Virtual file system interface for communicating changes of metadata in a data storage system

• US 9,514,154 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2011
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Garimella, Neeta, Klingenberg, Bernhard J., Minniear, Ryan J., Smith, Mark A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Perveen, Rehana
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khong, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US13/283,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20130110787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 707/667
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/113 Details of archiving lifecycle management in storage systems G06F3/0649; backup systems G06F11/1446
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/192 Implementing virtual folder structures

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to a virtual file system for communicating changes in metadata associated with data archived in a data storage system to applications. An aspect of the invention concerns a system that comprises a virtual file system for storing metadata files wherein each metadata file is associated with an archived data file, and a virtual file system interface coupled to the virtual file system for exposing changes in the metadata files to the applications.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory device having computer program instructions executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

providing a first virtual file system for storing archived data files;

providing a second virtual file system for storing metadata files, wherein metadata for the archived data files in the first virtual file system resides in the metadata files in the second virtual file system, wherein each of the metadata files is associated with one of the archived data files, wherein each of the first and second virtual file systems comprise an abstraction layer between an application and a file system to provide an interface between a kernel of an operating system and the file system;

providing an interface coupled to the first and second virtual file systems;

detecting, by the interface, metadata file changes in the second virtual file system from changes to file attributes for the archived data files indicated in the metadata files; and

providing, by the interface, changes in the metadata files to applications using the archived data files.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata files comprise control data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the control data comprise conditions of the archived data files.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the conditions of the archived data files comprise at least one of a location of one of the archived data files, an archived data file version identifier, and an archived document index level identifier.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the changes include at least one of creating, deleting, and modifying a data file attribute.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein in response to a change in one of the metadata files, the interface sets a flag to indicate that the archived data file corresponding to the changed metadata file is to be re-indexed.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface allows a system-wide deletion of a data file attribute.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface is a POSIX interface.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface is a Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) interface.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata file changes comprise making the archived data file immutable based on a retention policy.

10. A computer implemented method comprising:

providing a first virtual file system for storing archived data files;

providing a second virtual file system for storing metadata files, wherein metadata for the archived data files in the first virtual file system resides in the metadata files in the second virtual file system, wherein each of the metadata files is associated with one of the archived data files, wherein each of the first and second virtual file systems comprise an abstraction layer between an application and a file system to provide an interface between a kernel of an operating system and the file system;

detecting, by an interface coupled to the first and second virtual file systems, metadata file changes in the second virtual file system from changes to file attributes for the archived data files indicated in the metadata files; and

providing, by the interface, changes in the metadata files to applications using the archived data files.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the metadata files comprise conditions of the archived data files.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the metadata file changes comprise making the archived data file immutable based on a retention policy.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein in response to a change in one of the metadata files, the interface sets a flag to indicate that the archived data file corresponding to the changed metadata file is to be re-indexed.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the interface is a Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) interface.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:

program code configured to provide a first virtual file system for storing archived data files;

program code configured to provide a second virtual file system for storing metadata files, wherein metadata for the archived data files in the first virtual file system resides in the metadata files in the second virtual file system, wherein each of the metadata files is associated with one of the archived data files, wherein each of the first and second virtual file systems comprise an abstraction layer between an application and a file system to provide an interface between a kernel of an operating system and the file system;

program code configured to detect, through an interface, metadata file changes in the second virtual file system, changes to file attributes for the archived data files indicated in the metadata files; and

program code configured to provide, through the interface, changes in the metadata files to applications using the archived data files.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein in response to a change in one of the metadata files, the interface sets a flag to indicate that the archived data file corresponding to the changed metadata file is to be re-indexed.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the interface provides conditions of the archived data files in the first virtual file system, the conditions comprising at least one of a location of one of the archived data files, an archived data file version identifier, and an archived document level identifier.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the changes include at least one of creating, deleting, and modifying a file attribute.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the metadata file changes comprise making the archived data file immutable based on a retention policy.