Patent ID: 8239403

Claim:
A computer implemented method for determining whether a soft link of a target file is pointing to a correct file system, the computer implemented method comprising: generating, by a computer, a plurality of file systems that store and organize a plurality of files: generating, by the computer, a unique identification number tuple for each of the plurality of file systems based on a system time value and a machine boot time value when each of the plurality of file systems was generated; mounting, by the computer, the plurality of file systems on a directory of an operating system in the computer, wherein two or more of the plurality of file systems contain a file with a same file name and file path; receiving, by the computer, a request to access a target file within a particular file system in the plurality of file systems mounted on the directory; retrieving, by the computer, the unique identification number of the particular file system that includes the system time value and the machine boot time value when the particular file system was generated from a storage device; responsive to the computer accessing a soft link of the target file in the storage device, retrieving, by the computer, an identification number from the soft link of the target file; determining, by the computer, whether a match exists between the unique identification number of the particular file system that includes the system time value and the machine boot time value when the particular file system was generated and the identification number from the soft link of the target file; responsive to the computer determining that a match does exist between the unique identification number tuple of the particular file system that includes the system time value and the machine boot time value when the particular file system was generated and the identification number from the soft link of the target file, allowing, by the computer, access to the target file; and responsive to the computer determining that a match does not exist between the unique identification number of the particular file system that includes the system time value and the machine boot time value when the particular file system was generated and the identification number from the soft link of the target file, denying, by the computer, access to the target file.