Patent · US Expired

File system for a clustered processing system

US5828876A · kind A · utility

256Cited by
16References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 31, 1996
Grant dateOct 27, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 31, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99939
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An improved file system for managing data storage and retrieval in a clustered UNIX computer system including a plurality of processing nodes and an interconnection network connecting the processing nodes. The improved file system includes a data storage device, such as a disk storage unit, connected via a shared SCSI interconnect with each one of the processing nodes, rather than connected directly with a single processing node. The structure layout for the file system, which is maintained on the data storage device, includes sufficient information to enable all of the processing nodes to access said file system. The layout comprises: superblocks containing offsets to all other file system structures within the file system; a free inode bit map containing a plurality of bits, each bit representing an inode within the file system; a modified inode journal containing a separate inode bit map for each superblock and identifying particular inodes which have been modified by the file system prior to a system failure; a plurality of inodes, each inode being a data structure which contains a definition for each particular file and directory in the file system; a free block bit map contai…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.