TLFS: High Performance Tape Library File System for Data Backup and Archive

A tape library is seldom considered as a viable place for constructing a file system for a sequential write/read device. Storage virtualization technology has become a buzzword in technology circles lately, in this paper we propose a tape library file system, called TLFS. The purpose of TLFS is to maintain a consistent view of mass storage so that the user can effectively manage it. Like disk file system, TLFS provides some file system operations, such as create, delete, open, close, read and write files/directories. It supports remote data access, backup, mirroring, replication by iSCSI protocol and facilitates fast data backup and archive. Moreover, TLFS supports large-scale storage management, provides file system fragment management, defenses virus and has transparent file movement. The prototype system, which is built by a SCSI disk and a tape library, is present and some implementation details are shown. Also, the experiment results are analyzed.