DFS Path Access via Local Caching and Automatic Registration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Distributed File System (DFS) mechanisms face challenges in synchronizing replicated files and directories, especially over low bandwidth and high latency links, and require manual registration of replicas, which is time-consuming and costly, especially in large organizations with multiple branches.
Innovation Solution
Integrating DFS paths with caching mechanisms to provide transparent access to files and directories without manual registration, by adding a second DFS referral to the response that identifies a local cache server, allowing for dynamic changes and efficient access to files across multiple servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If DFS relies on additional protocols and services to synchronize replicas, then data synchronization can be achieved, but data integrity and consistency problems occur over low bandwidth and high latency links
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the synchronization function from the complex DFS protocol framework and implements it through a dedicated content synchronization mechanism that operates independently. This separation allows the synchronization protocol to be optimized specifically for data consistency without being constrained by the general-purpose DFS protocol complexity, thereby improving data integrity while reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a content synchronization mechanism as an intermediary layer between DFS replicas. This intermediary handles all synchronization operations, including conflict resolution and data consistency maintenance, thereby isolating the complexity of synchronization from the DFS protocol itself and ensuring reliable data integrity across distributed replicas.
2Ease of operation
If manual registration of replicas is performed, then DFS root node mapping can be maintained, but time and costs increase significantly in large organizations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic replica registration where the content synchronization mechanism autonomously discovers new replicas and registers them with the DFS root node without human intervention. The system self-manages the mapping updates, eliminating the time-consuming manual registration process while maintaining accurate DFS root node mappings across the distributed file system.
3Productivity
If files are accessed from remote servers, then centralized storage is maintained, but access efficiency decreases and server burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements proactive file caching where frequently accessed files are pre-loaded and stored in local caches at client locations before they are actually needed. This preliminary action reduces subsequent access latency and minimizes network bandwidth consumption, as files can be retrieved from local cache rather than being fetched from remote servers on demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces local caching mechanisms that store file copies at distributed locations closer to users. This creates a hierarchical storage structure where frequently accessed files are served from local caches while less frequently accessed files remain on remote servers, thereby improving access efficiency for hot files while maintaining centralized storage for cold files.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is disclosed for accessing information based on Distributed File System (DFS) paths and for automatically and transparently modifying the DFS target server set with additional servers that are preferable to a client. A request to resolve a path to a file is sent to a DFS root node. A response is received from the DFS root node. The response includes one or more first DFS referrals. Each of the one or more first DFS referrals identifies a network entity and a directory that is exported by the network entity, where the file is stored in the directory. A second DFS referral is added to the response. The second DFS referral identifies a particular network entity and a particular directory that is exported by the particular network entity. The response is sent to the client.