Patent ID: 8516023

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, by a context-based file system (CBFS), a request to perform an operation at a first directory in a hierarchy of directories from a virtual host of a plurality of virtual hosts running on a storage server, the hierarchy having a parent-child relationship and a root directory, wherein the storage server executes an operating system, wherein each of the plurality of virtual hosts executes its own processes, and wherein the hierarchy includes a set of one or more private directories for each of the plurality of virtual hosts and a set of one or more public directories shared by the plurality of virtual hosts; obtaining, by the CBFS, an identifier for the virtual host from the operating system; selecting a directory from the hierarchy by: identifying, using the identifier, the set of private directories for the virtual host, determining whether the first directory exists within the set of private directories for the virtual host, when the first directory does exist within the set of private directories for the virtual host, selecting the first directory, and when the first directory does not exist within the set of private directories for the virtual host, selecting a second directory from the set of public directories; and receiving a result of performing the operation on the selected directory.