Patent ID: 8640178

Claim:
A server connected to a predetermined network managing distributed storage of a content in the network, the server comprising: a content database having data related to a content managed by the server; a content cluster list having data describing a division, into cluster files, of each content managed by the content database, each cluster file comprising a portion of an original file having stored therein the content, wherein the size of each cluster file is determined according to a media category of the content stored in the original file such that at least a cluster file including a first media category of the content has a different size from a cluster file including a second media category of the content different from the first media category of the content; a cluster database identifying an address of a device external to the server where each cluster file described in the content cluster list is stored, wherein the size of each cluster file is different when the media category of the content stored in the original file is music data than when the media category of the content stored in the original file is video data; and an authentication database, wherein the authentication database manages a plurality of keys, each key encrypting each cluster file of a respective storage device described in the cluster database, wherein the data related to division into cluster files, stored in the content cluster list, the data related to the address of the device external to the server where each cluster file is stored, stored in the cluster database, and data related to the plurality of keys stored in the authentication database are transmitted, as a cue sheet for reproducing the content, to the address of the device external to the server from which the content data is requested, through the network.