Claims
- 1. A distributed data storage system comprising:
a plurality of physical storage volumes for storing a plurality of files of data identified by a single file system; network; a plurality of storage nodes, coupled to said network, each one of said storage nodes for conducting storage operations on said files of said file system stored on said physical storage volumes; and load balancing switch, coupled to said network and to said storage nodes, for receiving a request from a client to conduct a storage operation on a file identified in said file system and for selecting one of said storage nodes to process said storage operation.
- 2. The distributed data storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said load balancing switch comprises a layer four load balancing switch.
- 3. The distributed data storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network utilizes a TCP/IP network protocol.
- 4. The distributed data storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network utilizes a UDP/IP network protocol.
- 5. The distributed data storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network comprises a local area network (“LAN”).
- 6. The distributed data storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network comprises a wide area network (“WAN”).
- 7. The distributed storage system as set forth in claim 1, wherein a storage node comprises:
a file system manager for processing said client requests for storage operations; and a volume manager for accessing said physical volumes.
- 8. The distributed storage system as set forth in claim 7, wherein said file system manager of a first storage node for communicating to a volume manger of a second storage node to access a file stored on a physical volume attached to said second storage node.
- 9. A method for selecting storage nodes in a distributed data storage system, said method comprising the steps of:
storing a plurality of files of data identified by a single file system in a plurality of physical storage volumes; coupling said physical storage volumes to a plurality of storage nodes; coupling said storage nodes to a load balancing switch; coupling said load balancing switch to a network; receiving a request from a client at said load balancing switch to conduct a storage operation on a file identified in said file system; selecting, at said load balancing switch, one of said storage nodes to process said storage operation; and conducting storage operations on said files of said file system stored on said physical storage volumes.
- 10. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said load balancing switch comprises a layer four load balancing switch.
- 11. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said network utilizes a TCP/IP network protocol.
- 12. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said network utilizes a UDP/IP network protocol.
- 13. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said network comprises a local area network (“LAN”).
- 14. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein said network comprises a wide area network (“WAN”).
- 15. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the step of conducting storage operations on said files of said file system stored on said physical storage volumes comprises the steps of:
processing said client requests for storage operations in a file system manager; and accessing said physical volumes from a volume manager.
- 16. The method as set forth in claim 15, further comprises the steps of:
communicating from a file system manager of a first storage node to a volume manger of a second storage node; and accessing a file stored on a physical volume attached to said second storage node.
- 17. A computer readable medium for storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed by a computer system, causes the computer to perform the steps of:
storing a plurality of files of data identified by a single file system in a plurality of physical storage volumes; coupling said physical storage volumes to a plurality of storage nodes; coupling said storage nodes to a load balancing switch; coupling said load balancing switch to a network; receiving a request from a client at said load balancing switch to conduct a storage operation on a file identified in said file system; selecting, at said load balancing switch, one of said storage nodes to process said storage operation; and conducting storage operations on said files of said file system stored on said physical storage volumes.
- 18. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein said load balancing switch comprises a layer four load balancing switch.
- 19. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein said network utilizes a TCP/IP network protocol.
- 20. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein said network utilizes a UDP/IP network protocol.
- 21. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein said network comprises a local area network (“LAN”).
- 22. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein said network comprises a wide area network (“WAN”).
- 23. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 17, wherein the step of conducting storage operations on said files of said file system stored on said physical storage volumes comprises the steps of:
processing said client requests for storage operations in a file system manager; and accessing said physical volumes from a volume manager.
- 24. The computer readable medium as set forth in claim 23, further comprises the steps of:
communicating from a file system manager of a first storage node to a volume manger of a second storage node; and accessing a file stored on a physical volume attached to said second storage node.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/419,778, filed Oct. 17, 2002, entitled “A Distributed Storage System.”
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60419778 |
Oct 2002 |
US |