Root Node File Virtualization via Name Server Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing file level virtualization technologies, such as those described in Literature 1, face performance bottlenecks due to increased processing loads on the root node, particularly when handling object ID conversions and large object ID tables during file system migration, which impede system responsiveness and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves inserting share information into object IDs exchanged between clients and root nodes, allowing root nodes and leaf nodes to create and manage object IDs with share information, and using transfer control information to route requests to appropriate leaf or root nodes, thereby reducing the processing load on the root node by minimizing the need for object ID conversions and maintaining smaller, more manageable tables.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If object ID conversion is performed at the root node to handle multiple file servers, then file level virtualization is achieved, but the processing load on the root node intensifies creating a throughput bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a name server as an intermediary component that handles object ID conversion and resolution. Instead of the root node performing all conversions directly, the name server mediates between clients and file servers, distributing the conversion workload and reducing the root node's processing burden while maintaining virtualization capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the file level virtualization function into separate components: the root node handles high-level virtualization and namespace management, while the name server handles object ID conversion. This segmentation divides the processing workload, preventing the root node from becoming a bottleneck.
2Adaptability or versatility
If an object ID conversion table is maintained in file units at the root node for file system migration, then migration capability is enabled, but the processing load on the root node increases due to large table references
Solution Approach 1:
The name server acts as an intermediary that maintains the object ID conversion table separately from the root node. This allows the migration capability to be preserved while the root node avoids the complexity of maintaining and referencing large conversion tables, as the name server handles these operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the object ID conversion table from the root node and places it in the name server. This extraction removes the heavy processing burden of table maintenance and reference from the root node, enabling migration capability without increasing root node complexity.
3Reliability
If share information is inserted into object IDs at root nodes, then object ID uniqueness is improved, but processing load increases due to additional conversion requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The name server serves as an intermediary that handles the insertion and conversion of share information into object IDs. This allows root nodes to maintain uniqueness without performing the conversion operations themselves, as the name server mediates these transformations and distributes the processing load.
Data Source
AI summary
Root node arrangements configured to carry out file level virtualization for logically providing a plurality of share units that can be shared among file systems of the root node or other one or more root nodes, to a client.