DYNAMIC MODELING FOR RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN A FILE SERVER

Resources in a file server are allocated by dynamically modeling a configuration of data handling components in the file server and routings of data streams through the data handling components. The dynamic model is a computer model maintained in memory by a controller of the file server. For example, the dynamic model is a directed acyclic graph in which nodes represent the data handling components and edges represent data stream paths. Each node has a list of resources and current allocations of the resources. Associated with each active data stream is a list of pointers to the nodes and current allocations for the data stream. The controller of the file server has programs for automatically creating the dynamic model, modifying the dynamic model in response to component changes such as component failures, enforcing a scheduling and admissions policy by allocating resources for a path for a data stream during a search through the dynamic model in response to a client request for data access, de-allocating resources in response to an end-of-stream condition, and balancing allocations of resources to data streams in order to free resources to allocate a path for a requested data stream. The dynamic model is created automatically by collecting information about what components are installed in the file server, the resources of the installed components, and connections between the installed components.