Cloud connector for interfacing between a network attached storage device and a cloud storage system

1. A cloud connector for interfacing between a network attached storage device and a cloud storage system (CSS), comprising:

a unified cloud protocol module for communicating with the network attached storage (NAS) device using a cloud transport protocol, wherein the unified cloud protocol module is further configured to translate the cloud transport protocol into different proprietary protocols utilized by a plurality of cloud storage providers to enable synchronization of data files and execution of file-system operations with the plurality of cloud storage providers;

a plurality of cloud protocol drivers for interfacing with at least one of a plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers, wherein the plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers are part of the CSS;

a permissions-and-quotas enforcement module for enforcing access control to data blocks stored in the plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers of the CSS, wherein the access to data blocks is enforced and restricted according to a list of access control rules; and

a service entitlement database for determining specific cloud storage services that a user is entitled to, wherein the service entitlement database is further configured to store a service level agreement (SLA) corresponding to the user, wherein the SLA defines at least one of storage quotas and bandwidth quotas guaranteed to the user.

2. The cloud connector of claim 1 , further comprising:

a cloud cache module for caching at least frequently accessed data blocks stored in at least one of the plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers of the CSS.

3. The cloud connector of claim 1 , wherein the service entitlement database stores the SLA for each user having an access to the network attached storage device.

4. The cloud connector of claim 1 , wherein the cloud transport protocol provides secure communication with the network attached storage device and message framing for transporting arbitrary length of messages.

5. The cloud connector of claim 4 , wherein the cloud transport protocol further provides an authentication procedure by which the network attached storage device authenticates to the CSS.

6. The cloud connector of claim 2 , wherein the storage balancing module balances the load based on at least one of: cost for utilizing a cloud service provider, reliability of a cloud service provider, and performance of a cloud service provider out of the plurality of cloud service providers.

7. A cloud storage system (CSS), comprising:

a plurality of storage devices;

a plurality of cloud storage providers that provide at least a platform for storing data; and

a plurality of cloud connectors for interfacing with a network attached storage device and the plurality of cloud storage providers and the plurality of storage devices, wherein each of the plurality of cloud connectors is further configured to:

facilitate a communication between the network attached storage device and the plurality of cloud storage providers using a cloud transport protocol

translate the cloud transport protocol into different proprietary protocols utilized by at least one of the plurality of cloud storage providers to enable synchronization of data files and execution of file-system operations with the at least one cloud storage provider;

enforce access control to data blocks stored in the plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers of the CSS, wherein the access to data blocks is enforced and restricted according to a list of access control rules;

determine specific cloud storage services that a user is entitled to; and

store a service level agreement (SLA) corresponding to the user, wherein the SLA defines at least one of storage quotas and bandwidth quotas guaranteed to the user.

8. The cloud storage system of claim 7 , further comprises a web portal that provides an access for data files maintained in the CSS using a web-based interface.

9. The cloud storage system of claim 8 , wherein the web portal enables file-based operations of the files maintained in the CSS.

10. The cloud storage system of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of storage devices are organized in device groups.

11. The cloud storage system of claim 10 , wherein the device groups share a single encryption key for performing block encryption.

12. The cloud storage system of claim 7 , wherein the cloud transport protocol provides secure communication with the network attached storage device and message framing for transporting arbitrary length of messages.

13. The cloud storage system of claim 12 , wherein the cloud transport protocol further provides an authentication procedure by which the network attached storage device authenticates to the CSS.

14. The cloud storage system of claim 13 , wherein the cloud connector is further configured to load balances the storage of the data blocks received from the network attached storage among the plurality of cloud storage providers.

15. The cloud storage system of claim 13 , wherein the load balancing is based on at least one of: cost for utilizing a cloud service provider, reliability of a cloud service provider, and performance of a cloud service provider out of the plurality of cloud service providers.

16. The cloud storage system of claim 13 , wherein each of the cloud connector is further configured to enforce access control to data blocks stored in the plurality of storage devices and the plurality of cloud storage providers of the CSS, wherein the access to data blocks is enforced and restricted according to a list of access control rules.