Patent ID: 8230085

Claim:
A system comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; a storage operating system resident in the memory and executed by the processor, the storage operating system implementing a file system configured to provide storage service of information stored on the system; a plurality of network interfaces configured to process received block-based protocol data access requests, each network interface assigned to one or more network addresses, each network interface further assigned an identifier that binds the network interface to an address space that includes the one or more network addresses; and a plurality of context data structures stored in the memory and containing configuration information to establish a plurality of instances of virtual servers executed by the processor, each virtual server allocated resources that include a partitioning of the network interfaces and assigned network addresses to establish a distinct security domain for that virtual server that enables controlled access to the allocated network interfaces and assigned network addresses, each virtual server further configured to share access to the file system to service the block-based protocol data access requests by converting the block-based protocol data access requests to appropriate file system data requests when providing the storage service of the information stored on the system.