Direct access from client to storage device
US6931450B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Aug 16, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 14, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/134
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus includes a computing node and a metadata server. The computing node may transmit a request to open a file to the metadata server, which may provide a corresponding file identifier to the computing node. The computing node may use the file identifier to directly access the storage storing the file. In one embodiment, the storage may be an object-based storage. The storage may receive the file identifier with an access command and may perform the mapping from file identifier to storage blocks internally. Thus, accesses to the storage may be performed on an arbitrary boundary within the file. In other words, the entire block including the data needed by the computing node may not be transferred to the computing node. Instead, the storage may select the data requested from the file (e.g. via an offset and a number of bytes or some similar mechanism) and return that data to the computing node.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.