USING A UNIX-BASED FILE SYSTEM TO MANAGE AND SERVE CLONES TO WINDOWS-BASED COMPUTING CLIENTS

摘要

Systems and methods use a ZFS file system in a Windows-based computing environment without protocol conversion or native ZFS support on Windows-based computing devices. Windows-based computing devices may obtain native Windows-based access to data in a storage volume that is managed by a Unix-based storage management server executing a ZFS volume manager and file system. ZFS clones may be served as logical unit numbers to Windows-based computing devices. The ZFS nature of the accessed storage volume is unbeknownst to the Windows-based machines. This enables Windows-based utilities, applications, and tools executing on a Windows-based computing device to operate upon the data in ZFS-managed space the same as they might have operated on a workspace in an array-created hardware snapshot in the prior art. Users may use storage space from their Windows-based computing devices according to a Windows-based file system such as NTFS. The Windows-based formatting of the contents in the ZFS-managed volumes are unbeknownst to the Unix-based storage management server and to the ZFS volume manager and file system.

主权项

1. A method for using a Unix-based Z file system (ZFS file system) in a Windows-based computing environment, the method comprising:
creating, by a Unix-based ZFS file system that executes on a Unix-based computing device, a first volume in the ZFS file system,
wherein the first volume is stored in a storage array in communication with the Unix-based computing device; mounting the first volume as a ZFS pool on the Unix-based computing device; creating a second volume within the ZFS pool, by the Unix-based ZFS file system, based at least in part on a request received by the Unix-based computing device from a Windows-based server; providing, by the Unix-based computing device, a communicative coupling between the Windows-based server and the second volume, such that the second volume is presented as a first logical unit number (LUN) to the Windows-based server; mounting the first LUN to the Windows-based server; accessing the second volume by the Windows-based server via the Unix-based computing device; and formatting the second volume, by a Windows-based file system that executes on the Windows-based server, wherein the formatting comprises storing metadata in the second volume that indicates that the second volume is formatted according to the Windows-based file system.