Patent ID: 8315999

Claim:
A method for managing storage and access to data files stored in a storage delivery network comprising a plurality of geographically distributed storage nodes, the method comprising: receiving a file request from a user, wherein the user is associated with a service level agreement (SLA) containing one or more policies governing handling of file requests from the user; determining if the SLA dictates redirecting the file request to a predetermined storage node; if the SLA dictates redirecting the file request to a predetermined storage node, redirecting the file request to the predetermined storage node; otherwise, identifying all storage nodes from the plurality of geographically distributed storage nodes that are near enough to the user based on one or more predetermined criteria; identifying a nearest storage node from among the near enough storage nodes; and redirecting the user request to the nearest storage node, wherein the nearest storage node comprises a server computer having a non-volatile memory that stores content associated with the file request from the user.