Detection of inconsistencies in a file system

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed, perform a method of correcting at least some inconsistencies in a file system accessed by at least one client, the method comprising:

• while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, executing at least one file system checking utility on the file system to detect and create corrections for at least some inconsistencies in the file system, wherein said executing the at least one file system checking utility on the file system includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• and
• updating the file system to include at least some of the corrections, wherein said updating includes copying at least some of the corrections from the offline version to the file system.

At least one computer included in a computer system comprising a file system accessed by at least one client, the at least one computer comprising:

• at least one processor programmed to:
• while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, execute at least one file system checking utility on the file system to detect and create corrections for at least some inconsistencies in the file system, wherein executing at least one file system checking utility on the file system includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• and
• update the file system to include at least some of the corrections, wherein updating the file system to include at least some of the corrections includes copying at least some of the corrections from the offline version to the file system.

A method for use in a computer system comprising a file system accessed by at least one client, the method comprising:

• while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, executing at least one file system checking utility on the file system to detect at least some inconsistencies in the file system and to create a corrected version of the file system that includes at least some corrections to correct for at least some of the detected inconsistencies, wherein said executing the at least one file system checking utility on the file system includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• creating a report that identifies the proposed corrections in the corrected version of the file system;
• and
• refraining from automatically updating the file system with the corrected version unless the proposed corrections are approved, wherein upon approval, updating the file system with the corrected version wherein said updating includes copying at least some of the proposed corrections from the offline version to the file system.

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed, perform a method for use in a computer system comprising a file system accessed by at least one client, the method comprising:

• while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, executing at least one file system checking utility on the file system to detect at least some inconsistencies in the file system and to create a corrected version of the file system that includes at least some corrections to correct for at least some of the detected inconsistencies, wherein said executing the at least one file system checking utility on the file system includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• creating a report that identifies the proposed corrections in the corrected version of the file system;
• and
• refraining from automatically updating the file system with the corrected version unless the proposed corrections are approved, wherein upon approval, updating the file system with the corrected version wherein said updating includes copying at least some of the proposed corrections from the offline version to the file system.

At least one computer included in a computer system comprising a file system accessed by at least one client, the at least one computer comprising:

• at least one processor programmed to:
• while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, execute at least one file system checking utility on the file system to detect at least some inconsistencies in the file system and to create a corrected version of the file system that includes at least some corrections to correct for at least some of the detected inconsistencies, wherein executing at least one file system checking utility on the file system includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• create a report that identifies the proposed corrections in the corrected version of the file system;
• and
• refrain from automatically updating the file system with the corrected version unless the proposed corrections are approved, wherein upon approval, updating the file system with the corrected version wherein said updating includes copying at least some of the proposed corrections from the offline version to the file system.

A method of proactively and prophylactically maintaining integrity of a file system accessed by at least one client, the method comprising:

• scheduling execution of at least one file system checking utility to detect and correct at least some inconsistencies in the file system based upon a schedule that is selected to periodically check the integrity of the file system and correct at least one inconsistency so that the at least one file system checking utility is executed not in response to one or more file system problems being detected by the at least one client;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, wherein said executing the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to the data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to the data and metadata in the offline version;
• and
• updating the file system to include at least one correction for at least one inconsistency detected by the at least one file system checking utility, wherein updating the file system to include the at least one correction includes copying the at least one correction from the offline version to the file system.

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed, perform a method of proactively and prophylactically maintaining integrity of a file system accessed by at least one client, the method comprising:

• scheduling execution of at least one file system checking utility to detect and correct at least some inconsistencies in the file system based upon a schedule that is selected to periodically check the integrity of the file system and correct at least one inconsistency so that the at least one file system checking utility is executed not in response to one or more file system problems being detected by the at least one client;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, wherein said executing the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule includes:
• creating an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• executing the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• writing to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• and
• updating the file system to include at least one correction for at least one inconsistency detected by the at least one file system checking utility, wherein updating the file system to include the at least one correction includes copying the at least one correction from the offline version to the file system.

At least one computer included in a computer system comprising a file system accessed by at least one client, the at least one computer comprising:

• at least one processor programmed to proactively and prophylactically maintain integrity of the file system by scheduling execution of at least one file system checking utility to detect and correct at least some inconsistencies in the file system based upon a schedule that is selected to periodically check the integrity of the file system and correct at least one inconsistency so that the at least one file system checking utility is executed not in response to one or more file system problems being detected by the at least one client;
• wherein the at least one processor is programmed to execute the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule while maintaining the file system online for access by the at least one client, wherein when the at least one processor is programmed to execute the at least one file system checking utility according to the schedule, the at least one processor is programmed to
• create an offline version of the file system where the offline version includes data and metadata of the file system;
• execute the at least one file system checking utility on the offline version to detect inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata of the offline version;
• and
• write to the offline version to correct at least some detected inconsistencies with respect to data and metadata in the offline version;
• and
• wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to update the file system to include at least one correction for at least one inconsistency detected by the at least one file system checking utility, wherein updating the file system to include the at least one correction includes copying the at least one correction from the offline version to the file system.