Method for performing private lock management

Claim 1

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said computer system having a global lock manager associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, including defining at least one lock mode that conflicts with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; assigning a lock to each one of said resources by one of said local lock managers, unless the requested lock has not been previously assigned by said global lock manager to one of said local lock managers, in which case said global lock manager assigns said lock to one of said local lock managers, said one of said local lock managers assigns said lock to said requesting server, each said lock being indicative of a specific one of said plurality of lock modes; receiving requests for access to specific ones of said resources; and administering said requests received from one of said plurality of servers by a local lock manager associated with the requesting server without exposing any of the lock modes associated with the locks on said resource to said global lock manager.

Claim 2

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said computer system having a global lock manager associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, including defining at least one lock mode that conflicts with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; assigning a lock to each one of said resources by one of said local lock managers, unless the requested lock has not been previously assigned by said global lock manager to one of said local lock managers, in which case said global lock manager assigns said lock to one of said local lock managers, said one of said local lock managers assigns said lock to said requesting server, each said lock being indicative of a specific one of said plurality of lock modes; receiving requests for access to specific ones of said resources; and administering said requests received from one of said plurality of servers by a local lock manager associated with the requesting server without exposing any of the lock modes associated with the locks on said resource to said global lock manager.

Claim 7

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers being associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, including defining a first lock mode that conflicts with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; assigning a lock indicative of said first lock mode to a specific one of said resources; assigning a lock to each of the remaining ones of said resources, each of said locks assigned to the remaining ones of said resources being indicative of one of said specific lock modes; receiving a request from one of said servers for access to said specific one of said resources, said request being indicative of a desire to access said specific one of said resources; evaluating the locks assigned to each of said resources to determine whether said first lock mode conflicts with said lock modes assigned to any of said resources; granting said request if said first lock mode does not conflict with the lock mode associated with the lock assigned to any of said resources; and denying said request if said first lock mode does conflict with the lock mode associated with the lock assigned to any of said resources.

Claim 8

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers being associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, including defining a first lock mode that conflicts with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; assigning a lock indicative of said first lock mode to a specific one of said resources; assigning a lock to each of the remaining ones of said resources, each of said locks assigned to the remaining ones of said resources being indicative of one of said specific lock modes; receiving a request from one of said servers for access to said specific one of said resources, said request being indicative of a desire to access said specific one of said resources; evaluating the locks assigned to each of said resources to determine whether said first lock mode conflicts with said lock modes assigned to any of said resources; granting said request if said first lock mode does not conflict with the lock mode associated with the lock assigned to any of said resources; and denying said request if said first lock mode does conflict with the lock mode associated with the lock assigned to any of said resources.

Claim 13

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system having a plurality of shared resources, said distributed data sharing computer system comprising a local lock manager, a global lock manager and a local principal, said local lock manager receiving a request for access to one of said shared resources from said local principal, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources; assigning a lock to specific ones of said resources, each said lock being indicative of one of said lock modes; receiving a request for access from said local principal, said request being indicative of a desire to access a specific one of said resources having a specific lock mode assigned thereto; and determining whether a lock on said specific one of said resources is locally managed, and (a) if the determination is made that the lock is locally managed, administering the request locally, (b) if the determination is made that the lock is not locally managed, further determining whether said local lock manager holds a global covering lock on said specific ones of said resources, and (i) if the further determination is made that said local lock manager holds a global covering lock on said specific one of said resources, administering the request locally, and (ii) if the further determination is made that said local lock manager does not hold a global covering lock on said specific one of said resources, requesting said global covering lock manager and after said request for said global covering lock is granted, administering said request locally, including granting said local request under local management, thereby enforcing a descending lock hierarchy.

Claim 14

A method for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system having a plurality of shared resources, said distributed data sharing computer system comprising a local lock manager, a global lock manager and a local principal, said local lock manager receiving a request for access to one of said shared resources from said local principal, said method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources; assigning a lock to specific ones of said resources, each said lock being indicative of one of said lock modes; receiving a request for access from said local principal, said request being indicative of a desire to access a specific one of said resources having a specific lock mode assigned thereto; and determining whether a lock on said specific one of said resources is locally managed, and (a) if the determination is made that the lock is locally managed, administering the request locally, (b) if the determination is made that the lock is not locally managed, further determining whether said local lock manager holds a global covering lock on said specific ones of said resources, and (i) if the further determination is made that said local lock manager holds a global covering lock on said specific one of said resources, administering the request locally, and (ii) if the further determination is made that said local lock manager does not hold a global covering lock on said specific one of said resources, requesting said global covering lock manager and after said request for said global covering lock is granted, administering said request locally, including granting said local request under local management, thereby enforcing a descending lock hierarchy.

Claim 20

An apparatus for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers being associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said computer system having a global lock manager associated therewith, comprising: means for defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, wherein at least one of said lock modes is defined to conflict with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; means for assigning a lock to each one of said resources with either one of said local lock managers or said global lock manager, each said lock being indicative of a specific one of said plurality of lock modes; means for receiving requests for access to specific ones of said resources; and means for administering said requests for access to specific ones of said resources with said local lock manager without exposing the lock modes associated with the locks on said resources to said global lock manager unless said request for access to specific ones of said resources relates to a resource that is not covered by a lock mode previously assigned to said local lock manager by said global lock manager.

Claim 21

An apparatus for performing lock management in a distributed data sharing computer system in which a plurality of resources are shared by a plurality of servers, each of said servers being associated with one of a plurality of local groups of servers, each of said local groups having a local lock manager associated therewith, said computer system having a global lock manager associated therewith, comprising: means for defining a plurality of lock modes to govern the availability of said resources to said servers, wherein at least one of said lock modes is defined to conflict with at least another of said lock modes without covering any locks associated with said another of said lock modes; means for assigning a lock to each one of said resources with either one of said local lock managers or said global lock manager, each said lock being indicative of a specific one of said plurality of lock modes; means for receiving requests for access to specific ones of said resources; and means for administering said requests for access to specific ones of said resources with said local lock manager without exposing the lock modes associated with the locks on said resources to said global lock manager unless said request for access to specific ones of said resources relates to a resource that is not covered by a lock mode previously assigned to said local lock manager by said global lock manager.