Filesystem hierarchical aggregate metrics

A computer-readable medium storing a hierarchical filesystem tree data structure, the data structure comprising:

• a hierarchical filesystem tree comprised of filesystem objects including a root directory, each filesystem object comprising either a directory or a file, each filesystem object storing an inode data including filesystem information and filesystem object attributes,
• for each directory comprising at least a portion of the filesystem objects of the tree, the inode data of the directory storing a value determined for a metric reflecting a result of an aggregation operation on at least one attribute of the files contained by the directories of a subtree of the tree, the subtree being defined by the directory,
• such that, for a directory of the tree among the at least a portion of the filesystem objects of the tree, the value stored by the inode data for the metric can be retrieved to determine the result of the aggregation operation on the attributes of the files contained by the directories of a subtree of the tree, the subtree being defined by the directory.

-20. (canceled)

A method for providing a metric value for a directory in a hierarchical filesystem, comprising:

• receiving a request for a value of at least one metric included in inode data stored in at least one directory, wherein the request includes a path identifying a directory in the filesystem, wherein the metric value is an aggregate value of an attribute of one or more files contained by the directory and any descendant directories;
• retrieving the value of the metric from the inode data of the directory identified by the path;
• returning the retrieved value in response to the request.

-33. (canceled)