Non-disruptive file system element reconfiguration on disk expansion

• US 9,400,619 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2012
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Clifton, John Mark, O'Leary, Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Shanmugasundaram, Kannan
• Application Number:
  US13/452,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20120209805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 707/610, 707/619
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 Plurality of storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

An apparatus is operable with a host and a data storage component for controlling expansion of storage, and comprises: an allocating component responsive to a user input for allocating an expanded target storage space to a file system element to thereby make an expanded file system element; a file system metadata component for maintaining file system metadata including metadata for said expanded file system element; a file system I/O component responsive to said file system metadata component for controlling file system I/O between said host and said storage component; and a synchronizing component responsive to said file system metadata component for synchronizing data between a source storage space and said expanded target storage space; wherein said file system I/O component is operable to use said file system metadata component to access said expanded file system element prior to completion of action of said synchronizing component.

Claims

1. An apparatus operable with a host and a data storage component, comprising:

a computational device, comprising;

a processor;

an allocating component responsive to a user input to allocate an expanded target storage space to a file system element to make an expanded file system element;

a file system metadata component to maintain file system metadata including metadata for said expanded file system element;

a file system Input/Output (I/O) component responsive to said file system metadata component to control file system I/O between said host and said data storage component; and

a synchronizing component responsive to said file system metadata component to synchronize data between a source storage space and said expanded target storage space, wherein said synchronizing component is operable as a background processing component, wherein said synchronizing component is operable at a selectable priority of operation specified by a user and updates a bitmap that indicates whether a data item has been copied, wherein said file system I/O component is operable to use said file system metadata component to access said expanded file system element prior to completion of action of said synchronizing component, wherein said source storage space stores a file system that is to be migrated to said expanded target storage space having an additional space beyond that provided by said source storage space, and wherein said source storage space is provided by a source storage device and said expanded target storage space is provided by a target storage device, said synchronizing data further comprising;

sending, any selected write that is addressed to a block of said file system stored in said source storage device, to both said source storage device and said target storage device, wherein said selected write is not completed until writing of said selected write to both said source storage device and said target storage device is complete; and

sending any selected read or write that is addressed to a block of an expanded file system stored in said target storage device but not in said source storage device, to said target storage device, wherein;

determining that said source storage device is a boot device, and copying a master boot record to said target storage device and altering said master boot record to reflect expanded partitions; and

an indication is provided to a user to indicate that said source target device is no longer being used actively and can be removed.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said synchronizing data further comprises:

sending any selected read that is addressed to a block of the file system stored in said source storage device, to said source storage device to be satisfied from said source storage device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selectable priority of operation is specified by the user while setting up a migration of the file system.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a data structure records a progress of synchronization of data between said source storage device and said target storage device.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the data structure is stored on said target storage device in a reserved area that is not available to the user, and wherein if the computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between said source storage device and said target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if the computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between said source storage device and said target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.

7. A method, comprising:

allocating, responsive to a user input, an expanded target storage space to a file system element to make an expanded file system element;

maintaining file system metadata including metadata for said expanded file system element;

responsive to said file system metadata, controlling file system I/O between a host and a storage component; and

responsive to said file system metadata, synchronizing data between a source storage space and said expanded target storage space, wherein said synchronizing is performed via a background process, wherein said synchronizing is operable at a selectable priority of operation specified by a user and updates a bitmap that indicates whether a data item has been copied, wherein controlling said file system I/O comprises using said file system metadata to access said expanded file system element prior to completion of the synchronizing of the data, wherein said source storage space stores a file system that is to be migrated to said expanded target storage space having an additional space beyond that provided by said source storage space, and wherein said source storage space is provided by a source storage device and said expanded target storage space is provided by a target storage device, said synchronizing data further comprising;

sending, any selected write that is addressed to a block of said file system stored in said source storage device, to both said source storage device and said target storage device, wherein said selected write is not completed until writing of said selected write to both said source storage device and said target storage device is complete; and

sending any selected read or write that is addressed to a block of an expanded file system stored in said target storage device but not in said source storage device, to said target storage device, wherein;

determining that said source storage device is a boot device, and copying a master boot record to said target storage device and altering said master boot record to reflect expanded partitions; and

an indication is provided to a user to indicate that said source target device is no longer being used actively and can be removed.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said synchronizing data further comprises:

sending any selected read that is addressed to a block of the file system stored in said source storage device, to said source storage device to be satisfied from said source storage device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectable priority of operation is specified by the user while setting up a migration of the file system.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein a data structure records a progress of synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data structure is stored on the target storage device in a reserved area that is not available to the user, and wherein if a computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein if a computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.

13. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having stored therein computer program code, wherein the computer program code when loaded into a computer system and executed thereon, cause said computer system to perform:

allocating, responsive to a user input, an expanded target storage space to a file system element to make an expanded file system element;

maintaining file system metadata including metadata for said expanded file system element;

responsive to said file system metadata, controlling file system I/O between a host and a storage component; and

responsive to said file system metadata, synchronizing data between a source storage space and said expanded target storage space, wherein said synchronizing is performed via a background process, wherein said synchronizing is operable at a selectable priority of operation specified by a user and updates a bitmap that indicates whether a data item has been copied, wherein controlling said file system I/O comprises using said file system metadata to access said expanded file system element prior to completion of the synchronizing of the data, wherein said source storage space stores a file system that is to be migrated to said expanded target storage space having an additional space beyond that provided by said source storage space, and wherein said source storage space is provided by a source storage device and said expanded target storage space is provided by a target storage device, said synchronizing data further comprising;

sending, any selected write that is addressed to a block of said file system stored in said source storage device, to both said source storage device and said target storage device, wherein said selected write is not completed until writing of said selected write to both said source storage device and said target storage device is complete; and

sending any selected read or write that is addressed to a block of an expanded file system stored in said target storage device but not in said source storage device, to said target storage device, wherein;

determining that said source storage device is a boot device, and copying a master boot record to said target storage device and altering said master boot record to reflect expanded partitions; and

an indication is provided to a user to indicate that said source target device is no longer being used actively and can be removed.

14. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein said synchronizing data further comprises:

sending any selected read that is addressed to a block of the file system stored in said source storage device, to said source storage device to be satisfied from said source storage device.

15. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the selectable priority of operation is specified by the user while setting up a migration of the file system.

16. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein a data structure records a progress of synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device.

17. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the data structure is stored on the target storage device in a reserved area that is not available to the user, and wherein if a computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.

18. The non-transitory tangible computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein if a computational device is shut down by the user, the synchronization of data between the source storage device and the target storage device is continued at a later time that is subsequent to a time of the shut down of the computational device.