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Abstract

A file system that utilizes Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) addressing and routing schemes to permit implementing multiple networked file system applications in a single data processing system. In particular, a networked file server or data mover has associated with it a mass storage device such as one or more disk drives, as well as one or more Network Interface Cards (NICs). A network interface to the data mover is associated with VLAN identifiers (IDs) such that a VLAN ID can be assigned to each file system. At the physical layer of the data mover, VLAN information is encapsulated and passed up to various higher protocol layers, such as a network layer and/or a transport layer, eventually to a selected file system as dictated by the VLAN ID. The file system application in effect becomes an addressable element of the VLAN. A single data mover can thus be deployed to service multiple groups of end users, as long as the members of each group have different VLAN identifiers for the multiple file systems. The result provides security, access restrictions, and all the other benefits of VLAN protocols that would be obtained by deploying separate data movers for each VLAN, without incurring the acquisition expense and administrative overhead associated with having to purchase and maintain multiple data mover systems.

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First Claim