NAS switch: a novel CIFS server virtualization

This paper proposes a common Internet file system (CIFS) server virtualization method which requires no proprietary software or hardware for clients or network attached storage (NAS) units. The method is implemented as an in-band network application between clients and NAS units, and it provides users and administrators with a single virtual NAS system that incorporates all their units. Since almost all name resolution operations are performed by individual NAS units independently, use of this method imposes only a very light computational load and creates little latency.