9.

2 DESIRABLE FEATURES
OF GOOD DISTRIBUTED
FILE SYSTEM
Distributed File System (DFS) :

A distributed file system is a

subsystem of an operating system that
performs file management activities
such as organization, storing, retrieval,
naming, sharing and protection of files.
Features of Distributed File System :

A good distributed file system should have the

following features:

1. Transparency
a)Structure Transparency
b)Access Transparency
c)Naming Transparency
d)Replication Transparency
2. User Mobility
3. Performance
4. Simplicity and ease of use
Features of Distributed File System :

5. Scalability

6. High availability

7. High reliability

8. Data integrity

9. Security

10. Heterogeneity
 1. Transparency
Transparency refers to hiding details or
existing systems from user.

The following types of transparency are

desirable.
a) Structure Transparency
b) Access Transparency
c) Naming Transparency
d) Replication Transparency
 a) Structure Transparency
* For performance, reliability and scalability,
a distributed file system uses multiple file servers.

* Each file server is a user process or a kernel

process that is responsible for controlling a set of
secondary storage devices or h/w (used for file
storage) of the node on which it runs.

* In multiple file servers, the multiplicity file

servers should be transparent to the clients of a
distributed file system.
 a) Structure Transparency
File Server1 File Server2 --- File Server n

Multiple file server

(Main File Server)

Distributed File System

Client System1 Client System1 --- Client System1

 b) Access
Transparency
* Both local and remote files should be
accessible in the same way.

* i.e) The file system interface should

not distinguish between local and remote
files, and the file system should
automatically locate an accessed file (either
or both local and remote files).

* Finally, it arranges and transports the

data to the client’s site.
 b) Access Transparency
Local File 1 Local File 2 Remote File 1 Remote File 2

File Server File Server

(Local) (Remote)

Distributed File System

Local file
2
Remote file 2
Arrange and
Local file Transports the files.
1

Client (or) User

 c) Naming Transparency
* The name of the file should give no hint as
to where the file is located.

* A file should be allowed to move from one

node to another in a distributed file system without
having to change the name of the file.

* Suppose if the file name does not have the

capability of transparency, it makes error or
overwrite the different files with same name on
moving from one node to another in a distributed
file system.
 d) Replication Transparency
* If a file is replicated (copied) on multiple
nodes, both the existence of multiple copies and
their location should be hidden from the clients.

File 1 File 2 File 3 File 4 File 5 File 6 --- File n

File Server

COMMUNICATION
N/W

Node 1 / Node 2 / Node 3 / Node 4 / Node 5 /

Station 1 Station2 Station 3 Station 4 Station 5
 2. User Mobility
* In a distributed system, a user should not
forced to work on a specific node (stable state) but
should have the flexibility to work on different
nodes at different times (mobility state).

Example :
* One way to support user mobility is to
automatically bring a user’s environment (i.e)
user’s home directory) at the time of login to the
node where the user logs in.
 3. Performance
* The performance of a file system is
usually measured as the average amount of
time needed to satisfy client request.

* In a distributed file system, this time

includes network communication when the
accessing file is remote for increasing the
performance.
 4. Simplicity and ease of use
* Several issues influence the simplicity and ease of
use (usability) of the distributed file system.

Simplicity:

* The most important issue is that the semantics of

the distributed file system should be easy to understand.
=> This implies that the user interface to the
file system must be simple and the number of commands
should be small as possible.

Ease of use (Usability):

* Another important issue for ease of use is that the

file system should be able to support the whole range of
applications.
 5. Scalability
* It is inevitable that a distributed system will
grow with expanding the network by adding new
machines or interconnecting two networks together
in common place.

* Therefore, a good distributed file system

should be designed to easily adjust with the growth
of nodes and users in the system.
 6. High Availability
* A distributed file system should continue to
function when partial failure occur due to the
failure of one or more components such as
communication link failure, a machine failure, or a
storage device crash.

* When partial failures occur, performance

and functionality of system will be decreased but
the system will continue to work.
 7. High Reliability
* In a good distributed file system, the
probability of loss of stored data is minimized.

* Because the file system should automatically

generate backup copies of critical files that can be
used in the event of the loss of the original ones.

* Stable storage is a popular technique used

by the several file systems for high reliability.
 8. Data Integrity
* A file is often shared by multiple users.

* For a shared file, the file system must

guarantee the integrity of data stored in it.

* That is, the concurrent access of same file

from multiple users must be properly synchronized
by using some concurrency control mechanism.

* Atomic transactions are the high level

concurrency control mechanism which is often
used for data integrity.
 9. Security
* A distributed file system should be
secure so that its user can be confidently
access the privacy of the data.

* Security mechanisms can be used to

protect the information stored in a file
system against unauthorized access.
 10. Heterogeneity
* Heterogeneity is inevitable in distributed
systems.

* Heterogeneous distributed systems provide

the flexibility to their users to use different
platforms for different applications.

* Distributed file system should be designed

to allow a variety of workstations to participate in
the sharing of files through the distributed system.