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US5946686A
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Parallel file system and method with quota allocation
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1997-07-11
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Granted: 1999-08-31
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Expires: 2017-07-11
Abstract
Abstract A computer system having a shared disk file system running on on multiple computers each having their own instance of an operating system and being coupled for parallel data sharing access to files residing on network attached shared disks. Methods are provided for use as a parallel file system in a shared disk environment by use of a scalable directory service for the system with a stable cursor, a segmented allocation map. Synchronous and asynchronous takeover of a metadata node occurs for correction of metadata which was under modification and a new computer node to be a metadata node for that file. Locks are not constantly required to allocate new blocks on behalf of a user. We have provided recoverable local shares for Quota Management. A quota server and a quota client are provided for each file system, and a quotacheck utility allows parallel environments with minimal interference to other applications which require the use of quotas.
Inventors
- 👤 Frank B. Schmuck
- 👤 James Christopher Wyllie
- 👤 Robert J. Curran
- 👤 Zvi Yosef Yehudai
- 👤 Roger Lee Haskin
- 👤 Sibylle Schaller
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 21:27
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/10; G06F16/18; G06F16/1858; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/953; Y10S707/959
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
221 words
In a computer system having a shared disk file system running on multiple computer nodes each having their own instance of an operating system and being coupled for parallel data sharing access to files residing on network attached shared disks, the method, for use where files can be independently accessed by multiple processors to actively read and write to the files on various disks, of: assigning sectors of a disk to files on each node creating files; and allocating shares of quota to nodes which are actively writing to a file system on behalf of a quota holding user, wherein sectors allocated to files owned by a specific user are limited by a quota which specifies how much disk space this user of group of users is allowed to use, wherein a quota is the number of inodes and the amount of space allowed to a user, and wherein the computer system includes a quota server which maintains a disk resident file which contains quota limits and accumulated usage for all uses in the entire file system, said server performing all read and updates of quota limits for all nodes of the system, whereby one quota server per file system and one quota client per node per file system that is actively working on data within the file system is provided.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
221 words
In a computer system having a shared disk file system running on multiple computer nodes each having their own instance of an operating system and being coupled for parallel data sharing access to files residing on network attached shared disks, the method, for use where files can be independently accessed by multiple processors to actively read and write to the files on various disks, of: assigning sectors of a disk to files on each node creating files; and allocating shares of quota to nodes which are actively writing to a file system on behalf of a quota holding user, wherein sectors allocated to files owned by a specific user are limited by a quota which specifies how much disk space this user of group of users is allowed to use, wherein a quota is the number of inodes and the amount of space allowed to a user, and wherein the computer system includes a quota server which maintains a disk resident file which contains quota limits and accumulated usage for all uses in the entire file system, said server performing all read and updates of quota limits for all nodes of the system, whereby one quota server per file system and one quota client per node per file system that is actively working on data within the file system is provided.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 1, wherein said file system allocates disk blocks and inodes independently on all the nodes of a parallel system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 1, wherein all actions related to overall quota management are executed on the quota server, and changes in limits, allocation of local share and display of current status requires interaction with the quota server.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
57 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 3, wherein quota clients make changes in the file system allocations as allowed by their local share and update the server periodically based on their usage of this share, while the quota server may revoke share from the client to satisfy requests for share from another client.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
71 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 4, wherein quota clients start with zero local share, and only if an application on the processor tries to create new file system data will a local share for the user be requested frin tge qyita server, and only if the client receives an adequate local share will the the application request be satisfied; otherwise the application request is not honored.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
69 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 5, wherein the quota client maintains a record of the local share and how much of that share has been used, and applications which release disk space will increase the local share for the user, and the quota client will periodically update the quota server on its usage and will release excess quota share based on application usage patterns.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
81 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 6, wherein the quota server gives out local shares as long as it still has quota available, and if all of the quota limit has been given as local shares, the quota server will revoke local shares to satisfy new requests by revoking part of the local shares allowing the client to continue using the remaining share until no quota is available to satisfy requests causing application requests to be denied.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
76 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 1, wherein each time that the quota server allocates a local share, a record of an in doubt value is placed on recoverable disk of the sum of the local shares which value represents the amount of quota space that the server does not have exact information about and such space may not be reallocated without a danger of allowing a user to exceed his limits.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 8, wherein if a client fails; the amount of storage which is in-doubt is not available to a user until a utility program is run that validates the actual usage of storage by this user.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
62 words
In a system employing a file system according to claim 9, wherein when the quota server fails, a new quota server will be chosen that will not have any information of changes which have not yet been written to disk, and the new quota server will generate this information by revoking all local shares and updating in-doubt values based on the replies.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-08-30 | 2003-03-01 | 2003-08-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-08-30 | 2007-03-01 | 2007-08-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-08-30 | 2011-03-01 | 2011-08-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |