Patent ID: 7099923

Claim:
A data storage system comprising at least one data sending/receiving node and a relay node being provided between said data sending/receiving node and a network, which is for relaying data between said data sending/receiving node and said network, comprising: a meta-data registering means for registering data processes which should be conducted in said relay node as meta-data, and a data processing means for conducting data process in accordance with the processes defined by the meta-data registered in said meta-data registering means; wherein meta-data designated by said data registering means, and data sent from said data sending/receiving node or data received by said data sending/receiving node are processed in accordance with the processes defined by the selected meta-data, wherein meta-data, which define processes for conducting a virus check about data received by said data sending/receiving node, are registered in said meta-data registering means, and wherein data received by said data sending/receiving node is subjected to a virus check in accordance with the processes defined by the meta-data for virus checking in said relay node.