Inverted Hierarchical File System Metafile Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional file systems face challenges in maintaining data integrity and efficiency during changes, such as file creation, renaming, or moving, due to the need to update multiple records, which increases the risk of errors and complicates recovery from failures.
Innovation Solution
A file system with an inverted hierarchical structure, where child files and directories point directly to their parent records in a metafile, allowing atomic transactions and reducing the number of records that need to be updated, enabling efficient organization and recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional hierarchical file system structure is used, then files and directories can be organized in a standard tree structure, but multiple metafile records must be updated during file operations increasing error risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional parent-child pointer relationship in file system hierarchy. Instead of parent directories containing pointers to child files and subdirectories, each file and directory contains a pointer to its parent directory. This inversion fundamentally changes the data structure from a top-down hierarchical model to a bottom-up model where every node except the root has an explicit parent reference, enabling atomic updates during file operations
2Ease of repair
If traditional file system hierarchy is used, then standard directory structures are maintained, but reconstruction after failure becomes complicated and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing parent pointers in every file and directory structure during normal operation. This means that before any failure occurs, the complete parent-child relationship information is already embedded in the file system metadata. Upon failure, the system can immediately reconstruct the file hierarchy by following these pre-established pointers without needing to perform complex reconstruction algorithms or traverse the entire file system, dramatically reducing recovery time
3Reliability
If multiple metafile records are updated during file operations, then complete file system state is maintained, but the likelihood of update failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file operation update process into independent atomic units. By inverting the pointer structure, each file operation (create, rename, move, delete) can be implemented as a single metafile record update rather than requiring coordinated updates across multiple records. This segmentation isolates failures to individual operations and eliminates cascading update failures, improving both reliability and efficiency
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer system that improves upon the traditional file system hierarchy is disclosed. The computer system includes a processor and a persistent data storage device that is accessible by the processor. The system also may include file system software that is executed by the processor. The file system software may operate to organize the files of the persistent data storage device into a plurality of records that are contained in a metafile. Within the metafile, the files and directories of the file system may be organized in an inverted hierarchical structure. In the inverted hierarchical structure, records corresponding to child files and child directories of a parent directory may directly point to a record in the metafile that corresponds to the parent directory. In one implementation of the file system, individual records of the metafile may be each addressable by a file identifier. Each of the individual records, in turn, may include a parent identifier that corresponds to the file identifier of its parent directory record.