A distributed directory scheme for information access in mobile computers

In this paper, we discuss the design aspects of a dynamic distributed directory scheme (DDS) to facilitate efficient and transparent access to information files in mobile environments. The proposed directory interface enables users of mobile computers to view a distributed file system on a network of computers as a globally shared file system. In order to counter some of the limitations of wireless communications, we propose improvised invalidation schemes that avoid false sharing and ensure uninterrupted usage under disconnected and low bandwidth conditions

Accessing files in an Internet: The Jade file system

Jade is a new distribution file system that provides a uniform way to name and access files in an internet environment. It makes two important contributions. First, Jade is a logical system that integrates a heterogeneous collection of existing file systems, where heterogeneous means that the underlying file systems support different file access protocols. Jade is designed under the restriction that the underlying file system may not be modified. Second, rather than providing a global name space, Jade permits each user to define a private name space. These private name spaces support two novel features: they allow multiple file systems to be mounted under one directory, and they allow one logical name space to mount other logical name spaces. A prototype of the Jade File System was implemented on Sun Workstations running Unix. It consists of interfaces to the Unix file system, the Sun Network File System, the Andrew File System, and FTP. This paper motivates Jade's design, highlights several aspects of its implementation, and illustrates applications that can take advantage of its features

Deceit: A flexible distributed file system

Deceit, a distributed file system (DFS) being developed at Cornell, focuses on flexible file semantics in relation to efficiency, scalability, and reliability. Deceit servers are interchangeable and collectively provide the illusion of a single, large server machine to any clients of the Deceit service. Non-volatile replicas of each file are stored on a subset of the file servers. The user is able to set parameters on a file to achieve different levels of availability, performance, and one-copy serializability. Deceit also supports a file version control mechanism. In contrast with many recent DFS efforts, Deceit can behave like a plain Sun Network File System (NFS) server and can be used by any NFS client without modifying any client software. The current Deceit prototype uses the ISIS Distributed Programming Environment for all communication and process group management, an approach that reduces system complexity and increases system robustness

An overview of the Amoeba distributed operating system

As hardware prices continue to drop rapidly, building large computer systems by interconnecting substantial numbers of microcomputers becomes increasingly attractive. Many techniques for interconnecting the hardware, such as Ethernet [Metcalfe and Boggs, 1976], ring nets [Farber and Larson, 1972], packet switching, and shared memory are well understood, but the corresponding software techniques are poorly understood. The design of general purpose distributed operating systems is one of the key research issues for the 1980s