Prefix Tables: A Simple Mechanism for Locating Files in a Distributed System

Abstract : Prefix tables provide a mechanism for locating files in a system whose storage is distributed among many servers. The result is a single file system hierarchy visible uniformly and transparently to all clients. Each client of the filesystem maintains a local prefix table that identifies the server for a file based on the initial part of the file name. Prefix tables are built and modified using a simple broadcast protocol that is flexible enough to allow dynamic server reconfiguration and a simple form of replication.