Extended File System Metadata Management with Relational Databases

Modern file systems need to handle extended metadata. Existing file systems are not equipped to handle managing metadata in the amount of files and the diversity of files that these file systems are now supporting. Users need better searching and querying capabilities. Metadata within files still remain applicationand file format-specific and is often proprietary, which makes searching difficult. We propose a file system that combines the power and proven technology of relational databases with the Linking File System’s (LiFS) ability to handle extended metadata.