Quantum Corporation
Recursive multi-threaded file system scanner for serializing file system metadata exoskeleton

Abstract:

Methods, apparatus, and other embodiments facilitate discovering and serializing metadata for a file system. After initializing or accessing a serialization data structure, recursive search threads that begin at a selected location in the file system are spawned. The threads analyzes the selected location in the file system, acquire metadata associated with the selected location in the file system, serialize the metadata associated with the selected location in the file system into the serialization data structure, and then selectively spawn additional recursive search threads. Additional recursive search threads may be spawned upon determining that the current recursive search thread has reached a branch point in a hierarchy of the file system. Different threads may perform different types of searches (e.g., depth-first breadth-first) and may operate in parallel. The serialization data structure may be persisted and surfaced in an object (e.g., JSON object) that can be queried or searched.