A 64-bit, Shared Disk File System for Linux

In computer systems today, speed and responsiveness is often determined by network and storage subsystem performance. Faster, more scalable networking interfaces like Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet provide the scaffolding from which higher performance implementations may be constructed, but new thinking is required about how machines interact with network-enabled storage devices. We have developed a Linux file system called GFS (the Global File System) that allows multiple Linux machines to access and share disk and tape devices on a Fibre Channel or SCSI storage network. We plan to extend GFS by transporting packetized SCSI commands over IP so that any GFS-enabled Linux machine can access shared network devices. GFS will perform well as a local file system, as a traditional network file system running over IP, and as a high-performancecluster file system running over storage networks like Fibre Channel. GFS device sharing provides a key cluster-enabling technology for Linux, help...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: MSS
• Authors: Kenneth W. Preslan, Andrew P. Barry, Jonathan Brassow, Grant Erickson, Erling Nygaard, Christopher Sabol, Steven R. Soltis, David Teigland, Matthew T. O'Keefe
• Keywords: Fibre Channel, File System, Hardware, MSS 1999, Storage Networks