System and method for supporting file attributes on a distributed file system without native support therefor
US5617568A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 14, 1994 |
| Grant date | Apr 1, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 14, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99942
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method to provide native support in a distributed computing environment distributed file system for an operating system's extended file attributes. Such attributes remain invisible in the namespace which the operating system's distributed file system clients may access. A directory of the form .*.sub.-- for a file in DFS namespace is created for which extended attributes (EA) are required, with a subdirectory thereunder whose name is that of the file. Extended attributes are filed under this .*.sub.-- directory having filenames of the attributes' names. Provision is made for discriminating EAs and for efficiently accessing total EA size and number of critical EAs, by cumulating and storing them in an additional file under the subdirectory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.