Vmware, Inc.

Abhishek Rai

Satyam B Vaghani

Mayank Rawat

Yuen-Lin Tan

Daniel J Scales

Dragan Stancevic

In a computer system with a disk array that has physical storage devices arranged as logical storage units and is capable of carrying out hardware storage operations on a per logical storage unit basis, data movement operations can be carried out on a per-file basis. A data mover software component for use in a computer or storage system enables cloning and initialization of data to provide high data throughput without moving the data between the kernel and application levels.

Using a data mover and a clone blocklist primitive to clone files on a virtual file system

Using a data mover and a zero blocklist primitive to zero files on a virtual file system

Described herein is technology for, among things, a distributed transaction system. The distributed transaction system includes a number of computing entities and a data storage unit in communication with the computing entities. The data storage unit is operable to store a file system that is accessible by the computing entities. The data storage unit is also operable to store a number of transaction journals corresponding to respective computing entities. The transaction journals describe transactions of the computing entities on the file system. A particular computing entity is operable to maintain a respective transaction journal without communicating with the other computing entities.

Distributed transaction system

Data mover permitting data transfer without transferring data between application and operating system

A method, system and program code for implementing distributed locks to be maintained through the use of on disk heartbeats. An instance of a node need only maintain a single heartbeat for all locks associated with the node and all of its processes. The node updates its heartbeat by accessing common storage, either virtual or physical, and updating a timestamp value in its heartbeat within a predetermined time interval, otherwise the heartbeat becomes stale. Expired heartbeats can be cleared or broken to allow redistribution of any locks associated therewith. The inventive technique may be implemented in a traditional computer environment or in a fully or partially virtualized environment and requires no use of an IP network or a separate network based lock manager.

Associating heartbeat data with access to shared resources of a computer system

Growing community of inventors

Jersey City, NJ, United States of America

Abhishek Rai