Patent ID: 7979665
Filing Date: 2011-07-12
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of processing an access request in a computer system comprising at least one computer and at least one device that exports a file system by making a plurality of files managed by the file system available for access and that maps each of the files to at least one storage location to store data written to the one of the files, each of the files being associated with a location in the file system identified via a file system identifier, wherein the file system identifier for each of the files is representative of a time at which the file was stored on the computer system, wherein the at least one computer executes at least one application program that has a content addressable storage (CAS) interface that generates access requests to access at least two different types of content units including a content descriptor file (CDF) and a blob, wherein each blob is referenced by at least one CDF that includes metadata relating to the corresponding blob, and wherein an access request identifies a corresponding content unit using a content address generated based, at least in part, on the content of the content unit, the method comprising acts of: receiving a first access request from the computer at a CAS software layer, the first access request requesting access to a first content unit and identifying the first content unit via a first content address, and wherein the first content address includes a timestamp indicative of the time at which the first content unit was stored on the computer system; and in response to the first access request, mapping, within the CAS software layer, the first content address to a single file system identifier that differs from the first content address, wherein the single file system identifier identifies a logical file system location in the file system associated with a single file from among the plurality of files that stores all of the content of the first content unit, wherein the file system comprises at least two directories, wherein at least one of the at least two directories is designated for storing blobs and wherein at least one of the at least two directories is designated for storing CDFs.