US Patent 9020977 Managing multiprotocol directories

An improved technique for managing directory objects accessible via multiple protocols includes storing directory entry components in leaves of an extendible hash tree. Each directory entry component includes an indication of each protocol to which the name conforms, thereby allowing the same directory entry component to be used for representing directory object names in multiple protocols. Efficiency is improved, especially for large directory structures, by keeping related information about directory objects together, in the same directory entry components and/or in the same leaves of the extendible hash tree.