System and method for transparently accessing a virtual disk using a file-based protocol

• US 7,904,482 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Inventors: Kimmel, Jeffrey S., Pawlowski, Brian, Srinivasan, Mohan, Rajan, Vijayan, Lent, Arthur F.
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US11/606,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20070100792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 707/703, 707/706, 707/770, 707/791, 707/802
• US Class Current: 707/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing

Abstract

A system and method enabling transparent access to blocks, such as virtual disks, stored on a storage system using a file-based protocol. The system and method traps in-coming file-based protocol open commands to check for a predetermined modification to the file name. If the system and method detects the predetermined modification, then the virtual disk associated with the file name is exported to the client issuing the open command and the client receives a response from the storage system. The client, in response to receiving the response to the open command, creates a new device instantiation for reading and writing raw data to the virtual disk.

Claims

1. A network storage system, comprising:

a computer processor executing a storage operating system;

a network protocol stack of the storage operating system for receiving a file open command of a file based protocol from a client;

a transparent access process of the storage operating system, the access process configured to interpret the file open command as a request to enable subsequent transparent access to a virtual disk (VDISK) over a block-based protocol data path from the client, the file open command including a modified file name that indicates that subsequent block-based protocol access to the VDISK is requested, the modified file name including a selected bit to alert the storage system that the client desires to utilize the transparent access process to interpret the file open command; and

a proxy layer of the storage operating system configured to direct the client to subsequently access the VDISK using the block-based protocol data path.

2. The network storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

the modified file name includes, a predetermined prefix to a file name, the prefix including the selected bit.

3. The network storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

the modified file name includes, a predetermined suffix to a file name, the suffix including the selected bit.

4. The network storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

the file-based protocol is selected from the group consisting of a Network File System (NFS) protocol, a Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol, or a Direct Access File System (DAFS) protocol.

5. The network storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

a block-based protocol for use with the block-based protocol data path, the block-based protocol selected from the group consisting of a Fibre Channel (FC) or an InfiniBand (TB) or an iSCSI.

6. A method for operating a computer network storage system, comprising:

executing a storage operating system by a computer processor;

receiving a file open command of a file based protocol from a client;

executing a transparent access process on the processor, the access process configured to interpret the file open command as a request to enable subsequent transparent access to a virtual disk (VDISK) over a block-based protocol data path from the client, the file open command including a modified file name that indicates that subsequent block-based protocol access to the VDISK is requested, the modified file name including a selected bit to alert the storage system that the client desires to utilize the transparent access process to interpret the file open command; and

directing a client to subsequently access the VDISK using the block-based protocol data path.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

using a predetermined prefix to a file name as the modified file name, the prefix including the selected bit.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

using a predetermined suffix to a file name as the modified file name, the suffix including the selected bit.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

selecting the file-based protocol from the group consisting of a Network File System (NFS) protocol, a Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol, or a Direct Access File System (DAFS) protocol.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

selecting the block-based protocol for use with the block-based protocol dath path, the block-based protocol selected from the group consisting of a Fibre Channel (FC) or an InfiniBand (IB) or an iSCSI.

11. A computer readable physical storage media, comprising:

said computer readable storage media containing program instructions for execution on a computer processor for a method of operating a computer network storage system, the program instructions for,

executing a storage operating system by the computer processor;

receiving a file open command of a file based protocol from a client;

executing a transparent access process on the processor, the access process configured to interpret the file open command as a request to enable subsequent transparent access to a virtual disk (VDISK) over a block-based protocol data path from the client, the file open command including a modified file name that indicates that subsequent block-base protocol access to the VDISK is requested, the modified file name including a selected bit to alert the storage system that the client desires to utilize the transparent access process to interpret the file open command; and

directing the client to subsequently access the VDISK using the block-based protocol data path.