| 摘要 |
In this disclosure an architecture for extensible file systems is described. Also disclosed is an implementation of the architecture. The architecture enables the extension of file system functionality by stacking (or composing) new file systems (layers) on top of existing file systems. The implementor of a new layer has the option of keeping the files exported by the new layer coherent with files of the underlying layer, as well as the option of sharing the same cached memory with the files of the underlying layer. A flexible framework is also disclosed for arranging the file systems' name spaces. Composing of new layers on top of existing ones can be done statically (at compile/configuration time) or dynamically (at boot/run time). In addition, the file system layers can reside in the same address space or in different address spaces, and be implemented on a local computer node or on a remote computer node. <IMAGE> |
