Patent ID: 8554867

Claim:
A method for handling a request to a target component, comprising: in response to a request, received from a client by a local node of a distributed data storage network, for a target component: retrieving, by the local node, one or more logical interfaces (LIFs) for a remote node comprising the target component, the retrieving comprising consulting a virtual interface manager residing on a network (N) module of the local node, but not consulting the remote node, for a logical interface list comprising the one or more LIFs; and responsive to retrieving the one or more LIFs, the local node sending a response to the client, the response comprising: an indication that a path to the target component is not covered by the local node; one or more internet protocol (IP) addresses for accessing an efficient path to the target component, the one or more IP addresses corresponding to at least some of the retrieved one or more LIFs for the remote node; and an instruction for the client to locally connect to the remote node through the efficient path using at least one of the one or more IP addresses.