding to file service requests over a network and further including a file subsystem, in communication with the network subsystem, for satisfying the file service requests, the file subsystem comprising:
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a. a data bus arrangement, in communication with the network subsystem and the data storage system, for providing data to be stored in the data storage system and for retrieving data from the data storage system; b. a plurality of linked sub-modules, wherein the linked sub-modules as a group are in communication with a control input for receiving file service requests and a control output for responding to file service requests and process such service requests and generate responses thereto over the control output, each sub-module configured to perform a distinct set of operations pertinent to processing of such file service requests; and c. a plurality of metadata memory caches, each metadata memory cache associated with a corresponding sub-module for storing metadata pertinent to operations of such sub-module without storage of file content data.
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Specification