Policy engine to control the servicing of requests received by a storage server
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- receiving at a network storage server, from a network storage client, a client request to perform an operation relating to a data set stored by the network storage server;
in response to receiving the client request, determining in the network storage server whether to invoke a policy engine in relation to the client request, by determining whether the client request satisfies a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine;
if the client request is determined not to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine, then satisfying the client request by the network storage server without invoking the policy engine;
whereasif the client request is determined to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine, thensending a screen request corresponding to the client request from the network storage server to the policy engine to cause the policy engine to apply the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set;
receiving at the network storage server, from the policy engine, a screen response indicating a result of the policy engine having applied the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; and
sending a response to the client request from the network storage server to the network storage client in accordance with the screen response.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Certain tasks are outsourced from a filer to a remote policy engine. The policy engine implements various defined policies to control the filer'"'"'s servicing of client requests. For example, the policy engine can be used to implement policies to control various storage-related operations relating to data managed by a filer, such as creation, deletion, modification, opening, closing, renaming and/or changing attributes of files or directories managed by the filer.
131 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving at a network storage server, from a network storage client, a client request to perform an operation relating to a data set stored by the network storage server; in response to receiving the client request, determining in the network storage server whether to invoke a policy engine in relation to the client request, by determining whether the client request satisfies a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine; if the client request is determined not to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine, then satisfying the client request by the network storage server without invoking the policy engine;
whereasif the client request is determined to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine, then sending a screen request corresponding to the client request from the network storage server to the policy engine to cause the policy engine to apply the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; receiving at the network storage server, from the policy engine, a screen response indicating a result of the policy engine having applied the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; and sending a response to the client request from the network storage server to the network storage client in accordance with the screen response. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
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a network storage server; and a policy engine, implemented as a dedicated application server separate from the network storage server, coupled to communicate with the network storage server; wherein the network storage server is configured to receive a client request, from a network storage client, to perform an operation relating to a data set stored by the network storage server; determine whether to invoke a policy engine, in response to receiving the client request, by determining whether the client request satisfies a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine; satisfy the client request, without invoking the policy engine, if the client request is determined not to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine; invoke the policy engine, if the client request is determined to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of the policy engine, by sending a screen request, corresponding to the client request, to the policy engine; wherein the policy engine is configured to receive the screen request from the network storage server;
wherein the screen request is configured to cause the policy engine to apply the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; andsend a screen response indicating a result of the policy engine having applied the specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; receive the screen response from the policy engine; and send a response to the network storage client in accordance with the screen response. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system comprising:
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a plurality of network storage servers; and a plurality of policy engines, each coupled to communicate with each of the network storage servers; wherein each of the network storage servers is configured so that, in response to receiving a client request to perform an operation relating to a stored data set, the network storage server responds by determining whether at least one of the policy engines should be invoked in relation to the client request, by determining whether the client request satisfies a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of at least one of the policy engines; if the client request is determined not to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of at least one of the policy engines, the network storage server responds by satisfying the client request;
whereasif the client request is determined to satisfy a specified criterion associated with a specified policy of at least one of the policy engines, the network storage server responds by sending a screen request corresponding to the client request from the network storage server to at least one of the policy engines to cause at least one of the policy engines to apply a specified policy in relation to the client request or the data set; receiving at the network storage server a screen response indicating a result of applying the specified policy; and sending a response to the client request from the network storage server to a network storage client in accordance with the screen response. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification