File server system using connection-oriented protocol and sharing data sets among data movers

Claim 2

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 3

The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first data mover computer assigns a user identification number in response to the session setup request, and the first data mover computer assigns a tree identification number in response to the file system connection request.

Claim 4

The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the second data mover computer assigns at least one file identifier in response to at least one of the file access requests passed by the first data mover computer from the client to the second data mover computer.

Claim 5

The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the client context information forwarded from the first data mover computer to the second data mover computer includes a negotiated dialect, a user identification number, a client operating system, a connection identification number, and a maximum network packet size.

Claim 6

The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the connection-oriented protocol is the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol, and first data mover computer and the second data mover computer support the same set of CIFS dialects.

Claim 7

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 8

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 9

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein a limited number of open connections are preallocated between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of file access requests.

Claim 10

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein a limited number of open connections are preallocated between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of file access requests.

Claim 11

he method as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the first data mover computer responds to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of the preallocated open connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 12

The method as claimed in claim 7 , wherein servicing of certain data access requests from clients serviced by the first data mover computer uses dedicated open connections between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of the data access requests from the first data mover computer to the second data mover computer, and wherein the first data mover computer responds to receipt of one of said certain data access requests from one of the clients serviced by the first data mover computer by dynamically assigning an open connection from a pool of pre-opened connections between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer.

Claim 13

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 14

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 15

The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein a virtual connection for the client is established over an allocated virtual channel by the first data mover computer modifying a context identifier (Cid) field of the file system connection request from the client by inserting a context identifier (Fctx_id) for identifying context of the virtual connection in the first data mover computer, and the first data mover computer forwarding the file system connection request including the modified context identifier field over the shared connection to the second data mover computer, and wherein the first data mover computer receives from the second data mover computer a reply including a context identifier field (Cid) including a context identifier (Pctx_id) set by the second data mover computer for identifying context of the virtual connection in the second data mover computer.

Claim 16

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 17

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 18

The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the second data mover computer assigns at least one file identifier in response to at least one of the file access requests passed by the first data mover computer from the client to the second data mover computer.

Claim 19

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending stream context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended stream context information to the second data mover computer, the stream context information including the user identification for the client session, the tree identifier, a server message block (SMB) protocol dialect, a maximum SMB message packet size, and access credentials associated with the user identification.

Claim 20

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending stream context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended stream context information to the second data mover computer, the stream context information including the user identification for the client session, the tree identifier, a server message block (SMB) protocol dialect, a maximum SMB message packet size, and access credentials associated with the user identification.

Claim 21

The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer support the same set of CIFS dialects.

Claim 22

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein a limited number of open Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections are preallocated between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of file access requests.

Claim 23

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein a limited number of open Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections are preallocated between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of file access requests.

Claim 24

The method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the first data mover computer responds to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of the preallocated open TCP connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 25

The method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein servicing of certain data access requests from clients serviced by the first data mover computer uses dedicated open TCP connections between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer for the forwarding of the data access requests from the first data mover computer to the second data mover computer, and wherein the first data mover computer responds to receipt of one of said certain data access requests from one of the clients serviced by the first data mover computer by dynamically assigning an open TCP connection from a pool of pre-opened TCP connections between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer.

Claim 26

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared TCP connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared TCP connection.

Claim 27

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared TCP connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared TCP connection.

Claim 28

The method as claimed in claim 19 , wherein a virtual connection for the client is established over an allocated virtual channel by the first data mover computer modifying a context identifier (Cid) field of the file system connection request from the client by inserting a context identifier (Fctx_id) for identifying context of the virtual connection in the first data mover computer, and the first data mover computer forwarding the file system connection request including the modified context identifier field over the shared TCP connection to the second data mover computer, and wherein the first data mover computer receives from the second data mover computer a reply including a context identifier field (Cid) including a context identifier (Pctx_id) set by the second data mover computer for identifying context of the virtual connection in the second data mover computer.

Claim 29

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending stream context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended stream context information to the second data mover computer, the stream context information including the user identification for the client session, the tree identifier, a server message block (SMB) protocol dialect, a maximum SMB message packet size, and access credentials associated with the user identification; and wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared TCP connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared TCP connection.

Claim 30

In a network file server system having at least a first data mover computer coupled to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, a method of operating the first data mover computer to use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, said method comprising: the first data mover computer using the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol to respond to a negotiate request from the client and to respond to a session setup request from the client to authenticate the client and assign a user identification for a client session, and then the first data mover computer responding to a file system connection request from the client by assigning a tree identifier and forwarding the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then the first data mover computer maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer forwards the user identification for the client session and the tree identifier and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending stream context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended stream context information to the second data mover computer, the stream context information including the user identification for the client session, the tree identifier, a server message block (SMB) protocol dialect, a maximum SMB message packet size, and access credentials associated with the user identification; and wherein multiple clients of the first data mover computer request access to file systems accessed through the second data mover computer and the multiple clients share at least one Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocation of virtual channels within the shared TCP connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared TCP connection.

Claim 31

The method as claimed in claim 21 , wherein a virtual connection for the client is established over an allocated virtual channel by the first data mover computer modifying a context identifier (Cid) field of the file system connection request from the client by inserting a context identifier (Fctx_id) for identifying context of the virtual connection in the first data mover computer, and the first data mover computer forwarding the file system connection request including the modified context identifier field over the shared TCP connection to the second data mover computer, and wherein the first data mover computer receives from the second data mover computer a reply including a context identifier field (Cid) including a context identifier (Pctx_id) set by the second data mover computer for identifying context of the virtual connection in the second data mover computer.

Claim 32

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 33

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 34

The network file server as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for assigning a user identification number in response to the session setup request, and for assigning a tree identification number in response to the file system connection request.

Claim 35

The network file server as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for forwarding to the second data mover computer client context information including a negotiated dialect, a user identification number, a client operating system, a connection identification number, and a maximum network packet size.

Claim 36

The network file server as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the first data mover computer is programmed so that the connection-oriented protocol is the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol, and first data mover computer and the second data mover computer support the same set of CIFS dialects.

Claim 37

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 38

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 39

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for responding to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of a limited number of preallocated open connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 40

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for responding to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of a limited number of preallocated open connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 41

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for permitting multiple clients of the first data mover computer to share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocating virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 42

A network file server comprising a first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, and at least a second data mover computer coupled to the first data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to use a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the first data mover computer is programmed for permitting multiple clients of the first data mover computer to share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocating virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 43

The network file server as claimed in claim 29 , wherein the first data mover computer is programmed to establish a virtual connection for the client over an allocated virtual channel by modifying a context identifier (Cid) field of the file system connection request from the client by inserting a context identifier (Fctx_id) for identifying context of the virtual connection in the first data mover computer, and forwarding the file system connection request including the modified context identifier field over the shared connection to the second data mover computer, and receiving a reply from the second data mover computer, the reply including a context identifier field (Cid) including a context identifier (Pctx_id) set by the second data mover computer for identifying context of the virtual connection in the second data mover computer.

Claim 44

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 45

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein each of the session setup request, the file system connection request, and the file access requests is a respective separate request from the client to the first data mover computer.

Claim 46

The program storage device as claimed in claim 31 , wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for assigning a user identification number in response to the session setup request, and for assigning a tree identification number in response to the file system connection request.

Claim 47

The program storage device as claimed in claim 31 , wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for forwarding to the second data mover computer client context information including a negotiated dialect, a user identification number, a client operating system, a connection identification number, and a maximum network packet size.

Claim 48

The program storage device as claimed in claim 31 , wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer so that the connection-oriented protocol is the Common Internet File System (CIFS) Protocol.

Claim 49

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 50

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer by appending the client context information to the file system connection request and forwarding the file system connection request including the appended client context information to the second data mover computer.

Claim 51

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for responding to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of a limited number of preallocated open connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 52

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for responding to the file system connection request from the client by assigning one of a limited number of preallocated open connections for the forwarding of data access requests from the client for access to the file system.

Claim 53

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for permitting multiple clients of the first data mover computer to share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocating virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 54

A program storage device containing a program for at least a first data mover computer in a network file server, the first data mover computer having a port for coupling to a data network for servicing data access requests from at least one network client, the first data mover computer being coupled to at least a second data mover computer for servicing data access requests from the first data mover computer, at least one file system in data storage being accessible to the second data mover computer, wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for using a connection-oriented protocol for maintaining a connection with the client for permitting the client to access the file system, and wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for: using the connection-oriented protocol to obtain client context information and to respond to a session setup request from the client by authenticating the client, and then responding to a file system connection request from the client by forwarding the client context information and the file system connection request to the second data mover computer, and then maintaining a connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer when the client accesses the file system and the first data mover computer passes file access requests from the client to the second data mover computer and returns responses to the file access requests from the second data mover computer to the client; wherein the program is executable by the first data mover computer for permitting multiple clients of the first data mover computer to share at least one connection between the first data mover computer and the second data mover computer by allocating virtual channels within the shared connection, and data packets of more than one of the virtual channels are multiplexed over the shared connection.

Claim 55

The program storage device as claimed in claim 37 , wherein the program is executable to establish a virtual connection for the client over an allocated virtual channel by modifying a context identifier (Cid) field of the file system connection request from the client by inserting a context identifier (Fctx_id) for identifying context of the virtual connection in the first data mover computer, and forwarding the file system connection request including the modified context identifier field over the shared connection to the second data mover computer, and receiving a reply from the second data mover computer, the reply including a context identifier field (Cid) including a context identifier (Pctx_id) set by the second data mover computer for identifying context of the virtual connection in the second data mover computer.