Netapp, Inc.

Network Appliance, Inc.

Brian Mederic Quirion

David A Grunwald

Ashish Prakash

Kartik Ayyar

Emmanuel Ackaouy

Matthew Benjamin Amdur

Robert M English

Paul Christopher Eastham

Jason Ansel Lango

Robert Lieh-Yuan Tsai

Qinghua Zheng

Peter Griess

J Chris Wagner

Szu-Wen Kuo

Ling Zheng

Ram Kesavan

James J Voll

J Christopher Wagner

Christopher J Wagner

Robert Leih-Yuan Tsai

Paul Christoper Eastham

A network caching system has a multi-protocol caching filer coupled to an origin server to provide storage virtualization of data served by the filer in response to data access requests issued by multi-protocol clients over a computer network. The multi-protocol caching filer includes a file system configured to manage a sparse volume that 'virtualizes' a storage space of the data to thereby provide a cache function that enables access to data by the multi-protocol clients. To that end, the caching filer further includes a multi-protocol engine configured to translate the multi-protocol client data access requests into generic file system primitive operations executable by both the caching filer and the origin server.

System and method for caching network file systems

An architecture, including a file-level protocol, for supporting sparse volumes on a storage system is provided. The file-level protocol provides coherency checking for use in retrieving data stored on a backing store remote from a storage system.

Architecture for supporting sparse volumes

In one embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus for caching data in a network, with the apparatus including a proxy cache configured to receive request for an object from a client and to fetch data blocks from a server. The proxy cache may be configured to cache the data blocks in a hierarchical relationship within the object. The object may be, for example, a data file or a directory. The data blocks that are cached in the proxy cache define an active data set which is based upon a request from a client.

Network caching device including translation mechanism to provide indirection between client-side object handles and server-side object handles

In an embodiment, a method to provide data consistency in a storage system, includes: providing, by a server to a proxy cache, a lock associated with a delegated file in the server; in response to a write request from a client, modifying data in a cached copy of the delegated file in the proxy cache; revoking, by the server, the lock associated with the delegated file, in response to a request from another device to access the delegated file so that the delegated file is now a formerly delegated file; and writing the modified data to the formerly delegated file in the server to update the formerly delegated file; and permitting access to the formerly delegated file by the another device.

Apparatus and method for data consistency in a proxy cache

In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of transforming a request from a client to a proxy cache, the method comprising: receiving a request from a client, where the request is based upon a first open standard protocol; and translating the request from the first open standard protocol into a second open standard protocol at a file system level; and transmitting the request in the second open standard protocol to a server.

Apparatus and method for processing data in a network

Apparatus and method for storing data in a proxy cache in a network

The invention provides for managing information for multiple devices. Each of a set of devices retrieves information from a sequence of servers. A device when starting up reads a list of file names, reads information from each file in sequence, and resolves conflicts among files to present a consistent configuration on each restart of each device. A file includes a sequence of &#x3c;name, value&#x3e; pairs. In those cases when two variables have the same name, an operator associated with the second pair indicates whether to overwrite the first value or to edit the first value, such as by appending the second value. One of the pairs indicates the list of file names itself. When the list of file names is changed, the device for which the change is made re-reads the sequence of files and repeats its determination of the pairs, until the list of file names is stabilized.

Managing configuration information for multiple devices

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Brian Mederic Quirion