Patent ID: 8051183

Claim:
A method comprising: establishing, by a first storage server, a first session between the first storage server and a client, the first storage server comprising a data component coupled to a data storage, a network component, and a session data structure in the network component and the data component for the first session; and transferring an operation of the first storage server to a second storage server during the first session with the client, wherein the second storage server is a replacement storage server for the first storage server and the transfer of the operation of the first storage server includes: copying the session data structure in the network component of the first storage server to a network component of the second storage server during the first session with the client without disrupting the first session with the client, transferring a network address of the first storage server to the second storage server, and establishing communication between the network component of the second storage server and the data component of the first storage server to enable the network component of the second storage server access to data stored on the data storage coupled to the first storage server through the network component of the second storage server to service a data request from the client to access the data stored on the data storage, wherein the session data structure in the data component of the first storage server is copied to the data component of the second storage server in response to the network component of the second storage server accessing the data storage coupled to the first storage server.