Patent ID: 7895217

Claim:
A method for accessing a plurality of files stored at a storage device, comprising: a processor for implementing: defining a parameter for determining if a stored file from among the plurality of files stored at the storage device is a small file; wherein a file is a small file, if block addressees for all data blocks for the file are stored within a metadata segment of a data structure without being linked to another data structure; establishing a programmable threshold value for accessing a plurality of small files in an order different from an order in which requests for the plurality of small files are received; wherein the programmable threshold value is based on an application type that generates the requests for the plurality of small files; receiving a plurality of requests for accessing the plurality of small files stored at the storage device; determining if the plurality of requests are equal to or exceed the programmable threshold value; sorting the plurality of requests using a first address block for each of the plurality of small files if the plurality of requests are equal to or exceed the programmable threshold value; wherein the first address block from among a plurality of address blocks for a small file provides an address of a first data block storing information for the small file; and accessing the plurality of small files using the sorted order, instead of randomly accessing files based on an order in which the plurality of requests are received.