Windows virtual disk for remote web service

Question

I need to implement a Windows Virtual Disk that is visible as a separate disk device in Windows Explorer and transfer all files/dir transferred forth and back to a remote WebService - sth like a DropBox. Do I have to implement/use a kernel driver SDK? Or is it possoible to use only shell extensions? What I need is to intercept all file/dir operations on that disk and map them to a corresponding WebService calls (file creation/deletion/move/edit and data transfer). Thanks

Answer 1

You will need a combination of kernel-mode driver and Windows Service/Application for that:

• http://dokan-dev.net/en/ (free)
• http://www.eldos.com/cbfs/ (commercial)

Answer 2

Windows 7+ allows you to mount a VHD as a disk. The API is described in this MSDN article -The Virtual Disk API In Windows 7.

I don't know if it's possible with just shell extensions, but scanning the article I see the API AttachVirtualDisk, and you should be able to P/Invoke that.

Answer 3

Have you considered WebDAV? This wouldn't require you to install anything on the client, since the functionality is integrated into Windows (I believe since XP). It is using REST, so you could even implement it yourself or look for a solution on codeplex. If it is just about remote storage, there is an IIS addon you can use for that (I believe it is build for IIS 7).

Answer 4

You can go with namespace extensions, this is what DropBox does. Wuala and some other cloud storage provides, on the other hand, use our Callback File System to create a virtual disk.