Method and system for a fast full style system check using multithreaded read ahead
View Patent ↗A method for file system checking in a storage device. The method includes executing a computer system having a plurality microprocessor cores, initiating a file system check operation by using a file system check agent that execute on the computer system and accesses a storage device, and validating a plurality of meta-data structures of the file system. The method further includes dividing and allocating the metadata structures among a plurality of worker threads. For each worker thread, data corresponding to the metadata structures is processed using a read ahead operation. file system check is processed to completion, wherein the read ahead operation feeds data corresponding to the metadata structures to each of the plurality of worker threads in parallel.
1. A method for file system checking in a storage device, comprising:
executing a computer system having a plurality microprocessor cores;
initiating a check operation on a file system using a file system check agent that executes on the computer system and accesses a storage device, wherein the file system check agent is shared by the plurality microprocessor cores;
validating a plurality of metadata structures of the file system;
dividing and allocating the metadata structures among a plurality of worker threads;
for each worker thread, processing data corresponding to the metadata structures using a respective read ahead operation, wherein successive read ahead operations are issued on additional metadata related to the metadata structures as the metadata structures become available, wherein the additional metadata comprise an extent map; and
processing the file system check to completion including executing at least an unreferenced inode check using one of the worker threads, wherein the respective read ahead operations feed data corresponding to the metadata structures to each of the plurality of worker threads in parallel, wherein the respective read ahead operations maximize data throughput for the check operation and minimize blocked input and output (I/O) for each worker thread.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises file system checker threads.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises read ahead component threads.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the file system check operation validates whether data is listed with a connected parent directory.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the read ahead operation utilizes a parallel I/O capability of the storage device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of worker threads execute in parallel on the plurality of microprocessor cores of the computer system.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metadata structures comprise a plurality of inodes.
8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon, computer executable instructions that, if executed by a computer system cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:
executing a computer system having a plurality microprocessor cores;
initiating a check operation on a file system using a file system check agent that executes on the computer system and accesses a storage device, wherein the file system check agent is shared by the plurality microprocessor cores;
validating a plurality of metadata structures of the file system;
dividing and allocating the metadata structures among a plurality of worker threads;
for each worker thread, processing data corresponding to the metadata structures using a respective read ahead operation, wherein successive read ahead operations are issued on additional metadata related to the metadata structures as the metadata structures become available, wherein the additional metadata comprise an extent map; and
processing the file system check to completion including executing at least an unreferenced inode check using one of the worker threads, wherein the respective read ahead operations feed data corresponding to the metadata structures to each of the plurality of worker threads in parallel, wherein the respective read ahead operations maximize data throughput for the check operation and minimize blocked I/O for each worker thread.
9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises file system checker threads.
10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises read ahead component threads.
11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the file system check operation validates whether data is listed with a connected parent directory.
12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the read ahead operation utilizes a parallel PO capability of the storage device.
13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of worker threads execute in parallel on the plurality of microprocessor cores of the computer system.
14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the metadata structures comprise a plurality of inodes.
15. A computer system having a multicore microprocessor coupled to a memory, the memory having computer readable instructions which when executed by the microprocessor cause the computer system to perform a fast file system check, comprising:
executing a computer system having a plurality microprocessor cores;
initiating a check operation on a file system using a file system check agent that executes on the computer system and accesses a storage device, wherein the file system check agent is shared by the plurality microprocessor cores;
validating a plurality of metadata structures of the file system;
dividing and allocating the metadata structures among a plurality of worker threads;
for each worker thread, processing data corresponding to the metadata structures using a respective read ahead operation, wherein successive read ahead operations are issued on additional metadata related to the metadata structures as the metadata structures become available, wherein the additional metadata comprise an extent map; and
processing the file system check to completion including executing at least an unreferenced inode check using one of the worker threads, wherein the respective read ahead operations feed data corresponding to the metadata structures to each of the plurality of worker threads in parallel, wherein the respective read ahead operations maximize data throughput for the check operation and minimize blocked I/O for each worker thread.
16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises file system checker threads.
17. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of worker threads comprises read ahead component threads.
18. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the read ahead operation utilizes a parallel I/O capability of the storage device.
19. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the file system check operation validates whether data is listed with a connected parent directory.
20. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the metadata structures comprise a plurality of inodes.