Method and system for electronic file lifecycle management

• US 8,782,009 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KOM Software Inc.
• Original Assignee: KOM Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Parthasarathy, Vinay, Jelvis, Alexei, Liyansky, Abel, Shaath, Kamel, Yaqun, Fu
• Primary Examiner(s): Jami, Hares
• Application Number:
  US12/213,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20080263112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,213 Days
• Field of Search: 707/661, 707/662, 707/663, 707/665, 707/668, 707/999.204
• US Class Current: 707/661
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/125 characterised by the use of retention policies retention policies for HSM systems G06F16/185
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/185 Hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof details of archiving G06F16/11
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A method and system for managing a file lifecycle is disclosed. The method incorporates a virtual file cabinet having virtual drawers. Files are moved from drawer to drawer throughout their lifecycle in accordance with policies associated with each drawer. The files are moved automatically and as such, a file'"'"'s lifecycle is managed from file creation to file deletion in an automated fashion. By using an archiving device such as magneto optical storage media, the files are automatically moved to their final archived location in an archiving drawer once certain policies of their present drawer are met. The system is an electronic system employing the inventive method.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing a file lifecycle, the method comprising:

providing, by at least one computer processor, a virtual cabinet comprising at least one of;

a file folder, a path, or a container holding at least one of;

at least one file, or at least one directory, said virtual cabinet having an associated at least one virtual drawer, wherein said at least one virtual drawer comprises at least one of;

at least one storage device, at least one portion of at least one storage device, at least one storage pool, or at least one storage volume;

receiving, by the at least one computer processor, at least one set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

associating, by the at least one computer processor, said at least one set of said at least one file lifecycle policy with said at least one virtual cabinet;

associating, by the at least one computer processor, at least one of;

at least one file of at least one file system of an operating system, or at least one directory, with said at least one virtual cabinet,

wherein said at least one file or said at least one directory associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, at least one of;

is associated with said at least one set of said at least one file lifecycle policy,

receives said at least one set of said at least one file lifecycle policy, or

inherits said at least one set of said at least one file lifecycle policy of said at least one virtual cabinet;

automatically determining, by the at least one computer processor, from said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet at least one action dictated to be performed on said at least one file or said at least one directory, by said at least one file lifecycle policy;

automatically performing, by the at least one computer processor, said at least one action dictated by said at least one lifecycle policy on said at least one file or said at least one directory;

wherein, while said at least one file or said at least one directory continue to exist;

providing transparent access to said at least one file or said at least one directory regardless of where said at least one file or said at least one directory is at least one of;

created,

located, or

moved to,

independently of an application, or a user; and

wherein said automatically performing said at least one dictated action, is performed upon occurrence of at least one triggering event, wherein said at least one triggering event comprises at least one of;

receiving a request for performing at least one file operation,

wherein said tile operation comprises at least one of;

modifying said at least one file or said at least one directory;

creating said at least one file or said at least one directory;

deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory;

reading said at least one file or said at least one directory;

writing to said at least one file or said at least one directory;

or

accessing said at least one file or said at least one directory;

or

determining an eligibility based on said set of at least one file life cycle policy to act or not act upon said at least one file or said at least one directory,

wherein said eligibility to act comprises at least one of;

eligibility to modify said at least one file or said at least one directory;

eligibility to create said at least one file or said at least one directory;

eligibility to delete said at least one file or said at least one directory;

eligibility to read said at least one file or said at least one directory;

eligibility to write to said at least one file or said at least one directory;

or

eligibility to access said at least one file or said at least one directory.

2. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 1 wherein the automatically performing said at least one dictated action comprises at least one of:

automatically deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates deleting;

automatically storing said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

automatically moving said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates moving;

automatically creating said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates creating;

automatically classifying said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates classifying;

automatically retaining said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates retaining;

automatically referencing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates referencing;

automatically protecting said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates protecting;

automatically securing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates securing;

automatically replicating said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates replicating;

automatically backing up said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates backing up;

automatically mirroring said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates mirroring;

automatically load balancing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates load balancing;

automatically preserving said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates preserving;

automatically erasing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates erasing;

automatically disposing of said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates disposing;

modifying said at least one file operation according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

managing said at least one file or directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

disabling or preventing operation of said file operation based upon said at least one file lifecycle policy;

storing said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

moving said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet;

automatically determining from said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, when said at least one file is to be acted upon;

or

automatically acting upon said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, whenever the at least one file lifecycle policy determines that said at least one file is to be acted upon.

3. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 2 wherein the at least one file lifecycle policy relates to the at least one storage medium and to at least one date stored in association with each of said at least one file or said at least one directory.

4. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 3 comprising storing in association with each of said at least one file at least one expiration indicator indicative of when the at least one file or said at least one directory is to be acted upon.

5. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 4 wherein the at least one expiration indicator comprises at least one date on which to act upon the at least one file or said at least one directory in accordance with the at least one action dictated by the at least one file lifecycle policy from the at least one virtual cabinet.

6. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 4 wherein the at least one expiration indicator comprises a minimum time before which the at least one file or the at least one directory is to be maintained in a current one of said at least one virtual drawer.

7. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 2 wherein the at least one action comprises transferring based on at least one file lifecycle policy associated with the virtual cabinet the at least one file or the at least one directory from a first location to a second location.

8. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 7 wherein said transferring the at least one file or the at least one directory comprises archiving the at least one file or the at least one directory based on at least one file lifecycle policy associated with the virtual cabinet.

9. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 2 wherein said acting upon comprises deleting the at least one file or the at least one directory comprises determining based on at least one file lifecycle policy associated with the virtual cabinet and based on data stored in association with the at least one file or the at least one directory, at least one mode of deletion, and deleting the at least one file or the at least one directory in accordance with the at least one determined mode.

10. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 9 wherein the at least one mode of deletion comprises at least one of a secure deletion, or an insecure deletion.

11. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 1 wherein said at least one file or said at least one directory acted upon according to at least one file lifecycle policy in the virtual cabinet are stored within a virtual storage medium, and wherein said at least one file is stored according to at least one file lifecycle policy of a given one of said at least one virtual cabinet, and the at least one file or the at least one directory is stored on at least one similar storage media, according to the at least one file lifecycle policy of the given one of said at least one virtual cabinet.

12. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 11 wherein at least one virtual drawer forms part of, or is associated with, at least one of a plurality of virtual cabinets.

13. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 1 wherein said determining an action comprises:

determining from the at least one file lifecycle policy at least one condition;

evaluating each at least one file or at least one directory to determine a presence of the at least one condition; and

,

when the at least one condition is met, performing at least one action associated with the at least one condition as the determined action.

14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,

further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one computer processor, a request for the at least one file of the file system to be associated with at least one said virtual cabinet of at least one virtual volume;

evaluating, by the at least one computer processor, at least one criterion based on at least one file lifecycle policy of the at least one virtual cabinet to determine at least one action dictated to be performed on the at least one file, wherein said dictated action comprises at least one of;

moving the at least one file or the at least one directory,

storing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

changing location of the at least one file or the at least one directory,

classifying the at least one file or the at least one directory,

creating the at least one file or the at least one directory,

accessing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

retaining the at least one file or the at least one directory,

referencing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

non-using the at least one file or the at least one directory,

storing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

protecting the at least one file or the at least one directory,

replicating the at least one file or the at least one directory,

backing up the at least one file or the at least one directory,

mirroring the at least one file or the at least one directory,

load balancing the file or the at least one directory,

preserving the at least one file or the at least one directory,

doing nothing with the at least one file or the at least one directory,

expiring the at least one file or the at least one directory,

erasing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

disposing of the at least one file or the at least one directory,

destroying the at least one file or the at least one directory,

deleting the at least one file or the at least one directory,

executing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

changing the at least one file or the at least one directory,

modifying the at least one file or the at least one directory,

changing the attributes of the at least one file or the at least one directory,

disabling operation on the at least one file or the at least one directory,

preventing operation on the at least one file or the at least one directory, or

archiving the at least one file or the at least one directory;

automatically acting upon, by the at least one computer processor, the at least one file or the at least one directory in the determined dictated action, and

providing, by the at least one computer processor, the transparent access to the at least one file or the at least one directory regardless of where the at least one file or the at least one directory is at least one of;

created, located, or moved to, independently of an application, or a user.

15. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 14 wherein the at least one virtual cabinet file lifecycle policies relate to file types of the at least one file or the at least one directory to be acted upon.

16. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 15 wherein at least one virtual cabinet comprises at least one virtual drawer and wherein at least one virtual drawer forms part of more than one virtual cabinet.

17. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 16,

wherein the at least one virtual cabinet forms at least one context within a context based file lifecycle management system, and

wherein at least one file or the at least one directory created within at least one context of the at least one virtual cabinet is made subject to the at least one file lifecycle policies of said at least one virtual cabinet.

18. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 14 wherein said acting upon the at least one file or the at least one directory comprises acting upon the at least one file, wherein the at least one file is associated with the at least one virtual cabinet.

19. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 18 wherein the at least one file or the at least one directory is governed by the at least one file lifecycle policy of the at least one associated virtual cabinet and wherein at least one of said at least one action dictated by the at least one file lifecycle policy is performed on the at least one file or the at least one directory throughout the lifecycle of the at least one file or the at least one directory.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one file lifecycle policies relate to aspects of file classification and file disposition comprising at least one of:

file creation,

file retention,

file reference,

file non-use,

file security,

file protection,

file preservation,

file storage locations within a storage medium,

cost effective storage of a file, or

file expiration.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said determining said eligibility comprises determining based on at least one of:

inactivity,

a retention policy,

a disablement or prevention of operation of an action,

a modification,

an immediate action,

an action in the future,

a file operation, or

a result of a file access operation.

22. A computer-implemented method of managing a file lifecycle comprising:

providing, by at least one computer processor, at least one virtual cabinet, wherein each of said at least one virtual cabinet comprises at least one of;

at least one folder, at least one container, or at least one path, and wherein said virtual cabinet has associated with said virtual cabinet at least one virtual drawer, wherein said virtual drawer comprises at least one of;

at least one storage device;

at least one portion of at least one storage device;

at least one storage group,

at least one storage pool, or

at least one storage volume;

associating, by the at least one computer processor, at least one life cycle policy, with said at least one virtual cabinet;

associating, by the at least one computer processor, with said at least one virtual cabinet at least one of;

at least one file of at least one file system of an operating system, or

at least one directory;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, from the at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, at least one action dictated by the at least one file lifecycle policy;

automatically performing, by the at least one computer processor, the at least one action dictated by the at least one file lifecycle policy on the at least one file or the at least one directory,

upon occurrence of at least one triggering event, wherein said at least one triggering event comprises upon at least one of;

receiving at least one file operation,

wherein said tile operation comprises at least one of;

 

modifying said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory modification request;

 

creating said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory creation request;

 

deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory deletion request;

 

reading said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory read request;

 

writing to said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory write request;

 

a file or directory access request;

or

 

accessing said at least one file or said at least one directory;

receiving a request for performing at least one file operation,

wherein said file operation comprises at least one of;

 

modifying said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory modification request;

 

creating said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory creation request;

 

deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory deletion request;

 

reading said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory read request;

 

writing to said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory write request;

 

a file or directory access request;

or

 

accessing said at least one file or said at least one directory;

receiving a request for performing at least one file operation configured to act upon said at least one file or said at least one directory,

wherein said file operation comprises at least one of;

 

modifying said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory modification request;

 

creating said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory creation request;

 

deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory deletion request;

 

reading said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory read request;

 

writing to said at least one file or said at least one directory;

 

a file or directory write request;

 

a file or directory access request;

or

 

accessing said at least one file or said at least one directory;

or

determining an eligibility based on said set of at least one file life cycle policy to act or not act upon said at least one file or said at least one directory,

wherein said determining said eligibility comprises determining based on at least one of;

inactivity,

a retention policy,

a disablement or prevention of operation of an action,

a modification,

an immediate action,

an action in the future, or

a result of a file access operation; and

wherein said automatically performing said dictated action comprises at least one of;

managing said at least one file or directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

disabling or preventing operation of said file operation based upon said at least one file lifecycle policy;

storing said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

automatically moving said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet;

automatically determining from said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, when said at least one file or said at least one directory is to be acted upon;

or

automatically acting upon said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, whenever the at least one file lifecycle policy determines that said at least one file or said at least one directory, is to be acted upon; and

wherein, while said at least one file or said at least one directory continue to exist;

providing transparent access to said at least one file or said at least one directory regardless of where said at least one tile or said at least one directory is at least one of;

created,

located, or

moved to,

independently of an application or a user.

23. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 22 wherein the determined action comprises storing in association with at least one file or at least one directory at least one expiration indicator indicative of when the at least one file or the at least one directory is to be acted upon, the at least one expiration indicator determined based on the at least one file lifecycle policy.

24. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 23 wherein the at least one expiration indicator comprises at least one date on which to act upon the at least one file or the at least one directory in accordance with the at least one action dictated by the at least one file lifecycle policy from the at least one virtual cabinet.

25. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 23 wherein the at least one expiration indicator comprises a minimum time before which the at least one file or the at least one directory is to be maintained in a current location.

26. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 22 wherein the at least one action comprises transferring the at least one file or the at least one directory from a first location to a second location.

27. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 26 wherein said transferring the at least one file or the at least one directory comprises retrieving the at least one file or the at least one directory from said first location and storing the at least one file or the at least one directory in said second location.

28. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 22 comprising:

determining based on the at least one file lifecycle policy associated with the at least one virtual cabinet and based on data stored in association with the at least one file or the at least one directory whether the at least one file or the at least one directory is to be deleted;

determining based on the at least one file lifecycle policy associated with the at least one virtual cabinet and based on data stored in association with the at least one file or the at least one directory at least one mode of deletion for the at least one file or the at least one directory; and

deleting the at least one file or the at least one directory in accordance with the at least one determined mode.

29. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 28 wherein the at least one mode of deletion comprises at least one of secure deletion or insecure deletion.

30. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 22 wherein at least one of:

wherein the at least one file or the at least one directory acted upon according to said at least one file lifecycle policy in the virtual cabinet is acted upon within a virtual storage medium,

wherein said at least one file or said at least one directory acted upon is acted upon in a given one of said at least one virtual drawer selected from a plurality of virtual drawers, or

wherein the at least one file is acted upon on one or more similar storage media according to the at least one file lifecycle policy of said at least one virtual cabinet.

31. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 30 wherein a single virtual drawer forms part of a plurality of virtual cabinets.

32. The method of managing a file lifecycle according to claim 22 wherein said determining at least one dictated action comprises:

determining from the at least one file lifecycle policy at least one condition;

evaluating the file or directory to determine a presence of the at least one condition; and

, when the at least one condition is met, providing at least one dictated action associated with the at least one condition as the determined at least one dictated action, and

wherein said at least one dictated action comprises at least one of;

automatically storing said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

automatically deleting said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates deleting;

automatically moving said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates moving;

automatically creating said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates creating;

automatically classifying said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates classifying;

automatically retaining said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates retaining;

automatically referencing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates referencing;

automatically protecting said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates protecting;

automatically securing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates securing;

automatically replicating said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates replicating;

automatically backing up said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates backing up;

automatically mirroring said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates mirroring;

automatically load balancing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates load balancing;

automatically preserving said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates preserving;

automatically erasing said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates erasing;

automatically disposing of said at least one file or said at least one directory when said set of at least one file lifecycle policy dictates disposing;

modifying said at least one file operation according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

managing said at least one file or directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

disabling or preventing operation of said file operation based upon said at least one file lifecycle policy;

storing said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said set of at least one file lifecycle policy;

moving said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet;

automatically determining from said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, when said at least one file is to be acted upon;

or

automatically acting upon said at least one file or said at least one directory according to said at least one file lifecycle policy associated with said at least one virtual cabinet, whenever the at least one file lifecycle policy determines that said at least one file is to be acted upon.

33. A computer-implemented method of managing a file lifecycle, the method comprising:

associating, by at least one computer processor, a set of at least one file lifecycle policy with at least one file of at least one file system or at least one directory, wherein said at least one file lifecycle policy relates to aspects of file classification or file disposition comprising at least one of;

file operation,

file access,

file reference,

file replication,

file backup,

file mirroring,

file destruction,

file load balancing,

file erasure,

file disposal,

file expiration,

file execution,

file modification,

file deletion,

file creation,

file retention,

file reference,

file non-use,

file security,

file protection,

file preservation,

file storage locations within a storage medium,

cost effective storage of a file, or

file expiration;

automatically determining, by the at least one computer processor, an action dictated by the associated set of the at least one file lifecycle policy whenever said at least one file or said at least one directory is to be acted upon, based upon occurrence of a triggering event, wherein said triggering event comprises at least one of;

receiving a request for performing at least one file operation;

receiving at least one file operation;

or

determining an eligibility based on said set of at least one file life cycle policy to act or not act upon said at least one file or said at least one directory;

automatically acting upon, by the at least one computer processor, said at least one file or said at least one directory according to the associated at least one file lifecycle policy whenever the associated set of the at least one file lifecycle policy determines that said at least one file is to be acted upon; and

wherein said at least one file comprises data stored in a virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium, said virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium comprising a file-based automated file management file system interfacing with a plurality of file system storage partitions of a plurality of corresponding physical non-volatile storage media associated therewith, locations within each physical non-volatile storage medium of said plurality of corresponding physical non-volatile storage media corresponding to locations within said virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium;

receiving, by the at least one computer processor, data for storage in said virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium using said file-based automated file management file system;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, any free space at said locations within said virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium, said free space sufficient for storing the provided data, locations having said any free space corresponding to said locations within said plurality of corresponding physical non-volatile storage media having available non-volatile storage space therein;

storing, by the at least one computer processor, the data received at said locations having said any free space; and

storing, by the at least one computer processor, index information for the stored data.

34. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the index information comprises:

data indicative of a file identifier, and

locations within said virtual file-based nonvolatile storage medium for the stored data.

35. The method as defined in claim 33 wherein the index information comprises at least one of:

data indicative of a file identifier,

an indication of said physical non-volatile storage medium on which the stored data is stored, or

the corresponding locations within said physical non-volatile storage medium for the stored data.

36. The method as defined in claim 35

wherein some of the stored data stored within one of said physical non-volatile storage media is duplicated data of data stored in another of said physical non-volatile storage media.

37. The method as defined in claim 35

wherein a portion of the stored data less than the whole is stored on a first physical non-volatile storage medium and another portion of the stored data less than the whole is stored on a second physical non-volatile storage medium.

38. The method as defined in claim 35

wherein said first physical non-volatile storage medium and said second physical non-volatile storage medium form part of different computer systems in communication one with the other via a communication network.

39. The method as defined in claim 33 comprising:

monitoring, by the at least one computer processor, access to stored data;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, from the monitored access a location within the virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium for the stored data;

moving, by the at least one computer processor, the stored data to the determined location; and

updating, by the at least one computer processor, the index data to reflect the new storage location of the stored data being the determined location.

40. The method as defined in claim 33 comprising:

verifying, by the at least one computer processor, the presence of another physical non-volatile storage medium in communication with the virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium; and

associating, by the at least one computer processor, the other physical non-volatile storage medium with the virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium thereby dynamically increasing available non-volatile storage space on said virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium.

41. The method as defined in claim 40 comprising:

connecting, by the at least one computer processor, another computer to a computer network in communication with the virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium wherein the presence of another physical non-volatile storage medium is effected by the connection of the other computer.

42. The method as defined in claim 33 comprising:

monitoring, by the at least one computer processor, access to stored data; and

archiving, by the at least one computer processor, stored data that is not accessed for more than a predetermined amount of time.

43. The method as defined in claim 42 herein the step of archiving the stored data comprises:

transferring, by the at least one computer processor, the stored data to an area within the virtual file-based non-volatile storage medium for archiving, the method comprising;

monitoring, by the at least one computer processor, access to archived data; and

transferring, by the at least one computer processor, archived data that is not accessed for more than a predetermined amount of time to a removable physical non-volatile storage media for archiving.

44. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, further comprising,

providing transparent access, by the at least one computer processor, to said at least one file or said at least one directory regardless of where said at least one file or said at least one directory is created, located, or moved to, independently of an application or a user.