Global file system and data storage device locks
US6493804B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 1, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 10, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 1, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99939
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system includes shared Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) storage devices for processing clients coupled by a fiber channel interface. The storage devices include storage blocks, and locks controlling their use by clients. Clients issue actions to the storage devices for performing operations on the locks. A client may exclude other clients from using storage blocks using a state element to acquire the lock for shared or exclusive use. If the client modified the data, a version counter in the lock is updated when the lock is released. If an activity bit is set, the version counter is updated upon both reading and writing. Other clients can forcibly release a lock owned by a failed client by monitoring its version counter. Expiration timers associated with the locks allow acquired locks to be released by timing out. A serverless global file system (GFS) manages use of the shared storage resources, and allows remapping of the locks to the storage blocks, for example, based on activity of the locks.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.