JP2009237979A - Information processing device and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress an increase in storage cost caused by an increase in files, and to manage all the files on the existing file server unitarily about file storage in a plurality of file servers. <P>SOLUTION: A proxy server for managing files on a plurality of file servers is installed between the plurality of file servers and a user terminal connected through a network. A management table about all the files on the file servers is stored, and an entry linked with the same entity file is registered about a file of the same data contents, and handled as a logically different file on the management table to thereby achieve data size saving for overlapping data. In addition, file access logs are managed unitarily, and a user is urged to perform file arrangement in accordance with an access frequency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program, for example, a configuration for reducing an increase in data stored in a plurality of file servers and reducing storage costs for file storage.

  With the advent of the information explosion era, for organizations and departments that store and manage electronic data within organizations and companies, such as data centers and corporate information system departments, the increase in storage costs associated with the increase in data volume is significant. It is becoming a problem.

  Various methods have been considered as methods for reducing the increase in electronic data. For example, as a method for efficiently storing data in a limited storage resource, there is a method for compressing and storing data using a data compression technique such as ZIP or LZA. There are many algorithms for data compression, such as CAB, gzip, StuffIt, in addition to ZIP and LZA.

  Also, data backups are required at data centers and the like. As the backup method, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, there is a differential backup method that stores differential data from the full backup in addition to a full backup that backs up all target data.

JP 2006-92553 A

  However, because the storage is shared by a plurality of people, a plurality of identical files may be stored in the same storage, resulting in a waste of data duplication. Such file deduplication cannot be handled by the above-described file compression method or differential backup.

  On the other hand, some storages have a duplicate file elimination function. However, if the file server is purposely provided with a duplicate file elimination function, the existing file server cannot be reused, so it is not always a realistic option in terms of introduction cost. In other words, when cost is considered, there is a need for a method that allows reuse of an existing file server as it is and eliminates duplicate files.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a configuration capable of eliminating the occurrence of duplicate files in a file server without changing the existing file server.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in an environment where a plurality of existing file servers are arranged side by side, a proxy server (information processing apparatus) for file server management is installed at a position where these file server groups are relayed. This proxy server shows multiple files from the user terminal when there are duplicate files among the files stored in the central file server, but the actual number of stored files should be one. In order to reduce duplicate files. In addition, a file access log is periodically checked, and for files that have not been accessed for a certain period of time, a mail that prompts the user to organize the file is sent out, and a mechanism for encouraging or forcing the file to be organized is provided.

  That is, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention manages a plurality of link files having different file names, each of which is a link file for accessing one file (file F001) stored in the file server. A file management means, and a file access management means for obtaining one file (file F001) entity from the file server and providing the file terminal to the user terminal when each of the plurality of linked files is accessed from the user terminal. Prepare.

  The file management means includes, as registration information for all files stored in the file server, a logical address as a link file, a real address indicating the storage location of the file entity of each file, and a hash value of the file entity of each file And the duplication of the file entity of each file is managed.

  The file access management means provides a file open function, a read function, a write function, a save function, and a delete function in response to a file operation request from the user terminal.

  Further, the file access management means obtains a hash value of the file requested to be saved at the time of file saving request from the user terminal, confirms the presence or absence of the same file based on the hash value, and the file management means If there is an identical file to the file requested to be saved, only the registration information of the file requested to be saved is managed. If there is no file identical to the file requested to be saved, the registration information and file data of the requested file are saved. to manage.

  Further, the file management means registers new file information corresponding to the copy destination file when a file copy request is made from the user terminal.

  In an information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention, in response to a file save request from a user terminal, whether or not the same file (file F001) as the save target file has already been saved in any of a plurality of file servers. And a second file link different from the first file link (aaa.txt) for the same file from another user terminal when the same file to be stored exists. And means for managing a second file link (bbb.txt) which is a file path to the same file.

  Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the best mode for carrying out the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of duplicate files in the file server without changing the existing file server. Therefore, the existing file server can be used and the cost for system construction can be kept low.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example for realizing the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are assigned to common components.

<Configuration of file management system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a file management (information processing) system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a user terminal 101, a plurality of file servers 102, and a file management proxy 103, which are connected via a network 104.

  A general application 105 and a file browser 106 are installed on the user terminal 101. The file browser 106 has a function of accessing the local disk of the user terminal 101 and also has a function of accessing the file management proxy 103. For example, in the case of Windows, it can be implemented as a dedicated file browser in which a shell plug-in that provides an access function to the file management proxy 103 is combined with an explorer built in as a standard.

  A plurality of connected file servers 102 store a file group that is accessed and used from a user terminal. However, the network configuration is such that the user terminal 101 cannot directly access each file server 102. Only the file management proxy 103 can be accessed. Such a network configuration can be realized by an appropriate routing setting by a router, for example.

  The file management proxy 103 operates a file management service 107 which is a service for managing these file servers 102 and a management DB 108 which is a database for managing a group of files stored in these file servers. .

<File management on file server>
FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of a file server management method in the file management proxy 103. The file management proxy 103 is aaa. txt, bbb. txt, ccc. In addition to txt, a plurality of files are managed in a directory structure.

  In FIG. txt is directly under the \ doc folder, bbb. txt and ccc. txt indicates the directory structure stored immediately below the \ doc \ tmp folder. Also, aaa. txt and bbb. txt is the same binary duplicate file, and the entity file F001 is stored in the file server A202. That is, aaa. txt and bbb. txt has a different file name, but both act as a pointer to an entity file F001. ccc. The txt entity file F002 is stored in the file server B203.

  In the logical directory structure managed by the file management proxy 103, aaa. txt and bbb. Although txt is handled as a separate file, it is substantially linked to the file F001 stored in the file server A202. As described above, the duplicate files are substantially collected into one entity file, so that the storage size of the file group stored in the plurality of file servers can be reduced.

<File management table>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the file management table stored in the management DB 108 of the file management proxy 103. A tuple (one line) in the file management table corresponds to one file of a logical file group managed by the file management service 107, and is composed of six attributes.

  The virtual file path 301 is a logical file path managed in the file management service, and is uniquely set for all files in the file server group.

  An actual file path 302 is an actual file path of a file actually stored in the file server. The file management service can access the file on the file server by using the actual file path.

  The duplication count 303 is an attribute representing the total number of duplicate files other than the file. For example, when the duplicate count is 0, it means that there is no duplicate file, and when the duplicate count is n (> 0), it means that the total number of duplicate files including the file is n + 1.

  A hash value 304 indicates a hash value of the file. In the case of duplicate files, the hash value is the same value. The creation date / time 305 is an attribute indicating the creation date / time of the file, and the last access date / time 306 is an attribute indicating the date / time when the file was last accessed.

<Open file management table>
The open file management table is a table for managing the file ID necessary for file access and the open status / condition of the file when there is a file access from the user terminal 101. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an open file management table held by the file management service.

  Generally, when the OS of the user terminal and the file server is Windows, the CIFS protocol is used for accessing the file server. In this case, when the file is opened to access the file, a file ID that is an identifier for specifying the opened file is acquired. Based on the file ID, the application on the user terminal can read and write the file on the file server by specifying the offset value from the beginning of the file, reading, and specifying the writing size. In the present embodiment, the file server access based on the CIFS protocol is assumed, and an open file management table is defined below. However, this assumption does not limit the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the open file management table, for example, each tuple is composed of six attributes. The virtual file path 401 is a logical file path that can be seen from the user terminal 101. The virtual file ID 402 is a file ID returned to the application 105 on the user terminal 101. The real file ID 403 is a file ID sent from the file server 102 when the file on the file server 102 is opened. The access mode 404 is an attribute value indicating the access mode when the file is opened, and takes values such as READ_WRITE, READ_ONLY, APPEND, and the like. The sharing mode 405 is an attribute that determines whether or not opening by another process is permitted while the file is being opened. The attribute values of SHARE_READ, SHARE_WRITE, and NON_SHARE are taken to mean “shared read permission”, “shared write permission”, and “sharing prohibition” in order. The update presence / absence 406 is a flag indicating whether or not the current file has been updated, and indicates “updated” if TRUE, and “not updated” if FALSE.

<Operation of file management system>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing when a file is opened. First, when a user attempts to open a file using the file browser 106, the file browser 106 transmits the file open request to the file management service 107 operating on the file management proxy 103 (step S501). . After receiving this request, the file management service 107 searches the open file management table (see FIG. 4) using the virtual file path 401 to the file included in the request as a key, and acquires the tuple value of the target file (step). S502). If the tuple value does not exist, the file has not been opened and the file can be opened. Even when the file has already been opened, the file can be opened even if the shared mode attribute value is a value that can be shared open, such as SHARE_READ and SHARE_WRITE. The file management service 107 checks whether the target file can be opened in this way (step S503).

  If the file cannot be opened, the file management service 107 returns a file open error to the file browser 106 (step S509). If the file can be opened, the file management service 107 searches the file management table (see FIG. 3) in the management DB 108 using the virtual file path 301 as a key, and tries to acquire the actual file path 302 (step S504).

  Then, the file management service 107 executes this search and checks whether an actual file exists based on whether the corresponding tuple exists (step S505). If the real file does not exist, the corresponding tuple does not exist and the real file path cannot be obtained. In that case, a file open error is returned to the file browser, and the process is terminated (step S506).

  If it is determined in step S505 that the actual file exists, the file management service 107 opens the file on the file server 102 based on the acquired actual file path 302 (step S507). The file management service 107 then opens the real file ID 403 of the opened file, the virtual file ID 402 that is the management file ID corresponding to the virtual directory held by the file management proxy 103, the access mode 404 and the sharing mode 405, An attribute 406 such as whether to update is registered in the open file management table (see FIG. 4), and the file open success is returned to the file browser 106 together with the virtual file ID 402 (step S508). The virtual file ID 402 is arbitrarily given by the file management service 107 so as to be unique in the open file management table. The open file management table may not be provided with the virtual file ID area, and the registered tuple number (line number) may be managed as it is as the virtual file ID.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of reading after opening a file. After the file is opened, the virtual file ID 402 is passed from the aisle management service 107 to the application 105 (step S601). The application 105 generates a file read request using the virtual file ID 402 as an argument, and transmits the file read request to the file management service 107 (step S602).

  The file management service 107 that has received the read request uses the real file ID 403 corresponding to the virtual file ID 402 to read and cache the file data from the file server 102 (step S603). Then, the file management service 107 returns the cache data to the application 105 at any time when the reading process occurs (step 604). As for the caching algorithm, only the necessary data is cached as requested by the user terminal, all the files are cached, the file area in the vicinity of the requested area is cached, etc. Various schemes are conceivable, but are not particularly defined in the present embodiment. In general, an existing algorithm performed by a proxy server is used. As described above, the file entity is delivered to the application 105 in a form mediated by the file management proxy 103.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of closing a file. When the application 105 closes the open file, a close request is transmitted to the file management service 107 (step S701). The file management service 107 that has received the close request flushes the cache of the corresponding file (stores the updated file in the memory in the file server when the file has been updated), and performs the close process (step S702). . Finally, the file management service 107 deletes the corresponding entry from the open file management table (see FIG. 4) (step S703).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of saving a file. When the file browser 106 transmits a file save request to the file management proxy 103 (step S801), the file management service 107 calculates a hash of the file to be saved (step S802).

  Next, the file management service 107 searches the file management table (see FIG. 3) using the calculated hash value as a key (step S803), and checks whether the same file exists by the search (step S804).

  If files with the same hash value exist, the file management service 107 creates a new entry having the path of the existing file stored in the file server 102 as an actual file path attribute, registers it in the file management table, and duplicates The duplication count attribute of all the files to be added is incremented by one (step S805). If the file does not exist, the file management service 107 newly registers it in the file management table and saves the file in the file server 102 having a free area (step S806).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of file copying. When the file browser 106 transmits a file copy request to the file management service 107 (step S901), the file management service 107 that has received the copy request uses the actual file path of the file to be copied stored in the file server 102 as an attribute. Create a new entry and register it in the file management table. Then, the file management service 107 increases the duplication count attribute of all duplicate files by one (step S902). Copy processing is not executed for actual files.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of file deletion. The file browser 106 transmits a file deletion request to the file management service 107 (step S1001). The file management service 107 that has received the deletion request searches the file management table (step S1002) and checks whether or not the files to be deleted overlap (step S1003).

  In the case of a duplicate file, the file management service 107 deletes the entry in the file management table corresponding to the file to be deleted and decrements the duplicate count attribute of the other duplicate file by one (step S1004). If it is not a duplicate file, the file management service 107 deletes the entry in the file management table corresponding to the file to be deleted and the file on the file server 102 (step S1005).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the file access audit process. The file management service 107 periodically checks the last access date attribute of the file management table (step S1101). Here, the file management service 107 checks whether there is a file that has not been accessed for a certain period of time (step S1102). If it exists, the file management service 107 lists the file group as a file with a low access frequency, and transmits an email for prompting the user to organize (step S1103). If it does not exist, the process ends. In this way, by regularly prompting the user to organize files with a frequency of use, it is possible to perform a regular inventory of data and to realize efficient use of the file server.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of existing file servers are centrally managed by a proxy, file duplication between file servers is eliminated, and file access that is transparent to the user is performed. Provide a mechanism. Therefore, the storage area in the file server can be saved, and a plurality of file servers can be seen as one file server from the user, and the location transparency of the files in the plurality of file servers can be realized. In addition, if the data compression conventionally used is used together, the storage area of the file server can be further efficiently used.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to change the configuration of the file server, so that the existing file server can be used as it is. Therefore, the point which can suppress introduction cost becomes a big merit.

  Furthermore, from the security aspect, access logs can be managed collectively by proxy, and an access right control function can be added. As a result, the access right must be set for each individual file server in the past, but the management cost can be expected to be reduced by the collective management by the proxy.

  In addition, since centralized management is performed using a proxy, not only can management costs be reduced, but access log collection and file access control can be centralized, leading to improved security. Furthermore, since an existing file server can be used as it is, it can be introduced at low cost.

  The present invention can also be realized by a program code of software that implements the functions of the embodiments. In this case, a storage medium in which the program code is recorded is provided to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile A memory card, ROM, or the like is used.

  Also, based on the instruction of the program code, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. May be. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory on the computer, the computer CPU or the like performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. Thus, the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized.

  In addition, by distributing the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the embodiment via a network, it is stored in a storage means such as a hard disk or memory of a system or apparatus or a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R. The program code stored in the storage means or the storage medium may be read out and executed by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus during storage.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the file management system in embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the file server management system in a file management proxy. It is a block diagram of the file management table stored in management DB. It is a block diagram of the open file management table which a file management service hold | maintains. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of file opening. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of reading after file opening. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of a file close. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of a file preservation | save. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of file copy. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of file deletion. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a file access audit process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... User terminal 102 ... File server 103 ... File management proxy 104 ... Network 105 ... Application 106 ... File browser 107 ... File management service 108 ... Management DB
301 ... Virtual file path 302 ... Real file path 303 ... Duplicate count 304 ... Hash value 305 ... Creation date / time 306 ... Last access date / time 401 ... Virtual file path 402 ... Virtual file ID
403 ... Real file ID
404 ... access mode 405 ... sharing mode 406 ... presence or absence of update

Claims (10)

An information processing apparatus that manages a plurality of network-connected file servers,
A plurality of link files having different file names, each managing a link file for accessing one file entity stored in the file server;
A file access management means for obtaining the one file entity from the file server and providing it to the user terminal when each of the plurality of link files is accessed from a user terminal;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The file management means includes, as registration information of all files stored in the file server, a logical address as the link file, a real address indicating a storage location of the file entity of each file, and a file entity of each file. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hash value of each file and a plurality of overlapping file entities of each file are managed.   2. The file access management means provides a file open function, a read function, a write function, a save function, and a delete function in response to a file operation request from the user terminal. Information processing device. The file access management means obtains a hash value of the file requested to be saved at the time of file saving request from the user terminal, confirms the presence or absence of the same file based on the hash value,
The file management means manages only registration information of the file requested to be saved if there is the same file as the file requested to save, and if there is no file identical to the file requested to save, the file management means 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein file registration information and file data are managed.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the file management unit registers new file information corresponding to a copy destination file when a file copy request is made from the user terminal.   The file management means periodically monitors the usage frequency of the file from the last access date and time, and the usage frequency of the file whose usage frequency is lower than the predetermined usage count is low in the user terminal of the user who created the file. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein notification is made. An information processing apparatus that manages a plurality of network-connected file servers,
Means for determining whether or not the same file as the file to be stored is already stored in any of the plurality of file servers in response to a file storage request from the user terminal;
When the same file to be saved exists, the second file link is different from the first file link for the same file from another user terminal, and is a file path to the same file. Means for managing a second file link;
An information processing apparatus comprising: An information processing method for managing a plurality of network-connected file servers,
The file management means is a plurality of link files having different file names, each managing a link file for accessing one file entity stored in the file server,
The file access management means acquires the one file entity from the file server and provides it to the user terminal when each of the plurality of link files is accessed from the user terminal. Information processing method. An information processing method for managing a plurality of network-connected file servers,
In response to a file save request from the user terminal, the file management means determines whether the same file as the save target file has already been saved in any of the plurality of file servers, and the same save target If the file exists, a second file link that is different from the first file link for the same file from another user terminal, and is a file path to the same file. An information processing method characterized by managing information.   A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 8 or 9.

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