File server and file server controller

• US 7,146,368 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2004
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sonoda, Koji, Iwasaki, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MERILYN P
• Application Number:
  US10/785,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20050102289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 707/8, 707/10, 707/102, 707/200, 707/204, 709/220, 709/222, 709/236, 709/246, 709/226, 714/6, 714/4, 714/11, 714/43
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

The redundancy of a file is maintained without using a centralized controller in a system where file servers are connected via a network. Each domain ND within a file storage system includes a file server FS, a monitoring server WS, and a client CL, which are connected via a LAN. When the file server FS detects a failure in another file server FS in the system, it considers that redundancy of a file stored in the failed file server FS has decreased, and then determines whether or not it is responsible for recovering the redundancy. If the file server FS has determined that it is responsible for recovering the redundancy, it selects a file server FS as a file copy source and a file server FS as a file copy destination, and then copies the identical file from the copy source server to the copy destination server.

Claims

1. A first file server used in a system where identical files are stored according to a predetermined redundancy in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said first file server comprising:

a decreased redundancy detection unit for detecting a decrease in the redundancy of a file stored in said system;

a determination unit for determining whether or not the first file server has responsibility for recovering the redundancy when said decreased redundancy detection unit has detected a decrease in the redundancy; and

a redundancy recovery processing unit for selecting, based on a predetermined condition, a second file server that does not store an identical file identical to said file having the decrease in redundancy, setting said selected second file server as a copy destination server, setting a third file server that does store the identical file as a copy source server, and copying the identical file from said copy source server to said copy destination server when said determination unit has determined the responsibility of the first file server,

wherein said decreased redundancy detection unit detects a decrease in redundancy of the file based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each file server used in the system including information of a location of each file server and status of each file server.

2. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

said determination unit determines the responsibility of the first file server in the case where said file having the decrease in redundancy was originally created on the first file server.

3. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

said determination unit determines no responsibility of the first file server in the case where the first file server does not store a file identical to said file having the decrease in redundancy.

4. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

a priority order is set for each of the plurality of file servers within said system, and

said determination unit determines the responsibility of the first file server in the case where the first file server has the highest priority order.

5. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

a priority order is set for each of the plurality of file servers within said system, and

said determination unit determines the responsibility of the first file server in the case where the first file server stores the identical file and has the highest priority order among the plurality of file servers storing the identical file.

6. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

said decreased redundancy detection unit considers the redundancy of a file to have decreased in the case where said decreased redundancy detection unit detects a failure having occurred in another file server.

7. A first file server according to claim 6, further comprising:

a location storage unit for storing a relationship between each file stored in said system and each of the plurality of file servers storing said each file,

wherein said determination unit searches said location storage unit and then determines the responsibility of the first file server in the case where it has been determined that the first file server stores the identical file.

8. A first file server according to claim 7, wherein

said location storage unit records a priority order set for each of the plurality of file servers storing an identical file, and

said determination unit searches said location storage unit and then determines the responsibility of the first file server in the case where it has been determined that the first file server stores the identical file and has the highest priority order among the plurality of file servers storing the identical file.

9. A first file server according to claim 6, further comprising:

a location storage unit for storing a relationship between each file stored in said system and each of the plurality of file servers storing said each file,

wherein said redundancy recovery processing unit searches said location storage unit for one of the plurality of file servers storing the identical file and then sets one of the searched file servers as said copy source server.

10. A first file server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a usage status detection unit for detecting a usage status of a storage device provided for another file server,

wherein said redundancy recovery processing unit sets one of the plurality of file servers having the highest remaining capacity of said storage device or one of the plurality of file servers having the lowest consumed capacity of said storage device as said copy destination server.

11. A first file server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a domain detection unit for detecting a network domain to which another file server belongs,

wherein said redundancy recovery processing unit selects said copy source server and said copy destination server such that a network domain to which said copy source server belongs is different from a network domain to which said copy destination server belongs.

12. A first file server according to claim 1, wherein

said redundancy recovery processing unit sets one of the plurality of file servers storing the identical file and having the shortest network distance from said copy destination server as said copy source server.

13. A file server controller for balancing usage statuses among storage devices, said file server controller being used in a system where files are stored in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said storage devices being provided for said respective file servers, said file server controller comprising:

a usage status detection unit for detecting usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers; and

a file migration control unit for selecting a file migration source server and a file migration destination server according to usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers and then migrating a file from said file migration source server to said file migration destination server,

wherein said usage status detection unit detects a usage status of the storage devices based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each storage device used by the file servers including information of a storage capacity of the storage device and a location of the file server using the storage device.

14. A file server controller according to claim 13, further comprising:

a target value determination unit for calculating a target value of usage statuses of storage devices provided for the respective file servers according to usage statuses of storage devices provided for the respective file servers detected by said usage status detection unit,

wherein said file migration control unit migrates a file so that a usage status of a storage device provided for said file migration source server becomes equal to said target value.

15. A method of recovering redundancy of a file by means of a first file server used in a system where identical files are stored according to a predetermined redundancy in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said method comprising steps of:

detecting a decrease in the redundancy of the file stored in said system;

determining whether or not the first file server has responsibility for recovering redundancy when a decrease in redundancy of the file has been detected;

selecting a second file server that does not store an identical file identical to said file having the decrease in redundancy, based on a predetermined condition;

setting said selected second file server as a copy destination server;

setting a third file server that stores the identical file as a copy source server; and

copying the identical file from said copy source server to said copy destination server when the responsibility of the first file server has been determined,

wherein said step of detecting a decrease in redundancy detects a decrease in redundancy of the file based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each file server used in the system including information of a location of each file server and status of each file server.

16. A method of balancing usage statuses among storage devices by means of a file server controller, said file server controller being used in a system where files are stored in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said storage devices being provided for said respective file servers, said method comprising steps of:

detecting usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers; and

selecting a file server as a file migration source and a file server as a file migration destination according to usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers and then migrating a file from said file migration source server to said file migration destination server based on the selection,

wherein said step of detecting usage statuses of the storage devices detects a usage status of the storage devices based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each storage device used by said file servers including information of a storage capacity of the storage device and a location of the file server using the storage device.

17. A computer readable recording medium in which a computer program is recorded, the computer program recovering redundancy of a file by means of a first file server used in a system where identical files are stored according to a predetermined redundancy in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said computer program causing said first file server to implement steps of:

detecting a decrease in redundancy of the file stored in said system;

determining whether or not the first file server has responsibility for recovering redundancy when a decrease in the redundancy of the file has been detected;

selecting a second file server, that does not store an identical file identical to said file having the decrease in redundancy, based on a predetermined condition;

setting said selected second file server as a copy destination server;

setting a third file server that does store the identical file as a copy source server; and

copying the identical file from said copy source server to said copy destination server when the responsibility of the first file server has been determined,

wherein said step of detecting a decrease in redundancy detects a decrease in redundancy of the file based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each file server used in the system including information of a location of each file server and status of each file server.

18. A computer readable recording medium in which a computer program is recorded, the computer program for balancing usage statuses among storage devices by means of a file server controller, said file server controller being used in a system where files are stored in a distributed manner into a plurality of file servers connected with each other via a network, said storage devices being provided for said respective file servers, said computer program causing a computer to implement steps of:

detecting usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers; and

selecting a file server as a file migration source and a file server as a file migration destination according to usage statuses of storage devices provided for said respective file servers and then migrating a file from said file migration source server to said file migration destination server based on the selection,

wherein said step of detecting usage statuses of the storage devices detects a usage status of the storage devices based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each storage device used by said file servers including information of a storage capacity of the storage device and 1 of the file server using the storage device.

19. A first server used in a system where identical data are stored according to a predetermined redundancy in a distributed manner into a plurality of servers connected with each other via a network, said first server comprising:

a decreased redundancy detection unit for detecting a decrease in redundancy of data stored in said system;

a determination unit for determining whether or not the first server has responsibility for recovering redundancy when said decreased redundancy detection unit has detected a decrease in redundancy of data;

a redundancy recovery processing unit for selecting a second server that does not store identical data based on a predetermined condition, setting said selected second server as a copy destination server, setting a third server that does store the identical data as a copy source server, and copying the identical data from said copy source server to said copy destination server when said determination unit has determined the responsibility of the first server,

wherein said decreased redundancy detection unit detects a decrease in redundancy of the file based on information contained in a configuration table, and

wherein said configuration table stores in corresponding relation information regarding a state of each file server used in the system including information of a location of each file server and status of each file server.