FastDFS Distributed File System

In traditional file systems, files are stored locally on the same machine. In contrast, distributed file systems store files across multiple machines that are connected via network and managed centrally. Both uploading and accessing files require interaction through a central management system.

FastDFS Architecture

FastDFS consists of two primary components: Tracker Server and Storage Server.

• Tracker Server: This acts as the coordination server responsible for managing communication between clients and storage nodes, providing load balancing and monitoring the operational status of storage servers. It serves as the bridge connecting clients and storage servers.
• Storage Server: These servers store actual files along with their metadata. Each storage server runs a thread that periodically reports its status to all trackers in the tracker cluster, including disk usage, file synchronization status, and statistics on upload/download counts.
• Group: A group refers to a cluster of multiple storage servers. When a file is uploaded to one server within a group, FastDFS automatically synchronizes it to all other servers in the same group, ensuring redundancy. Servers in different groups maintain separate data and do not communicate with each other.
• Tracker Cluster: A collection of tracker servers working together.
• Storage Cluster: Made up of several groups.

File Upload and Download Process

Upload Flow

1. The client queries the tracker server to find an available storage server.
2. The tracker returns the IP address and port number of a suitable storage server.
3. The client connects directly to the specified storage server and uploads the file.
4. After successful upload, the storage server provides a file identifier to the client, completing the process.

Download Flow

1. The client asks the tracker server for the location of the requested file.
2. The tracker responds with the IP address and port of a storage server holding the file.
3. The client connects directly to the storage server to download the specified file.
4. The download completes successfully.

Setting Up FastDFS

Acquiring Requried Packages

Visit https://github.com/happyfish100 to download the necessary packages. Download the source code as ZIP archives.

Installing Dependencies

Install required libraries:

sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install libtool

Install PCRE library (http://www.pcre.org/):

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libpcre3 libpcre3-dev

Install ZLIB library (http://www.zlib.net):

sudo apt-get install zlib1g-dev

Firewall Configuration

Enable or disable firewall as needed:

ufw enable
ufw disable

Create a directory named fastdfs on your server and place the downloaded files there. Alternatively, use wget to retrieve them directly.

Extract and compile:

First, install the basic FastDFS libraries:

libfastcommon

Navigate to the correct path and run:

./make && ./make install

If no errors occur, proceed with installing FastDFS itself.

After successful compilation, go to /etc/fdfs.

Two sample configuration files will be present:

• storage.conf.sample
• tracker.conf.sample

These configurations support both tracker and storage roles depending on how you configure them.

Edit tracker.conf.sample, rename it to tracker.conf, and set:

base_path=/home/fastdfs

Other settings can remain unchanged.

For storage.conf.sample, rename it to storage.conf, and configure:

base_path=/home/fastdfs
store_path0=/home/fastdfs
tracker_server=xxx.xxxx.xxx.xxx:22122

Starting Services

Start the services using these commands:

/usr/bin/fdfs_storaged /etc/fdfs/storage.conf
/usr/bin/fdfs_trackerd /etc/fdfs/tracker.conf

Once installed, if uploads succeed but access fails, install fastdfs-nginx-module-master.

Unzip and modify:

Edit config:

Replace /usr/local/ paths with /usr/ globally using this command:

:%s+/usr/local/+/usr/+g

Copy mod_fastdfs.conf to /etc/fdfs/:

sudo cp mod_fastdfs.conf /etc/fdfs/

If NGINX was installed via package managers like apt or yum, it's recommended to reinstall NGINX using binary installation so that modules can be compiled-in.

Download NGINX from http://nginx.org/download/

Installing NGINX Dependencies

Install necessary tools:

yum/apt install gcc
yum/apt install -y unzip zip
yum -y install pcre pcre-devel zlib zlib-devel openssl openssl-devel

Compiling NGINX

./configure --prefix=/opt/nginx --sbin-path=/usr/bin/nginx --add-module=/fastdfs-nginx-module/src

Compilation and Installation

make && sudo make install

Copying Configuration Files

Copy the following files from the FastDFS source and module directories into /etc/fdfs/:

• http.conf
• mime.types
• mod_fastdfs.conf from fastdfs-nginx-module-master/src

Configuring Files

Modify mod_fastdfs.conf:

url_have_group_name = true
tracker_server=192.168.197.125:22122

Update nginx.conf:

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  image.caicai.top;

    location ~/group([0-9])/ {
        ngx_fastdfs_module;
    }

    location / {
        root   html;
        index  index.html index.htm;
    }

    error_page   500 502 503 504  /50x.html;
    location = /50x.html {
        root   html;
    }
}

Managing NGINX Service

Start NGINX:

nginx

Stop NGINX:

nginx -s stop

Reload configuration:

nginx -s reload

With no errors reported, FastDFS setup is complete.