ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Computer scientists at the University of Michigan will develop software that enables Microsoft Windows to better interoperate with an emerging Internet storage protocol for fast file sharing.

Microsoft is sponsoring the research at the university’s Center for Information Technology Integration (CITI) to develop an open-source Network File System version 4.1 (NFSv4.1) client for the Windows operating system. NFS is a commonly used protocol for sharing files among networked computers and storage hardware such as networked-attached storage devices, particularly with UNIX and Linux-based software.

NFSv4, designed for improved security and scalability, is the latest version. The NFSv4.1 extension adds support for parallel access to file servers, object-storage, and storage area network infrastructures.

“I’ve been closely following the work coming out of the CITI lab, and I’m very excited to see them embark on this project,” said Bob Muglia, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business and University of Michigan alumnus.

“NFSv4.1 is an important standard for accessing parallel file systems in the high-performance computing market, where access to vast amounts of data is critical in areas like scientific or technical computing systems. We believe that customers want to be able to choose the technologies that best meet their needs and that also interoperate with existing systems. Ultimately, CITI’s work will help change the way customers can combine their systems by enabling computers running Windows to directly and easily access NFS file shares on servers running Linux, Solaris, and AIX operating systems.”

The university’s Center for Information Technology Integration, a research unit in the College of Engineering, developed the open source Linux-based reference implementation of NFSv4 that is already included in all Linux distributions. That work has been sponsored by federal and industry research grants totaling more than $7.5 million since 2000.

“Windows is a critical component in the university's research cyber-infrastructure, responsible for the control of instruments in laboratories across the university, in medicine, engineering, geosciences, bioinformatics, and many other disciplines. So this project is especially important in helping university scientists and engineers fill a gap in the storage fabric,” said Peter Honeyman, research professor in the division of Computer Science and Engineering, and principal investigator of this project.

“This partnership also shows how the university can serve as a living laboratory for the development of interoperable enterprise scale systems that meet the needs of industry and academia.”

For more information: U-M Center for Information Technology Integration: http://www.citi.umich.edu/

The University of Michigan College of Engineering is ranked among the top engineering schools in the country. At more than $130 million annually, its engineering research budget is one of largest of any public university. Michigan Engineering is home to 11 academic departments and a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. The college plays a leading role in the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and hosts the world class Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. Michigan Engineering's premier scholarship, international scale and multidisciplinary scope combine to create The Michigan Difference. Find out more at http://www.engin.umich.edu/.