Simplifying Distributed File Systems Using a Shared Logical Disk
Report ID: TR-524-96Author: Felten, Edward W. / Shillner, Robert A.
Date: 1996-10-00
Pages: 11
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Abstract:
We present a new approach to building non-centralized (``serverless'') distributed file systems, using the shared logical disk, which provides the abstraction of a fault-tolerant, entry-consistent, shared array of persistent data blocks. By separating the storage management level from higher-level file system functions like metadata management, we significantly reduce the overall complexity of the file system's implementation. We describe the implementation of a file system and an underlying shared logical disk, designed to run on workstation clusters and on the SHRIMP multicomputer. The file system level is very similar to a conventional uniprocessor file system, relying on the underlying shared logical disk to handle all communication, caching, and coherence operations. The shared logical disk provides some simple hooks to allow the file system to express its fault-tolerance requirements. We believe the resulting design is much simpler than other non-centralized distributed file systems.