CONFIGURATION-LESS NETWORK LOCKING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SHARED FILE SYSTEMS

摘要

A network-based method for managing locks in a shared file system (SFS) for a group of hosts that does not require any configuration to identify a server for managing locks for the SFS. Each host in the group carries out the steps of checking a predetermined storage location to determine whether there is a host ID written in the predetermined location. If there is no host ID written in the predetermined location, the first host to notice this condition writes its host ID in the predetermined location to identify itself as the server for managing locks. If there is a host ID written in the predetermined location, the host ID of the server for managing locks is maintained in local memory. When the host needs to perform IO operations on a file of the SFS, it communicates with the server for managing locks over the network using the host ID of the server for managing locks to obtain a lock to the file.

主权项

1. In a system including a group of servers that communicate with each other over a first network and issue storage commands to a shared data storage system over a second network, a method of managing locks of files stored in the shared data storage system using a master lock that includes a data field for storing an address of one of the servers in the group to identify such server as a current server for managing the locks of files stored in the shared data storage system, said method comprising:
at a first server of the group, receiving a request to update a particular file stored in the shared data storage system from an application executing within the first server; determining, by the first server, whether an address of another server in the group is stored in the data field of the master lock; if the data field of the master lock does not contain an address of another server in the group, updating the data field of the master lock to store an address of the first server and obtaining a lock to the particular file; if the data field of the master lock does contain the address of another server in the group, communicating with said another server over the first network using the address, a request to obtain the lock to the particular file; and after the lock to the particular file is obtained, performing an input-output operation on the particular file to fulfill the request to update the particular file.