17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to create the metadata object.
16. A network storage system comprising: memory storing file data and metadata associated with the file data, the file data and metadata received from at least first and second computers each running a different operating system, with each different operating system defining a different file system, wherein each of the different file systems for the first and second computers stores file data and metadata associated with the file data in corresponding first and second different formats; a processor configured to read and write the file data and metadata from and to said memory; and a metadata handler configured to handle at least metadata in the first and second formats, said handling comprising: accessing a metadata object having populated information corresponding to all metadata fields used by the first and second formats, the populated information being in a third format different from the first and second formats, extracting the populated information from the metadata object, and cooperating with at least one of said defining means to generate and store in said memory metadata in at least one of the first and second formats from the extracted populated information.