Adding and/or removing nodes from clustered filesystems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12561283-B2
Application number	US-202318384320-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2023
Priority date	Oct 26, 2023
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A computer-implemented method, according to one approach, includes: receiving a request to create a new node in a clustered filesystem. In response to receiving the request, a copy of details is retrieved, the copy of details being associated with an established singleton cluster preconfigured to access the clustered filesystem. The retrieved copy of details are further applied to a new node in the clustered filesystem. Moreover, data structures of the new node are modified according to the received request. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are described in additional approaches herein.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a request to create a new node in a clustered filesystem; retrieving a copy of details associated with an established singleton cluster preconfigured to access the clustered filesystem, wherein the retrieved copy of details includes a template image; using the template image to form a new node for the clustered filesystem by:
allocating memory space for the new node, and
updating a central repository of the clustered filesystem indicating the new node has been formed,
applying the retrieved copy of details to the new node in the clustered filesystem; causing data structures of the new node to be modified according to the received request; and in response to detecting the new node has failed:
fencing off the failed new node, and
causing a token manager to unilaterally revoke a token issued to the new node.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein applying the retrieved copy of details to the new node in the clustered filesystem includes:
customizing information corresponding to the new node, the information being selected from the group consisting of: a host name, an Internet protocol address, and a node name.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving a copy of the details associated with the established singleton cluster includes:
sending a request to external storage; and receiving a copy of the template image.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the clustered filesystem includes existing nodes, wherein the request to create the new node is received from one or more of the existing nodes in the clustered filesystem.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , comprising:
in response to detecting a node failure in the clustered filesystem, fencing off the failed node; and causing the failed node to relinquish a corresponding token to the token manager, wherein the failed node relinquishes the corresponding token back to a remote token management server.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:
in response to receiving a request for permission to access and modify data in the clustered filesystem:
causing the token manager to produce a token granting access to the clustered filesystem, and
issuing the token to the new node.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein causing the data structures to be modified includes causing central configuration repository data, cached states, or central configuration repository data and cached states to be modified.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the singleton cluster is established by:
creating the clustered filesystem; using the template image as a launch image to create the singleton cluster such that the singleton cluster is preconfigured to access data in the clustered filesystem using a single node; and collecting configuration data from the singleton cluster, wherein the configuration data is associated with accessing the clustered filesystem.

9 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
in response to the data structures of the new node being modified, requesting permission to access and modify data in the clustered filesystem; satisfying one or more security based sub-operations issued by the token manager; and receiving a token granting the new node access to the clustered filesystem.

10 . A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable by a processor, executable by the processor, or readable and executable by the processor, to cause the processor to:
receive a request to create a new node in a clustered filesystem; retrieve a copy of details associated with an established singleton cluster preconfigured to access the clustered filesystem, wherein the retrieved copy of details includes a template image; use the template image to form a new node for the clustered filesystem by:
allocating memory space for the new node, and
updating a central repository of the clustered filesystem indicating the new node has been formed,
apply the retrieved copy of details to the new node in the clustered filesystem; cause data structures of the new node to be modified according to the received request; and in response to detecting the new node has failed:
fence off the failed new node, and
cause a token manager to unilaterally revoke a token issued to the new node.

11 . The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the singleton cluster preconfigured to access the clustered filesystem is established by:
creating the clustered filesystem; establishing authorization to access the clustered filesystem; collecting configuration data associated with accessing the clustered filesystem; and storing the collected configuration data in external storage.

12 . The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein retrieving a copy of the details associated with the established singleton cluster includes:
sending a request to external storage; and receiving a copy of the template image.

13 . The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the clustered filesystem includes existing nodes, wherein the request to create the new node is received from one or more of the existing nodes in the clustered filesystem.

14 . The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the program instructions are readable and/or executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
in response to detecting a node failure in the clustered filesystem, fence off the failed node; and cause the failed node to relinquish a corresponding token, wherein the failed node relinquishes the corresponding token back to a remote token management server.

15 . The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the program instructions are readable by a processor, executable by the processor, or readable and executable by the processor, to cause the processor to:
in response to receiving a request for permission to access and modify data in the clustered filesystem:
cause the token manager to produce a token granting access to the clustered filesystem, and
issue the token to the new node.

16 . The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein causing the data structures to be modified includes causing central configuration repository data and/or cached states to be modified.

17 . A system, comprising:
a first edge node connected to a central data storage location; a processor; and logic integrated with the processor, executable by the processor, or integrated with and executable by the processor, the logic being configured to:
receive a request to create a new node in a clustered filesystem;
retrieve a copy of details associated with an established singleton cluster preconfigured to access the clustered filesystem, wherein the retrieved copy of details includes a template image;
use the template image to form a new node for the clustered filesystem by:
allocating memory space for the new node, and
updating a central repository of the clustered filesystem indicating the new node has been formed,

apply the retrieved copy of details to the new node in the clustered filesystem;
cause data structures of the new node to be modified according to the received request;
in response to receiving a request for permission to access and modify data in the clustered filesystem:
cause a token manager to produce a token granting access to the clustered filesystem, and
issue the

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Eda Sasikanth
• Wang-Knop Kuei-Yu
• Knop Felipe
• Schmuck Frank
• Muthiah Muthu Annamalai

Classifications

• G06F16/182

  Distributed file systems · CPC title

• G06F16/162 Primary

  Delete operations (erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652) · CPC title