The present invention provides a split data and meta data distributed system
operable to provide computer file services. The system includes a plurality of
servers that include meta data servers and data servers. A client multicasts a
message, including a request (e.g., a data request or a meta data request) to the
plurality of servers in the system. The client considers the plurality of servers
to be a single server instance. The servers may be divided into different subsets,
and each subset is responsible for data requests or meta data requests. The servers
that are responsible for the particular type of received request may respond to
the request. Also, if multiple servers in a subset generate a request, the system
may synchronize the responses, such that a single response, rather than multiple
responses are transmitted to the client. This synchronization may not be necessary
for responses to requests that do not change the stored state of the system.
