Implementation of a stackable file system for real-time network backup
Satoshi Nishimura, Mutsuo Sano, Katsuo Ikeda · International Journal of Autonomic Computing · 2010
We propose a backup system based on a stackable mirroring file system, general-purpose mirroring file system (GMFS). This file system mirrors data in real-time on the file system layer. It uses the typical network file system (NFS) and backs up data to one or more NFS servers. Therefore, an existing empty resource can be used. It is necessary to backup data to two or more servers in case a backup server fails. Moreover, the throughput of read and write operations has been improved by adopting a method of calling a system function inside NFS. Experimental results shows that the throughput of read and write operations of GMFS is 2.4 times faster than that of conventional mirroring file systems. In addition, even when the number of backup servers increases, the decrease in throughput is small.