Program Storage Device and Computer Program Product for Managing a Shared Direct Access Storage Device With a Fixed Block Architecture

1. A computer program product for use with a shared fixed block architecture direct access storage device having a plurality of shared files, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for enabling each one of a plurality of computers to access the storage device, said computer readable program code means comprising: computer readable first program code means for enabling each of said computer to create control files, associated with said plurality of shared files; computer readable second program code means for enabling each of said computer to store access information to and retrieving access information from said control files; computer readable third program code means for enabling each of said computer to control access to said plurality of shared files according to said access information; computer readable fourth program code means for enabling each of said computer to create and maintain a table of selected ones of said plurality of shared files, and computer readable fifth program code means for enabling each of said computer to write heart beat data to said control files associated with each of said plurality of shared files in said table of shared files, said heart beat data indicating whether a first computer of the plurality of computers is currently in communication with each of said plurality of shared files in said table of shared files; and computer readable sixth program code means for enabling each of said computer to terminate the access of the first computer system to a one of said plurality of shared files when a second computer system of said plurality of computer systems requests access to said one of said plurality of shared files and said first computer system is no longer in communication with said one of said plurality of shared files.

2. A computer program product for use with a shared fixed block architecture direct access storage device having a plurality of shared files and a corresponding plurality of SDF lock files, one SDF lock file being associated with each shared file and containing the status of all current accesses to the associated shared file, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for enabling a plurality of computers to access the storage device, said computer readable program code means comprising: computer readable first program code means for enabling each of said computer to process access requests, including SETL channel control word and QSETL channel control words, from an associated computer, including means, responsive to said QSETL channel control word, for reading an associated SDF said lock file to determine if requests from said associated computer for access to a selected shared file conflict with a second computer's access to said selected shared file, means, responsive to said SETL channel control word, for granting access to said selected shared file and writing data indicating the identity of said associated computer and the type of access granted to said associated SDF lock file if said access does not conflict with said second computer's access to said selected shared file, and means for reading said associated SDF lock file and determining if said second computer is not active and terminating said second computer's access to said selected shared data file if said second computer is not active; computer readable second program code means for enabling said computer to move data between said associated computer and said shared files; and computer readable third program code means for enabling said computer to periodically write heart beat data which indicates that said associated computer is active to each SDF lock file associated with a shared data file to which said associated computer has access.

3. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said machine to perform method steps for enabling said machine to share files-between a plurality of computers coupled to a shared fixed block architecture direct access storage device on which the files to be shared are stored, said method steps comprising: (1) receiving an access request from a first computer of the plurality of computers for access to a selected shared file stored on the shared fixed block architecture direct access storage device; (2) creating a control file corresponding to said selected shared file if said control file corresponding to said selected shared file has not previously been created; (3) reading said control file and determining if it contains a record indicating that a second computer of the plurality of computers has access to said selected shared file which is incompatible with said access request; (4) granting access to said first computer if no record in said control file indicates that said second computer has access to said selected shared file which is incompatible with said access request; and (5) periodically accessing each control file associated with each shared file to which said second computer has access and writing heart beat data indicating that said access of said second computer is active.

4. The program storage device of claim 3, the further including the step: (4a) if access is granted to said first computer, then writing a record to said control file indicating the type of access granted and identifying said first computer which requested access to said selected shared file.

5. The program storage device of claim 3, wherein step (3) further includes the sub-steps: (3a) determining if said access of said second computer is inactive if a record in said control file indicates that said second computer has access to said selected shared file which is incompatible with said access request; and (3b) terminating the access of said second computer to said selected shared file if said access of said second computer is inactive.