JPH0744426A - File system file management method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modified) [Purpose] To effectively utilize magnetic disk storage devices and optical disk storage devices. Configuration: The computer 20 registers a new file in the optical disc storage device 23. The computer 20 monitors the file access status of the optical disk storage device 23, and searches the second magnetic disk storage device 22 for files that are frequently used.
To the second magnetic disk storage device 2
Do for 2. Further, at the time of file registration, the file related information is stored in the first magnetic disk storage device 21 in the form of a database and used for file access.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a file management method suitable for a file system capable of storing and accessing a plurality of files in association with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an optical disk storage device is used for storing files in a file system that stores a large number of files and a user can access the files. The optical disk storage device has the advantage that it has a large storage capacity, but has the drawback that the access (read / write) speed is slow. Therefore, conventionally, a file is stored in a magnetic disk storage device having a high access speed during a period in which the user frequently uses the file, and the file is moved to the optical disc storage device at the time of the user's instruction when the file is no longer used frequently. The file management method of changing is used. As an example of automatically performing such a process, the access date and time of a file is stored in the system, and old files that are not accessed even after a certain number of days have passed are automatically transferred from the magnetic disk storage device to the optical disk storage device. There is proposed a file system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-270123) for transferring data to the Internet.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned proposal, once the file is transferred to the optical disk storage device side, the access speed of the optical disk device will be increased when the user frequently uses the file thereafter. Will be bothered by the slowness of. Even if a file is transferred from the optical disk device to the magnetic disk device according to a user's instruction, the above-mentioned automatic transfer function operates, the file is transferred to the optical disk device, and the file is redundantly stored in the optical disk storage device. There is even a fear of

Therefore, in view of the above points, the object of the present invention is not affected by time, and it is possible to automatically save only the frequently used files in the magnetic disk storage device side having a high access speed. It is to provide a file management method of a file system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a file management method for a file system which can achieve the above objects and can provide new functions.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the invention of claim 1 stores a frequently used file in a first storage device having a high access speed, and stores a less frequently used file. In a file management method of a file system for storing a file in a second storage device having a low access speed and reading a file from the first storage device and the second storage device by a computer, a new file is registered in the second storage device by the computer. Then, the frequency of use of the file of the second storage device is monitored by the computer, and the file of the second storage device whose use frequency becomes a certain value or more is copied to the first storage device by the computer, The access destination of the computer after the copied file is set in the first storage device. To.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the computer monitors the frequency of use of the file in the first storage device, deletes the file whose use frequency is less than a specified value from the first storage device, and deletes the file. The access destination of the computer is set to the second storage device.

According to a third aspect of the invention, when the new file is registered in the second storage device by the computer, the computer stores the file management information registered together with the file in the third storage device in the form of a database. It is characterized by registering.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the file management information of the database includes information indicating a storage destination of the file and a storage address therein, and the computer accesses the file by referring to the information. It is characterized by setting the destination.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the computer receives an instruction to restore the file management information of a specific file, the computer searches the database and extracts the file management information corresponding to the specific file. .

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the computer monitors the usage status of the files in the second storage device having a low access speed, and the files having a high access frequency are transferred to the first access file having a high access speed.
Move to storage.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the file in the first storage device which has become less frequently used is automatically erased, and the access destination of the file is returned to the second storage device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the file management information is stored in the form of a database to facilitate the search of the file management information.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the file is accessed, the computer does not acquire the address related information of the file storage destination from the storage device, but acquires it from the database. In the invention of claim 5, the file management information is restored using the file management information stored in the database as a backup.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the system configuration of a file system to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the computer 2
A first magnetic disk storage device 21, a second magnetic disk storage device 22, an optical disk storage device 23, and a plurality of terminals 10 are connected to 0. The terminal 10 is a computer 2
It is composed of a main body 11 for communicating with 0, a keyboard 12 for inputting instruction information and various data to be transmitted to the computer 20, and a display device 13 for displaying output information from the computer 20.

Information related to the storage of files will be described with reference to FIG. A program 20A generally called an operating system (OS) is stored in the computer 10, and the computer 20 executes the program to access the disk storage devices 21 to 23. The first magnetic disk storage device 21 is a second magnetic disk storage device 22 and an optical disk storage device 23.
The file management information stored in is stored in the form of a database. The optical disk storage device 23 stores a newly created file and its file management information on an optical disk in the device. In this embodiment, since an operating system having the same function as the operating system called UNIX is assumed, files and files stored across the two optical disks 40 and 50 in the optical disk storage device 23 are assumed. There is also management information (see FIG. 4). A set of such files and file management information is indicated by reference numeral 45. The second magnetic disk storage device 22 stores the frequently used files among the files on the optical disk storage device 23.

The structure of the database of the first magnetic disk storage device 21 is shown in FIG. The database of this embodiment has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. In the figure, data related to file control includes file name, directory, storage device identifier, inode identifier, and access frequency (number of times).
It is composed of a data group including one set. Here, the file name is an identification name assigned to the file by the user or the computer 20. This file name is used when the user requests to read the file. The directory means, for example, an identification name given to a set of a plurality of files when a plurality of related files are connected and managed on a tree. The storage device identifier is an identification name indicating the storage device in which the file is stored. The inode identifier is data associated with the data block divided in the file, that is, an identification name given to the inode. The access frequency is a numerical value indicating the number of times the file corresponding to the file name has been accessed.

The data related to the inodes forming the database includes a storage device identifier, an inode identifier, a file name,
It consists of the last update time and the disk address table. In addition to the above-mentioned data, there is a disk address table as data related to the present invention. The disk address table shows storage addresses in the storage device in which data blocks are stored. The storage device reads the data block from the designated address of the disk by giving the storage address to the storage device together with the read command by the computer 20. The disk address table related data includes a storage device identifier, a start address where a data block is stored, an address of a subsequent data block, and 1 bit information indicating whether the inode has a direct structure or an indirect structure (see FIG. 5). It is constructed as a set of data.

The files and file management information stored in the second magnetic disk storage device 22 and the optical disk storage device 23 are described in the same format as the conventional one, and since this format is well known, detailed description will be omitted. .

A file access process executed under the system configuration described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. These flow charts are functional representations of the partial contents of the operating system program executed by the computer 20, for convenience of explanation.

The computer 20 creates a new file based on the information input from the terminal 10. When the operating system is activated and a file registration instruction is issued from the keyboard 12 of the terminal 10, the computer 20 identifies the registration command (S10 in FIG. 7) and uses it for reading the file using the same processing procedure as the conventional one. File management information is created, and the file and the file management information are registered in the optical disk storage device 23 (S100 in FIG. 7). Also, the file management information is converted into a data format of the database 21A (see FIG. 3) and registered in the database 21A of the first disk storage device. At this time, the storage destination of the file is initialized to the optical disk storage device 23 and the access frequency is set to the numerical value 0 on the database (FIG. 7).
S110).

The computer 20, for example, receives a file read request (the file name is included in the request) from the keyboard 12 of the terminal 10 (S2 in FIG. 7).
0), the process proceeds to the access process of S200. The detailed procedure of this processing is shown in FIG. That is, the computer 10 refers to the database of the first disk storage device 21 based on the file name, obtains the storage destination of the file for which the read request is met (S201 of FIG. 8), and reads the file from the storage destination of the file. , To the terminal 10 (S202 in FIG. 8). At this time, the computer 20 increments the access count for this file by 1 on the database of the first disk storage device 21 (S203 in FIG. 8). In the case of the first read after the file registration, the initial access frequency is 0. The updated access frequency (numerical value 1) is compared with the specified value 2, and the computer 20 finds that the number of times of access per day is not 2 or more.
When it is confirmed in step S205, the execution procedure is S204 → 205.
Then, the other data related to the database is updated (S205 of FIG. 8 → return). During this time, the terminal 10 displays the transmitted file on the display device 13. Hereinafter, the above-described procedure is repeated each time the user gives an instruction to read the file, and the first disk storage device 2
The number of accesses on the database 21A of No. 1 is updated for each file name.

When the number of times of accessing the same file per day exceeds a certain number of times (numerical value 2 in this example) (S2 in FIG. 8)
04), the computer 20 was targeted for access,
The file is also stored on the second magnetic disk storage device 22 side (S205 in FIG. 8). In addition, the first disk storage device 2
The information indicating the storage destination on the database 21A of No. 1 is switched from the current optical disk storage device 23 to the second magnetic disk storage device 22 (see FIGS. 3 and 6).

Therefore, when the user subsequently requests the computer 20 to read this file, the computer 20 uses the storage destination information in the database of the first magnetic disk storage device 21 as the second magnetic disk storage device 22.
The file on the user side is read and transmitted to the terminal 10 on the user side. As described above, when the user frequently reads the file, the read destination of the file is switched to the magnetic disk storage device having a high access speed, so that the user can quickly receive the file.

Since the frequently accessed files are stored in both the magnetic disk storage device (22) and the optical disk storage device (23), the optical disk storage device functions as a backup storage device. There is. Therefore, even if the file or file management information on the magnetic disk storage device side is lost or destroyed for some reason, the destroyed file can be restored by newly copying the data on the optical disk storage device side to the magnetic disk side.

In this case, the user sends from the terminal device 10 to the computer 20 a read command in which the optical disk storage device name and file name are described. Computer 10
Then, the access destination is determined to be the optical disk storage device 23 based on the procedure of FIG. 10, and the specified file is read from the optical disk in the same manner as in the past by the file management information in the optical disk storage device 23, and the work memory in the computer 10 is read. To store. After that, the user gives a command for writing the file in the work memory to the second magnetic disk storage device 22 to the computer 10 via the terminal 10, whereby the file copy is achieved.

In this embodiment, the computer 20 stores the usage frequency information in the database 21A in order to monitor the usage frequency of the optical disk storage device when the user instructs the access by the file name. Therefore, when acquiring the usage frequency information, the storage address of the file is also acquired. Since the address information on the database may be destroyed, in this embodiment, a specific access command is prepared so that the file can be read using the file management on the disk storage device side as in the conventional case. There is. In addition, regarding a command to read a plurality of files, etc., the computer 20 must be provided with a database 21A.
I am trying to refer to. The processing content for this is shown in FIG. The procedure shown in FIG. 10 is executed prior to the processing procedure of FIG. 8, and shows the procedure of identifying the type of the file access command received by the computer 10. In the case of a specific command to read two or more files (including a case where two or more file names are described), the database 21A of the first magnetic disk device 21 is always designated as the read destination of the file management command ( S510 → S in FIG.
530), the procedure shifts to the above access processing of FIG. When a specific command to access is directly input to the disk device side, the read destination of the file management information is specified to the disk device specified by the specific command, and the file is read as in the conventional case (see FIG. 10). S51
0-S540). In the case other than the above case, the execution procedure shifts to FIG. 8, and the read destination of the file management command is specified in the database 21A of the first magnetic disk device 21.

By obtaining the file management information from the database 21A, the following advantages can be obtained. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the file management information about the same file is stored across the two optical disks 40 and 50, the files of the second magnetic disk storage device 22 and the optical disk storage device 23 are stored in the database 21A. Since the management information is collectively stored, the file management information can be immediately acquired. For reference, conventionally, when reading file management information having an indirect structure as shown in FIG. 4, the computer 20 has to read the file management information alternately a plurality of times between disks.

Further, as an advantage of this embodiment, the user gives the keyword from the terminal 10 to the computer 20, so that the data related to the keyword is stored in the database 21A.
From the computer 20. Therefore, the computer 20 has a plurality of storage devices 22, 23.
No need to access and collect data.

In this embodiment, the database 21
A can be used to restore the destroyed file management information of the optical disc of the optical disc storage device 23. The procedure for this will be described.

In FIG. 7, the user inputs a repair command and a file name and / or disk name of a repair target from the keyboard 12 of the terminal 10. Input repair command S
The computer 20 detected in 30 advances the procedure to S300, and executes the restoration processing procedure of FIG. 9 here. The computer 20 receives the input keyword of the file name or the disk name (S301 in FIG. 9), and uses this keyword to make the database 21 of the first magnetic disk storage device 21.
By accessing A, the file management information related to the keyword is acquired (S302 in FIG. 9). When the keyword is a file name, the file management information corresponding to this file name is obtained. Since the file management information obtained from the database 21A and the file management information on the optical disc have different storage formats, the format conversion is performed by the computer 20 based on the predetermined correspondence between the formats, and the work memory in the computer 20 is converted. It is restored (S303 in FIG. 9).

When the above keyword is the disc name, the file management information of all the files included in the disc is acquired from the database 21A. It goes without saying that if the optical disk storage device 23 is used as a keyword, all file management information in this storage device will be searched for in the database. The computer 20 returns the file management information on the work memory to the terminal 10. The user confirms the file management information on the display screen of the display device 13, and inputs, for example, a file read command directly designating a read address from the keyboard 12. As a result, a desired file can be taken out from the optical disc in which the file management information is destroyed, onto the computer 20.

In addition to this embodiment, the following example can be carried out.

1) In this embodiment, the frequency of use of the optical disk is twice a day, but it may be five times a month, for example. In this case, the use frequency information on the database 21A is set to 0, and the cycle in which the computer 20 resets is set to 1
Change from January to January.

2) The file transferred to the second magnetic disk storage device 22 can be automatically erased according to the frequency of use. In this case, if the frequency of use is less than once a day in the comparison determination in S204 of FIG.
Access destination information of file database 21A is second
When the computer 20 shows the magnetic disk storage device 22 and confirms that the frequency of use on the previous day is less than 2, the computer 20 deletes the file. The computer 20 and the database 21
The access destination information on A (the access destination thereafter) is changed (set) to the optical disk storage device 23.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, even if a file is moved to the first storage device having a high access speed, the same file is left in the second storage device having a low access speed. The file acts as a backup.

According to the second aspect of the invention, if the frequency of use of the file decreases even on the side of the first storage device having a high access speed,
The file is erased and the first storage device is effectively used.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the file management information is separately stored in the form of a database so that the file management information of this database not only functions as a backup but also accesses a plurality of storage devices. It is possible to retrieve only the necessary file management information by searching the database without doing the above.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by extracting the address related information required for file access from the database, it is possible to eliminate the computer access to the file management information of the storage device and to protect the storage device side from the destruction of the file management information. Try.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, even if the file management information on the storage device side is destroyed, the file management information can be automatically reconstructed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing contents of stored information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of a database 21A according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a reading order of file management information between optical disks.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of file management information.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in data in the database 21A.

7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed by the computer 20 of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed by the computer 20 of FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed by the computer 20 of FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure executed by the computer 20 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 terminal 11 main body 12 keyboard 13 display device 20 computer 21 first magnetic disk storage device 22 second magnetic disk storage device 23 optical disk storage device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A frequently used file is stored in a first storage device having a high access speed, a less frequently used file is stored in a second storage device having a low access speed, and the computer stores the first storage device and the second storage device. In a file management method of a file system for reading a file from a second storage device, a new file is registered in the second storage device by the computer, the frequency of use of the file in the second storage device is monitored by the computer, and A file of the second storage device whose frequency becomes a certain value or more is copied to the first storage device by the computer, and the access destination of the computer after the copied file is set to the first storage device. A file management method for a file system, characterized by: 2. The computer monitors the frequency of use of a file in the first storage device, deletes the file whose use frequency is less than a specified value from the first storage device, and accesses the file by the computer. The file management method of the file system according to claim 1, wherein the destination is set to the second storage device. 3. When the new file is registered in the second storage device by the computer, the computer registers the file management information registered together with the file in the third storage device in the form of a database. The file management method of the file system according to claim 1. 4. The file management information of the database includes information indicating a file save destination and a storage address therein, and the computer sets the file access destination by referring to the information. The file management method of the file system according to claim 3, wherein 5. The computer according to claim 3, wherein the computer searches the database and extracts the file management information corresponding to the specific file when receiving an instruction to restore the file management information of the specific file. File system file management method.