Patent ID: 8346808

Claim:
A method comprising: in a networking device coupled to a plurality of client devices, receiving from a first client device of the plurality of client devices a message indicating that at least one stored resource on the first client device has been assigned to a given file service, wherein the message includes a unique identifier of the at least one stored resource that correlates to a storage location of the at least one stored resource on the first client device; the networking device thereafter receiving from a second client device of the plurality of client devices a request for a given resource assigned to the given file service; in response to the request, the networking device verifying that the second client device is allowed to access the given file service; after verifying that the second client device is allowed to access the given file service, the networking device identifying the first client device as a client device having at least one stored resource assigned to the given file service; and the networking device sending to the first client device an updated request for the given resource that includes the unique identifier of the at least one stored resource on the first client device that has been assigned to the given file service, wherein the sending of the updated request causes the first client device to (a) receive the updated request, (b) locate the given resource on the first client device based on the given unique identifier of the at least one stored resource on the first client device that has been assigned to the given file service and a table mapping unique identifiers of stored resources on the first client device that have been assigned to file services to storage locations on the first client device of the resources, and (c) send the given resource to the networking device for receipt by the second client device.