Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCES 
       [0001]    This application relates to and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-177248, filed on Jul. 30, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a computer system and a method of managing a single name space (GNS: Global Name Space) and, for instance, can be suitably applied to a computer system comprising a plurality of NAS (Network Attached System) servers applying the GNS technology. 
         [0003]    Conventionally, technology for unifying file systems distributed to a plurality of NASes for a user by managing such plurality of NASes with a GNS (that is, by making it appear to be a single NAS) has been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-234568; “Patent Document 1”). 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Patent Document 1 describes that an administrator is to define the configuration of the GNS and carry out the operation. Nevertheless, if there are a plurality of nodes (NASes), it is difficult to determine which NAS and which NAS should be consolidated in the same GNS. Moreover, if a NAS is to be added to an existing GNS, it is difficult to evaluate the effect that is yielded by such addition. 
         [0005]    The present invention was devised in view of the foregoing points. Thus, an object of this invention is to propose a computer system and a method of configuring a single name space capable of simplifying the management of the GNS and alleviating the burden of the administrator. 
         [0006]    In order to achieve the foregoing object, the present invention provides a computer system including a storage subsystem for providing a storage area for reading and writing files, a plurality of nodes for providing a file sharing service to a user, a server for unifying the plurality of nodes and providing this as a single name space to a client, and a management apparatus for managing each of the nodes and the server. In this computer system, the management apparatus collects, from each of the nodes, management information and an access log of each of the files managed by the relevant node, extracts a user who satisfies a prescribed condition as a key person for each of the nodes based on the collected management information and access log of each of the files, specifies the key person who is common to the plurality of nodes among the extracted key persons, and requests the server to integrate, as a single name space, the plurality of nodes in which the number of common key persons exceeds a predetermined first threshold. The server integrates, as a single name space, the plurality of nodes in which the number of common key persons exceeds a predetermined first threshold in response to the request. 
         [0007]    The present invention additionally provides method of managing a single name space in a computer system. This computer system includes a storage subsystem for providing a storage area for reading and writing files, a plurality of nodes for providing a file sharing service to a user, a server for unifying the plurality of nodes and providing this as a single name space to a client, and a management apparatus for managing each of the nodes and the server. This method includes a first step of the management apparatus collecting, from each of the nodes, management information and an access log of each of the files managed by the relevant node, extracting a user who satisfies a prescribed condition as a key person for each of the nodes based on the collected management information and access log of each of the files, specifying the key person who is common to the plurality of nodes among the extracted key persons, and requesting the server to integrate, as a single name space, the plurality of nodes in which the number of common key persons exceeds a predetermined first threshold, and a second step of the server integrating, as a single name space, the plurality of nodes in which the number of common key persons exceeds a predetermined first threshold in response to the request. 
         [0008]    According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a computer system and a method of configuring a single name space capable of simplifying the management of the GNS and alleviating the burden of the administrator. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computer system according to the present embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the software configuration of a computer system according to the present embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a conceptual diagram explaining an access log; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a conceptual diagram explaining a file system; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of a directory entry; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a conceptual diagram showing a reference example of a data block based on an inode; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between an inode management table and an inode; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a directory image to be provided by the GNS server to the client; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a GNS management table; 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram explaining the flow of GNS processing; 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a file information management table; 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a key person management table; 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  is a conceptual diagram explaining a key person; 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing the processing routine of key person monitoring processing; 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  is a flowchart showing the processing routine of share effect monitoring processing; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 16  is a flowchart showing the processing routine of GNS management processing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    An embodiment of the present invention is now explained in detail with reference to the attached drawings. 
       (1) Configuration of Computer System According to Present Embodiment 
       [0026]      FIG. 1  shows the overall computer system  1  according to the present embodiment. The computer system  1  is configured from a client group  2 , a GNS server  10 , a NAS server  11 , a management server  12 , an FC (Fibre Channel) network  13 , and a RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) subsystem  14 . The respective GNS servers  10 , the respective NAS servers  11  and the management server  12  are connected via a first network  15 , and the respective GNS servers  10 , the management server  12  and the FC network  13  are connected via a second network  16 . 
         [0027]    The client group  2  is configured from a plurality of clients  3 . Each client  3  is a computer device comprising information processing resources such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an NIC (Network Interface Card), and a hard disk device and is configured, for example, from a personal computer, a workstation or a mainframe. 
         [0028]    The GNS server  10  is a server for unifying a plurality of NAS servers  11  and showing it as a single name space (GNS) to the client  3 , and is configured by comprising information processing resources such as a CPU  20  and a memory  21 . The GNS server  10  is connected to the first network  15  via an NIC (not shown), and is able to communicate with the management server  12  and the corresponding client  3  via the first network  15 . The GNS server  10  is also connected to the second network  16  via an HBA (Host Bus Adapter) (not shown), and is able to read, during its startup, control programs such as the GNS management program  65  ( FIG. 2 ) described later from the RAID subsystem  14  via the second network  16 . 
         [0029]    The NAS server  11  is a server for providing a file sharing service to the client  3 , and is configured by comprising information processing resources such as a CPU  22  and a memory  23 . The NAS server  11  is also connected to the second network  15  via an NIC (not shown) as with the GNS server  10 , and is able to communicate with the management server  12  and the GNS server  10  via the second network  15 . The NAS server  11  is also connected to the FC network  13  via an HBA (not shown). 
         [0030]    The management server  12  is a server to be used by the system administrator for managing the GNS server  10 , the NAS server  11 , the FC network  13  and the RAID subsystem  14  in the data center  5 , and is configured from a personal computer, a workstation or the like. The management server  12  comprises information processing resources such as a CPU  24  and a memory  25 , input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and output devices such as a display and a speaker. The management server  12  collects necessary information from the GNS server  10 , the NAS server  11 , the FC network  13  and the RAID subsystem  14  and displays the collected information as necessary, and sends commands to the GNS server  10 , the NAS server  11 , the FC network  13  and the RAID subsystem  14  in order to control the foregoing components. 
         [0031]    The FC network  13  is configured from one or more FC switches. The exchange of data and commands between the GNS server  10 , the NAS server  11  or the management server  12  and the RAID subsystem  14  is conducted via the FC network  13 . 
         [0032]    The RAID subsystem  14  is a storage apparatus that is configured from one or more disk devices  26 , and a controller  27  for controlling the input and output of data to and from the disk device  26 . Although  FIG. 1  illustrates a case of providing only one RAID subsystem  14  in the computer system  1 , it is also possible to provide a plurality of RAID subsystems  14 . 
         [0033]    The disk device  26  is configured from an expensive disk such as a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) disk, or an inexpensive disk such as a SATA (Serial AT Attachment) disk or an optical disk. One RAID group  28  is configured from one or more disk devices  26 , and one or more logical volumes are set in the physical storage areas provided by the respective disk devices  26  that are configuring one RAID group  28 . Data from the client is stored in the logical volume as units of a block (this is hereinafter referred to as the “logical block”) of a prescribed size. 
         [0034]    A unique volume number is assigned to each logical volume. In the case of this embodiment, the input and output of data is performed by using a combination of the volume number and a block number (LBA: Logical Block Address) of that logical block that is assigned to each logical block as the address, and designating that address. 
         [0035]    The controller  27  comprises one or more channel adapters (CHA)  29 , and one or more disk controllers (DKC)  30 . The controller  27  receives, in the channel adapter  29 , an I/O (Input/Output) request that is given from the NAS server  11  via the FC network  13 , and reads and writes data from and into the corresponding disk device  26  under the control of the disk controller  30  according to the foregoing I/O request. 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows the software configuration of the computer system  1 . In the computer system  1 , a plurality of logical volumes are formed in the RAID group  28  ( FIG. 1 ) of the RAID subsystem  14 . Under a NAS environment, two types of logical volumes; namely, an OS volume (OS-LU)  40  and a user volume (User-LU)  41  are created as the foregoing logical volumes. 
         [0037]    The OS volume  40  is a logical volume for storing programs to be used by the OS (Operation System) of the GNS server  10  and the NAS server  11 . The OS volume  40  also stores the access log  81  shown in  FIG. 3 . The access log  81  stores the historical data of accesses from the user to the files stored in the RAID subsystem  14 , and is configured from a date and time of access, a directory path name, and an operation type (read/write). 
         [0038]    The user volume  41  is a logical volume for storing data based on the I/O request from the client  3 . The storage area that is provided by the user volume  41  is used by the file system. 
         [0039]    The NAS server  11  is loaded with a file sharing program  50  and a file system program  51 . 
         [0040]    The file system program  51  is a program for managing the file system, which is a logical structure that is created for realizing the management unit referred to as a “file” in the physical volume. 
         [0041]    Here, to explain the file system, the file system comprises, as shown in  FIG. 4 , a super block  60 , a directory entry  61 , an inode management table  62 , and a data block  63 . Among the above, the super block  60  is a logical block for collectively retaining information concerning the file system such as the size and unused capacity of the file system. 
         [0042]    Moreover, the file system associates one inode with one file and manages such association, and the correspondence relationship is managed in the directory entry  61 . Specifically, the directory entry is a table including, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the pair of a directory path name  61 A, and an index (this is hereinafter referred to as the “inode number”)  61 B designating the inode. 
         [0043]    An inode refers to management information of the file including information such as the ownership, access right, file size and data storage location of the corresponding file. The referral relationship of the inode and the data block  63  is shown in  FIG. 6 . The numbers “ 100 ,” “ 200 ” and “ 250 ” in the table within the frame on the left side of  FIG. 6  represent the block address, and the numbers “ 3 ,” “ 2 ” and “ 5 ” represent the number of blocks of the data block  63  storing the data which are successive from that block address. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the inode is managed by being stored in the inode management table  62 . 
         [0044]    The data block  63  refers to the logical block storing the actual file data, management data and the like. 
         [0045]    The file sharing program  50  is a program for providing a file sharing service to the client  3  by using a communication protocol such as a CIFS (Common Internet File System) or an NFS (Network File System). 
         [0046]    The NAS server  11  also comprises a kernel (not shown) in addition to the file sharing program  50  and the file system program  51 . The kernel implements the schedule control of a plurality of programs (processes) running on the NAS server  11  and the overall control such as handling the interruption from the hardware. 
         [0047]    The GNS server  10  is loaded with a GNS management program  65 . The GNS management program  65  is a program for providing, to the client  3 , a view of the file data that is distributed and stored in a plurality of NAS servers  11  by unifying such data as a single directory image. For example, a directory image as shown in  FIG. 8  is provided to the client  3 . 
         [0048]    Here, the GNS management program  65  creates, for each GNS, a GNS management table  64  as shown in  FIG. 9 . The GNS management table  64  is configured from a directory path name column  64 A, a host name column  64 B, a file system name column  64 C, and an inode number column  64 D. 
         [0049]    Among the above, the directory path name column  64 A stores the directory path name to each file belonging to the corresponding GNS that the GNS management program  65  provides to the client  3 , and the host name column  64 B stores the NAS name of the NAS server  11  that is managing that file. The file system name column  64 C stores the file system name of the file system that is providing that file, and the inode column  64 D stores the inode number of the inode of that file. 
         [0050]    If, for instance, in the example shown in  FIG. 9 , the GNS management program  65  receives a read request from the client  3  for reading a file having a directory path name of “/Holder-2/a.txt” ( FIG. 10 , SP 1 ), as shown in  FIG. 10 , it uses the GNS management table  64  and converts the foregoing read request into a read request for reading a file having an inode number of “1000(a.txt)” in the file system “FS 31 ” of the “NAS- 3 ,” and sends this read request to the “NAS- 3 ” (SP 2 ). The “NAS- 3 ” reads “a.txt” from the user volume  41  according to the foregoing read request (SP 3 , SP 4 ). The “a.txt” is thereafter transferred from the “NAS- 3 ” to the client  3  via the GNS server  10  (SP 5 , SP 6 ). 
         [0051]    Although the GNS server  10  is loaded with a file system program  66  and a kernel (not shown) in addition to the GNS management program  65 , since the file system program  66  and the kernel have the same functions as the NAS server  11 , the explanation thereof is omitted. 
         [0052]    Meanwhile, the management server  12  is loaded, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a key person monitoring program  70  and a share effect monitoring program  71 . The key person monitoring program  70  is a program for monitoring the key person described later and the number of such key persons, and issuing a GNS creation request to the GNS server  10  according to the number of key persons, and the share effect monitoring program  71  is a program for deleting any GNS that is not beneficial for the users by periodically requesting the GNS server  10  to perform a GNS deletion check. Details regarding the key person monitoring program  70  and the share effect monitoring program  71  will be described later. Although not shown in  FIG. 2 , the management server  12  is also loaded with a kernel and a file system program. 
         [0053]    The client  3  is also loaded with various types of application software, and data to be used by the application software is read from and written into the RAID subsystem  14  of the data center. As a means for realizing the above, the client  3  is also loaded with a file system program and a kernel. 
       (2) GNS Configuration Management Function and Share Effect Monitoring Function According to Present Embodiment 
     (2-1) Outline and Configuration of Various Management Tables 
       [0054]    The GNS configuration management function and the share effect monitoring function loaded in the management server  12  are now explained. 
         [0055]    The management server  12  of this embodiment is loaded with a GNS configuration management function of collecting the access log  81  and the like described above with reference to  FIG. 3  from the respective NAS servers  11 , specifies the key person for each NAS server  11  based on each of the collected access logs  81 , and, if the number of key persons who are common between two NAS servers  11  exceeds a prescribed number, integrates these NAS servers  11  into a single GNS. Here, a key person refers to a user who created a certain number of files or more in the NAS server  11  and in which the total value of the number of times that other users using the same NAS server  11  have referred to the files created by that key person and the number of links from other files to the files created by that key person exceeds a certain number. 
         [0056]    The management server  12  of this embodiment is also loaded with a share effect monitoring function for monitoring the share effect of the integrated NAS servers  11  and releasing the integration of the NAS servers  11  in which a share effect is not yielded. Here, a share effect of the NAS server  11  refers to how much the user is enjoying the sharing effect as a result of consolidating a plurality of NAS servers  11  into a single GNS. For example, if there are numerous files that cannot be accessed due to access restriction even if the sharing of the NAS servers  11  is sought with the GNS, the management server  12  determines that is no share effect based on the integration of the NAS servers  11 . Contrarily, if there are numerous files without access restriction and the users who were using these NAS servers  11  are now able to access files that were inaccessible in the past or if the number of accessible files increases, the management server  12  determines that there is a share effect. 
         [0057]    As means for realizing the foregoing GNS configuration management function and the share effect monitoring function, the memory  25  ( FIG. 1 ) of the management server  12  stores a file information management table  82  and a key person management table  83  shown in  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 , respectively. 
         [0058]    The file information management table  82  is a table for storing the file information to be used in specifying the key person and is configured, as shown in  FIG. 11 , from a number column  82 A, a NAS name column  82 B, a user name column  82 C, a directory path name column  82 D, a link quantity column  82 E, and a referral count column  82 F. 
         [0059]    The NAS name column  82 B stores the NAS name of the NAS server  11  that is managing the corresponding file, and the user name column  82 C stores the user account of the user who created that file. In  FIG. 11 , with regard to the two digit number that is assigned after the “user-” of the user account, the first digit represents the number of the affiliated NAS server  11 , and the second digit represents the serial number. Thus, for example “user- 21 ” shows that it is the “first” user account belonging to “NAS- 2 .” 
         [0060]    The directory path name column  82 D stores the directory path of that file, and the link quantity column  82 E stores the number of links (number of citations) from other files (documents) to that file. The referral count column  82 F stores the number of times (referral count) that the user referred to such file. 
         [0061]    The key person management table  83  is a table for managing the key person who is common among a plurality of NAS servers  11  and the number of such key persons and, as shown in  FIG. 12 , is formed in a so-called competitor chart format. The key person management columns  83 A to  83 C in the key person management table  83  respectively store the user name of each key person and the number of key persons who are common between the NAS server  11  associated with the row to which each of the key person management columns  83 A to  83 C belongs, and the NAS server  11  associated with the line to which each of the key person management columns  83 A to  83 C belongs. 
         [0062]    For instance, in the case of the example illustrated in  FIG. 12 , the key person management column  83 A stores the user name (“user- 11 ”) of the key person and the number of such key persons (1 person) who are common between the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 1 ” and the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 2 ,” and the key person management column  83 B stores the user name (“user- 11 ” and “user- 31 ”) of the key persons and the number of such key persons (2 people) who are common between the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 1 ” and the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 3 .” The key person management column  83 C stores the user name (“user- 21 ,” “user- 22 ,” “user- 23 ,” “user- 31 ” and “user- 32 ”) of the key persons and the number of such key persons (5 people) who are common between the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 2 ” and the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 3 .” 
       (2-2) Processing of Respective Programs 
       [0063]    The GNS configuration management processing to be executed by the key person monitoring program  70  and the share effect monitoring processing to be executed by the share effect monitoring program  71  of the management server  12  in relation to the foregoing GNS configuration management function and the share effect monitoring function are now explained. 
         [0064]    In the ensuing explanation, let it be assumed that the GNS is not configured in the initial state. In addition, let it be assumed that the files stored in the RAID subsystem  14  are not subject to access restriction such as ACL (Access Control List), and the files that are subject to access restriction can only be accessed by a user account in which access is permitted in advance even if the NAS servers  11  are integrated with the GNS. 
         [0065]    Moreover, although the processing subject of the various types of processing is explained as a “program” in the ensuing explanation, in reality, it goes without saying that, based on such program, the CPU  20  ( FIG. 1 ) of the GNS server  10 , the CPU  24  ( FIG. 1 ) of the management server  12 , or the CPU  22  ( FIG. 1 ) of the corresponding NAS server  11  executes the processing. 
       (2-2-1) Processing of Key Person Monitoring Program 
       [0066]      FIG. 14  shows the processing routine of the GNS configuration management processing to be executed by the key person monitoring program  70  ( FIG. 2 ) in relation to the foregoing GNS configuration management function. The key person monitoring program  70  specifies the key persons who are common among a plurality of NAS servers  11  by periodically executing this key person monitoring processing, and, based on the result of the foregoing specification, requests the GNS server  10  to integrate the plurality of NAS servers  11  into one GNS as needed. 
         [0067]    Specifically, when the key person monitoring program  70  starts the key person monitoring processing, it foremost accesses each NAS server  11  and acquires, from that NAS server  11 , information (this is hereinafter referred to as the “file management information”) such as the access log  81  ( FIG. 3 ) retained by that NAS server  11 , and the directory entry  61  and the inode management table  62  explained above with reference to  FIG. 4  concerning the respective files that are being managed by that NAS server  11  (SP 10 ). 
         [0068]    Subsequently, the key person monitoring program  70  registers, in the file information management table  82  ( FIG. 11 ), information such as the directory path name to the respective files that are being managed by the respective NAS servers  11 , name of the user who created that file, and the server name of the NAS server  11  managing that file based on the file management information of the respective files that are being managed by the respective NAS servers  11  which was collected at SP 10 . The key person monitoring program  70  counts the referral count of that file and the number of links from other files to that file based on the respective access logs  81  collected at SP 10 , and registers the count result in the file information management table  82  (SP 11 ). 
         [0069]    The key person monitoring program  70  refers to the file information management table  82  and extracts a key person for each NAS server  11 , detects a key person who is common among a plurality of NAS servers  11  based on the extracted result, and stores the user name of the detected key person and the number of such key persons in the corresponding key person management columns  83 A to  83 C ( FIG. 12 ) of the key person management table  83  ( FIG. 12 ) (SP 12 ). 
         [0070]    For instance, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 11 , assuming that the requirements of the key person is a user who created one or more files, and the total value of the number of times that other users using the same NAS server  11  referred to files created by that key person and the number of links from other files to the files created by that key person is 20 or more, as shown in  FIG. 13 , the users corresponding to the colored entries in  FIG. 13  are extracted as the key person of each NAS server  11 , and the key person management table  83  as shown in  FIG. 12  is created based on the extracted result. 
         [0071]    Subsequently, the key person monitoring program  70  refers to the key person management table  83  determines whether there are NAS servers  11  to be integrated; that is, whether there are a plurality of NAS servers  11  in which the number of key persons who are common among a plurality of NAS servers  11  is greater than a predetermined threshold (this is hereinafter referred to as the “integration threshold”) (SP 13 ). For instance, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 12 , if the foregoing integration threshold is “4,” since the number of key persons who are common between the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 2 ” and the NAS server  11  of “NAS- 3 ” in the example of  FIG. 12  is greater than the integration threshold, a positive result will be obtained in the foregoing determination. 
         [0072]    If the key person monitoring program  70  obtains a negative result in the foregoing determination, it ends this GNS configuration management processing. Meanwhile, if the key person monitoring program  70  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it sends a GNS creation request to the GNS server  10  so as to integrate the NAS servers  11  in which the number of common key persons is greater than the integration threshold into the same GNS (SP 14 ). 
         [0073]    Further, the key person monitoring program  70  starts up the share effect monitoring program for monitoring the share effect of the foregoing integration (SP 15 ), and thereafter ends this GNS configuration management processing. 
         [0074]    As described above, the key person monitoring program  70  requests the GNS management program  65  of the GNS server  10  to specify the number of key persons and integrate the GNS of the plurality of NAS servers  11  in which the number of key persons is greater than a prescribed number, and thereby integrates the NGS of the plurality of NAS servers  11 . 
       (2-2-2) Processing of Share Effect Monitoring Program 
       [0075]    Meanwhile,  FIG. 15  shows the processing routine of the share effect monitoring processing to be executed by the share effect monitoring program  71  in relation to the foregoing share effect monitoring function. When the share effect monitoring program  71  is started up by the key person monitoring program  70 , it executes the share effect monitoring processing and requests the GNS server  10  to delete the GNS with no share effect. 
         [0076]    Specifically, when the share effect monitoring program  71  is started up by the key person monitoring program  70 , it starts this share effect monitoring processing, and foremost waits for a prescribed period of time to elapse from the time it last issued the GNS deletion check request described later (SP 20 ). 
         [0077]    When a prescribed period of time eventually elapses from the time that the GNS deletion check request was last issued, the share effect monitoring program  71  issues a GNS deletion check request to the GNS server  10  (SP 21 ). Consequently, the GNS server  10  determines, as described later, whether there is no share effect of the NAS server  11  regarding the GNS that was created immediately before the share effect monitoring program  71  is started up according to the GNS deletion check request, and deletes that GNS if there is no share effect. 
         [0078]    The share effect monitoring program  71  thereafter determines whether the GNS targeted at such time was deleted according to the GNS deletion check request (SP 22 ). If the share effect monitoring program  71  obtains a negative result in the foregoing determination, it returns to step SP 20 , and thereafter similarly repeats step SP 20  to step SP 22 . Meanwhile, if the share effect monitoring program  71  obtains a positive result in the determination at step SP 22 , it ends this share effect monitoring processing. 
         [0079]    As described above, the share effect monitoring program  71  periodically requests the GNS server  10  to check whether to delete the GNS management table  64 , and thereby monitors the share effect of the GNS until the GNS management table  64  is deleted. 
       (2-2-3) Processing of GNS Management Program 
       [0080]    Meanwhile,  FIG. 16  shows the processing routine of the GNS management processing to be executed by the GNS management program  65  loaded in the GNS server  10 . The GNS management program  65  executes processing according to the various requests issued from the client  3  and the management server  12  according to the GNS management processing routine shown in  FIG. 16 . 
         [0081]    Specifically, the GNS management program  65  starts the GNS management processing after it is started up, and foremost waits until some kind of access request is issued from the client  3  or the management server  12  (SP 30 ). 
         [0082]    When the GNS management program  65  receives some kind of access request from the client  3  or the management server  12 , it determines whether that access request is a read request from the client  3  (SP 31 ). 
         [0083]    If the GNS management program  65  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it refers to the GNS management table  64  and specifies the NAS server  11  that is managing the read-target file that is designated in that read request (SP 32 ), and sends a read request according to that read request to the specified NAS server  11  (SP 33 ). 
         [0084]    If the GNS management program  65  fails in the reading of the file data at step SP 33  due to, for instance, access restriction or other reasons, it records the current date and time, the file name of the file that could not be accessed, and the operation (read/write) as an access fail log (SP 34 ), and thereafter returns to SP 30 . 
         [0085]    Meanwhile, if the GNS management program  65  obtains a negative result in the determination at step SP 31 , it determines whether the received access request is a write request from the client  3  (SP 35 ). 
         [0086]    If the GNS management program  65  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it refers to the GNS management table  64  and specifies the NAS server  11  which should manage the write-target file that is designated in the write request (SP 36 ), and sends the write request and the data of the write-target file according to that write request to the specified NAS server  11  (SP 37 ). 
         [0087]    If the GNS management program  65  fails in the writing of the file data at step SP 33  due to, for instance, access restriction or other reasons, it records the current date and time, the file name of the file that could not be accessed, and the operation (read/write) as an access fail log (SP 34 ), and thereafter returns to SP 30 . 
         [0088]    Meanwhile, if the GNS management program  65  obtains a negative result in the determination at step SP 35 , it determines whether the received access request is a GNS creation request from the management server  12  (SP 38 ). 
         [0089]    If the GNS management program  65  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it creates a new GNS in which a plurality of NAS servers  11  are integrated therein by created a GNS management table  64  regarding the plurality of NAS servers  11  that were designated in the GNS creation request (SP 39 ), records the fact that a new GNS was created and the created date and time in the log (SP 40 ), and thereafter returns to SP 30 . 
         [0090]    Meanwhile, if the GNS management program  65  obtains a negative result in the determination at step SP 38 , it determines whether the received access request is a GNS deletion check request from the management server  12  (SP 41 ). 
         [0091]    If the GNS management program  65  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it verifies the access fail log (SP 42 ), and determines whether the number of access restricted files is greater than a prescribed number (SP 43 ). 
         [0092]    If the GNS management program  65  obtains a positive result in the foregoing determination, it deletes the GNS management table  64  (SP 44 ), notifies the management server  12  that the GNS management table  64  has been deleted, and thereafter returns to SP 30 . 
         [0093]    Meanwhile, if the GNS management program  65  obtains a negative result in the determination at step SP 43 , it returns to SP 30 . 
         [0094]    As described above, according to the GNS management program  65 , it is possible to access the NAS server  11  based on the GNS management table  64 , create a GNS when the management server  12  requests the creation of a GNS, and delete the GNS management table  64  based on the number of files that could not be accessed when the management server  12  issues a GNS deletion check. 
       (3) Effect of Present Embodiment 
       [0095]    With the computer system  1  according to this embodiment, it is possible to specify a key person for each NAS server  11 , and, if the number of key persons who are common between two NAS servers  11  is greater than a prescribed number, these NAS servers  11  are integrated into the same GNS. Accordingly, with this computer system  1 , the administrator is not required to determine which NAS servers  11  should be integrated into the same GNS, and it is thereby possible to simplify the management of the GNS and alleviate the burden of the administrator. 
         [0096]    Moreover, according to this computer system  1 , even after a plurality of NAS servers  11  are integrated into one GNS, the effect of such integration is periodically evaluated and a GNS with a low effect is eliminated. Thus, it is possible to further simplify the management of the GNS and alleviate the burden of the administrator. 
       (4) Other Embodiments 
       [0097]    Although the foregoing embodiment explained a case of providing three GNS servers  10  and a plurality of NAS servers  11  in the computer system  1 , the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied even if the number of GNS servers  10  and the number of NAS servers  11  to be provided are other than the above. 
         [0098]    Moreover, although the foregoing embodiment explained a case of configuring the management server  12  and the GNS server  10  as separate apparatuses, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the management server  12  and the GNS server  10  may also be configured as a single server. 
         [0099]    Furthermore, although the foregoing embodiment explained a case where the key person was defined as a user who created a certain number of files or more in the NAS server  11  and in which the total value of the number of times that other users using the same NAS server  11  have referred to the files created by that key person and the number of links from other files to the files created by that key person exceeds a certain number, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various other types of definitions may be broadly applied as the definition of the key person. 
         [0100]    The present invention can be broadly applied to computer system comprising a plurality of NAS servers.

Technology Category: 3