Patent ID: 8769635

Claim:
A system for managing connections in a data storage system, wherein the data storage system includes at least one client computing device storing data, the system comprising: an authentication manager; a storage device; and at least one secondary storage computing device configured to receive a request from the client computing device to store the data on the storage device, wherein the secondary storage computing device includes: a blacklist that includes one or more entries, wherein the entries include an identifier of a computing device; a connection manager component configured to: receive, at a first time, from the client computing device a connection request, wherein the connection request includes a identifier identifying the client computing device; based upon the identifier of the client computing device or the combination of the identifier of the client computing device and the first time, determine from the blacklist whether the connection request from the client computing device should be refused; refuse the connection request from the client computing device if the connection request from the client computing device should be refused based upon the determination from the blacklist; if the connection request from the client computing device should not be refused based upon the determination from the blacklist, then determine whether the client computing device is authenticated or authorized to connect to the secondary storage computing device; if the client computing device is either not authenticated or not authorized to connect to the secondary storage computing device, refuse the connection request from the client computing device; and if the client computing device is authenticated, or if the client computing device is authorized to connect to the secondary storage computing device, allow the client computing device to connect to the secondary storage computing device, wherein the secondary storage computing device is located at a friendly side of a firewall, wherein the client computing device is not located at the friendly side of the firewall, and wherein the secondary storage computing device receives the request from the client computing device through the firewall.