Method and a computer program for inode allocation and De-Allocation

• US 20080320052A1
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: HP Inc.
• Inventors: Venkateshappa, Amarish Shapur, Chandrachari, Aravinda
• Application Number:
  US12/145,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20080320052A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and computer program for allocating inodes in a computing file system. The method, in one embodiment, includes determining whether all inodes in a first inode table have been initialized. Responsive to determining that all inodes in the first inode table have been initialized, a further inode table is created allocating additional inodes.

Claims

1. A method of allocating inodes in a computing file system including a first inode table, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether all inodes in the first inode table have been initialized; and

responsive to determining that all inodes in the first inode table have been initialized, creating a further inode table allocating additional inodes.

2. A method of allocating inodes in accordance with claim 1, comprising the further step of creating at least one additional inode table when all inodes in the further inode table have been initialized.

3. A method of allocating inodes in accordance with claim 1, comprising the further step of providing one or more inode map(s), the inode map(s) pointing to a disk block address of the inode table including a selected allocated inode.

4. A method of allocating inodes in accordance with claim 3, wherein the number of inodes in each inode table is a function of a total amount of disk space and the number of inode tables addresses to be referenced in each inode map.

5. A method of allocating inodes in accordance with claim 4, comprising the further step of determining the number of inodes during file system creation.

6. A method of de-allocating inodes in a computing file system including at least a first and further inode table, comprising the steps of:

determining whether the further inode tables contains no initialized inodes; and

responsive to determining that the further table contains no initialized inodes, deleting the further inode table.

7. A method of de-allocating inodes in accordance with claim 6, comprising the further step of deleting a reference to the further inode table in an inode map associated with the further inode table.

8. A method of de-allocating inodes in accordance with claim 7, comprising the further step of:

deleting the inode map associated with the further table, in response to determining that the further table is the only table referenced by the inode map.

9. A computer program for allocating inodes in a computer file system including a first inode table, the program comprising at least one instruction which, when implemented on a computer readable medium of a computing system, causes the computing system to implement the steps of:

determining whether all inodes in the first inode table have been initialized; and

responsive to determining that all inodes in the first inode table have been initialized, creating a further inode table providing additional inodes.

10. A computer program in accordance with claim 9, arranged to implement the further step of creating at least one additional inode table when all inodes in the further inode table have been initialized.

11. A computer program in accordance with claim 9, arranged to implement the further step of providing one or more inode map(s), the inode map(s) pointing to a disk block address of the inode table including a selected allocated inode.

12. A computer program for allocating inodes in accordance with claim 11, wherein the number of inodes in each inode table is a function of a total amount of disk space and the number of inode tables addresses to be referenced in each inode map.

13. A computer program in accordance with claim 12, arranged to implement the further step of determining the number of inodes during file system creation.

17. A computer readable medium providing a computer program product in accordance with claim 9.

14. A computer program for de-allocating inodes in a computer file system including at least a first and further inode table, the program comprising at least one instruction which, when implemented on a computer readable medium of a computing system, causes the computing system to implement the steps of:

determining whether the further inode table contains no initialized inodes; and

responsive to determining that the further inode table contains no initialized inodes, deleting the further inode table.

15. A computer program in accordance with claim 14, arranged to implement the further step of deleting a reference to the further inode table in an inode map associated with the further inode table.

16. A computer program in accordance with claim 15, arranged to implement the further step of:

deleting the inode map associated with the further table, in response to determining that the further table is the only table referenced by the inode map.

18. A computer readable medium providing a computer program product in accordance with claim 14.