Patent ID: 8924513

Claim:
A storage system, comprising: client device systems, each adapted to execute a path driver, which locates storage peers for storing or accessing data items provided in said storage peers using a processor by means of a global address table, which is updated periodically by at least one configuration server of said storage system, the path driver being configured to calculate a virtual storage cell identifier based on a data item identifier from a data request such that said storage peers are located based on an associated entry of the virtual storage cell identifier in the global address table, wherein a first group of routing bits of said virtual storage cell identifier is used by said path driver to locate storage peers for storing or accessing data items in said storage peers and a second group of remaining bits of said virtual storage cell identifier is used by said path driver to distinguish data items from different storage peers; and at least one time server having a processor configured to synchronize local time clocks of all storage peers with a global time clock of said time server such that said updated global address table is activated at all storage peers at a same scheduled time.