Sparse creation of per-client pseudofs in network filesystem with lookup hinting
One example method includes transmitting, from a client, a remote procedure call (RPC) to a fileserver of a data protection system, the RPC including information identifying an export, then receiving, at the client, node information concerning the export, and the node information concerns a master pseudofs of the fileserver. Finally, the example method includes creating, at the client, a sparse client-specific pseudofs that is based on the node information received from the fileserver, and the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes fewer than all the master pseudofs nodes that the client is authorized to access.
1. A method, comprising the following operations:
transmitting, from a client, a remote procedure call (RPC) to a fileserver of a data protection system, the RPC including information identifying an export;
receiving, at the client, a response of the fileserver to the RPC, and the response of the fileserver comprises node information concerning the export, wherein the node information concerns one or more nodes of a master pseudofs of the fileserver, and the master pseudofs comprises a directory structure;
building, at the client, a sparse client-specific pseudofs that is based on the node information received from the fileserver, and the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes fewer than all the master pseudofs nodes that the client is authorized to access, wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs comprises a directory structure whose configuration is derived from a configuration of the directory structure of the master pseudofs, and wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is created automatically and only on-demand when needed for performance of an operation concerning data stored at the data protection system; and
modifying the sparse client-specific pseudofs to include one or more additional nodes associated with another export that the client is authorized to access, wherein after the modifying, the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes fewer than all the master pseudofs nodes that the client is authorized to access.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the directory structure of the sparse client-specific pseudofs and/or the directory structure of the master pseudofs comprises a respective tree structure.
3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the node information received by the client comprises information identifying the node, or nodes, that are needed by the client to navigate to, and access, the export.
4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the node information received by the client comprises information concerning one or more nodes of the master pseudofs.
5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs does not include any nodes of the master pseudofs that the client is not authorized to access.
6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes the node or nodes identified in the node information supplied by the fileserver.
7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the building of the sparse client-specific pseudofs is performed by the client without traversing the master pseudofs.
8. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is updated automatically as a result of an update to the master pseudofs.
9. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising using the sparse client-specific pseudofs to access the export and perform an operation concerning the export.
10. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is built by the client.
11. A non-transitory storage medium having stored therein instructions which when executed by one or more hardware processors perform operations comprising:
transmitting, from a client, a remote procedure call (RPC) to a fileserver of a data protection system, the RPC including information identifying an export;
receiving, at the client, a response of the fileserver to the RPC, and the response of the fileserver comprises node information concerning the export, wherein the node information concerns one or more nodes of a master pseudofs of the fileserver, and the master pseudofs comprises a directory structure;
building, at the client, a sparse client-specific pseudofs that is based on the node information received from the fileserver, and the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes fewer than all the master pseudofs nodes that the client is authorized to access, wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is built by the client and comprises a directory structure whose configuration is derived from a configuration of the directory structure of the master pseudofs, and wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is created automatically and only on-demand when needed for performance of an operation concerning data stored at the data protection system; and
modifying the sparse client-specific pseudofs to include one or more additional nodes associated with another export that the client is authorized to access, wherein after the modifying, the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes fewer than all the master pseudofs nodes that the client is authorized to access.
12. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the directory structure of the sparse client-specific pseudofs and/or the directory structure of the master pseudofs comprises a respective tree structure.
13. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the node information received by the client comprises information identifying the node, or nodes, that are needed by the client to navigate to, and access, the export.
14. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the node information received by the client comprises information concerning one or more nodes of the master pseudofs.
15. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs does not include any nodes of the master pseudofs that the client is not authorized to access.
16. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs includes the node or nodes identified in the node information supplied by the fileserver.
17. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the building of the sparse client-specific pseudofs is performed by the client without traversing the master pseudofs.
18. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sparse client-specific pseudofs is updated automatically as a result of an update to the master pseudofs.
19. The non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
using the sparse client-specific pseudofs to access the export and perform an operation concerning the export.