Patent ID: 8239354

Claim:
A method of processing a user file by a file switch in an aggregated file system having at least one storage sever and at least one metadata server including at least one user file, comprising: retrieving, by the file switch, metadata and user data associated with the user file from a metadata server; processing, by the file switch, the user data and the metadata associated with the user file in accordance with a request from a client; storing, by the file switch, the processed metadata associated with the user file in the metadata server; storing, by the file switch, the processed user data associated with the user file along with the stored processed metadata at a location within the metadata server designated by a predefined rule when a size of the processed user data is smaller than a predefined threshold; storing, by the file switch, the processed user data at a location within a storage server separate from the metadata server designated by the predefined rule when the size of the processed user data is greater than or equal to the predefined threshold; and updating, by the file switch, the metadata in the metadata server to reference the user data at the designated location.