Smb2 scaleout

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for clients and servers operating in a scaled cluster environment. Efficiencies are introduced to the process of connecting a client to a clustered environment by providing the client with the ability to attempt a connection with multiple servers in parallel. Servers operating the in the clustered environment are also capable of providing persistent storage of file handles and other state information. Ownership of the state information and persistent handles may be transferred between servers, thereby providing clients with the opportunity to move from one server to another while maintaining access to resources in the clustered environment.

1 . A method for establishing a session with to a clustered server environment, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a client, a plurality of addresses identifying a plurality of servers in the clustered server environment;   sending, from the client, an initial request to connect to a first server identified by the first address of the plurality of addresses;   prior to connecting to the first server, sending, from the client, one or more additional requests to a subset of the plurality of addresses, wherein the subset of plurality of addresses identify at least a second server in the clustered server environment;   receiving, from the second server, an indication of a successful connection; and   connecting to the second server.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising randomly choosing the subset of the plurality of addresses. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more additional requests are sent following a predetermined period of time after sending the initial request. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of addresses comprises IP addresses. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of addresses are received from a name resolution service. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the name resolution service is a DNS server. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 losing the connection with the second server;   sending a reconnection request to the second server; and   connecting to the second server.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second server is identified by an address in the plurality of addresses other than a second address. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a status message from the second server related to server performance; and   in response to receiving the status message, sending, from the client, a new connection request to at least a third server, wherein the third server is part of the clustered environment; and   connecting to the third server.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising sending, to the third server, a session identifier, wherein the session identifier indicates a previously established session with the second server. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the session identifier is sent with new connection request. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the session is established according to the SMB2 protocol. 
     
     
         11 . A computer storage medium encoding computer executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, performs a method for establishing a session with to a clustered server environment, the method comprising:
 receiving, a plurality of addresses identifying a plurality of servers in the clustered server environment;   sending, an initial request to connect to a first server identified by the first address of the plurality of addresses;   prior to connecting to the first server, sending one or more additional requests to a subset of the plurality of addresses, wherein the subset of plurality of addresses identify at least a second server in the clustered server environment;   receiving, from the second server, an indication of a successful connection; and   connecting to the second server.   
     
     
         12 . The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 randomly choosing the subset of the plurality of addresses from the plurality of addresses.   
     
     
         13 . The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more additional requests are sent following a predetermined period of time after sending the initial request. 
     
     
         14 . The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of addresses comprises IP addresses. 
     
     
         15 . The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving a status message from the second server related to server performance; and   in response to receiving the status message, sending, a new connection request to at least a third server, wherein the third server is part of the clustered environment; and   connecting to the third server.   
     
     
         16 . The computer storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:
 sending, to the third server, a session identifier, wherein the session identifier indicates that a previously established session with the second server.   
     
     
         17 . The computer storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the session identifier is sent with the new connection request. 
     
     
         19 . A computer system for providing persistent handles, the system comprising:
 at least a first server in a second server in a cluster;   the first server configured to:
 receive a connection request from a client, wherein the connection request comprises a session setup request that identifies a previously established session with the second server; 
 send, to the second server, an ownership request of the previously established session; and 
   the second server configured to:
 receive the request from the first server; 
 complete pending operations on the set of handles; and 
 invalidate the set of handles. 
   
     
     
         20 . The computer system of  claim 19 , wherein the second server is further configured to:
 transfer the set of handles to the first server, where in the set of handles is transferred in bulk.