4 replies to this topic

[hetra]

Hello all,

I'm wanting to write a DFS in C++. I want to make it lightweight and scalable; however, I'm not sure how to write a filesystem (as in programming environment).

I assume this should be done on Linux? If so, what distro?

Also, I assume I'll be using GCC to build and such but I'm inexperienced when it comes to Linux and GCC.

Any help would be great.

[WingedPanther]

If you're writing a distributed file system, you probably shouldn't be making OS assumptions, as it will fail if someone attempts to connect using a different OS.

Given that SAMBA already handles most of this, I'm also not clear on what you're trying to accomplish. Is this a project for school, or a production environment?

[Ancient Dragon]

Both *nix and MS-Windows already have that capability, that is, file sharing among all computers on a network. I doubt you can just write your own file system and just plug it into an existing operating system. You will also have to write you own operating system.

[hetra]

I'm considering doing this for a school-based competition (I won last year but I'm not sure what to do for this year).

I'd have to have this completed (or at least on track) by June for submission.

Also, if I'm not making OS assumptions, what am I writing it on?

[WingedPanther]

A DFS is basically just a way to share files and file information over a network. Ultimately, you'll build this on top of TCP calls. You can use the boost libraries to do this in a cross-platform way, using a client/server model.