Global indexing within an enterprise object store file system

• US 8,959,060 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Carmichael, John Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Application Number:
  US14/068,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20140059005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/683
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/134 Distributed indices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level

Abstract

A file system is disclosed that includes an application wide name space instantiated in a global index (Gindex) that is used for accessing objects related to an application. Using the Gindex, a method for cache coherency includes establishing one or more appliances, each defining a storage cluster; establishing one or more tenants spanning across appliances, wherein an application stores objects in file systems associated with the appliances and tenants; establishing a Gindex including metadata relating to objects stored in association with the application; replicating the Gindex to plurality of data centers supporting the tenants; storing an original object at a first data center; storing a cached copy of the object at a second data center; aligning the cached copy using metadata for the object from a local copy of the Gindex.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing a tenant wide name space to access objects of an application stored in one or more physical file systems across one or more appliances, each appliance defining a storage cluster in association with a tenant logically spanning across the one or more appliances;

establishing a global index (Gindex) including metadata relating to objects stored in association with the application under the tenant, wherein metadata for each object includes a last modification time indicator, and wherein each object is associated with a unique object identifier;

accessing objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant by corresponding object identifiers through the Gindex;

receiving a rollback date/time; and

restricting access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant, such that access is provided to objects associated with a last modification time indicator that is older than the rollback date/time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing permissioned access to objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing new objects and new versions of existing objects having a last modification time indicator past the rollback date/time in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant; and

providing permissioned access to the new objects or new versions of existing objects.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

storing a system defined new version of an existing object;

defining an expiration period for an old version of the existing object, wherein each of the new version and the old version is associated with a last modification time indicator; and

deleting the old version after the expiration period.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising restricting access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with a bucket set of the tenant.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more physical file systems are indexed by the bucket set of the tenant.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein accessing objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant comprises asserting a search API that discovers metadata in the Gindex corresponding to an object stored in the one or more physical file systems.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein providing permissioned access comprises asserting an alternative search API and wherein the alternative search API and the search API are not the same API.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein providing permissioned access to objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time further comprises accessing and fixing corrupt objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing unrestricted access to objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time, wherein unrestricted access is limited to objects that have been accessed and fixed.

11. A system for accessing a file system, comprising:

one or more processors communicatively coupled to a file system, wherein the one or more processors are configured to;

establish a tenant wide name space used for accessing objects of an application stored in one or more physical file systems across one or more appliances, each appliance defining a storage cluster in association with a tenant logically spanning across the one or more appliances;

establish a global index (Gindex) including metadata relating to objects stored in association with the application under the tenant, wherein metadata for each object includes a last modification time indicator, and wherein each object is associated with a unique object identifier;

access objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant by corresponding object identifiers through the Gindex;

receive a rollback date/time; and

restrict access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant, such that access is provided to objects associated with a last modification time indicator that is older than the rollback date/time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to provide permissioned access to objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to:

store new objects and new versions of existing objects having a last modification time indicator past the rollback date/time in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant; and

provide permissioned access to the new objects or new versions to existing objects.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to:

store a system defined new version of an existing object;

define an expiration period for an old version of the existing object, wherein each of the new version and the old version is associated with a last modification time indicator; and

delete the old version after the expiration period.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to restrict access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with a bucket set of the tenant.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to;

establish a tenant wide name space used for accessing objects of an application stored in one or more physical file systems across one or more appliances, each appliance defining a storage cluster, in association with a tenant logically spanning across said the one or more appliances;

establish a global index (Gindex) including metadata relating to objects stored in association with the application under the tenant, wherein metadata for each object includes a last modification time indicator, and wherein each object is associated with a unique object identifier;

access objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant by corresponding object identifiers through the Gindex;

receive a rollback date/time; and

restrict access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant, such that access is provided to objects associated with a last modification time indicator that is older than the rollback date/time.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to provide permissioned access to objects associated with a last modification time indicator newer than the rollback date/time.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

store new objects and new versions of existing objects having a last modification time indicator past the rollback date/time in the one or more physical file systems associated with the tenant; and

provide permissioned access to the new objects or new versions to existing objects.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

store a system defined new version of an existing object;

define an expiration period for an old version of the existing object, wherein each of the new version and the old version is associated with a last modification time indicator; and

delete the old version after the expiration period.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to restrict access to the objects stored in the one or more physical file systems associated with a bucket set of the tenant.