1. A file storage system, for handling a standard file system request including a path name, the system comprising: a plurality of storage providers; a client, in communication with the storage providers, that accepts the file system request and generates, for fulfillment, a corresponding reformatted request to a selected one of the storage providers, the selected one of the storage providers being initially selected by the client on the basis of a hashing algorithm applied to at least a portion of the path name, so that the client serves as an interface between the standard file system request and the storage providers, wherein each storage provider is a virtual server running on one or more physical servers, the virtual server including a plurality of peer to peer computer processes forming a set of peer nodes.