Abstract: A system provides a router node to bridge a LAN and a System Area Network (SAN). The router node distributes LAN traffic across the SAN using a router management agent (RMA) and a filter agent (FA); the RMA includes a session management agent (SMA), a policy management agent (PMA) and a routing agent (RA); the SMA manages connections between remote clients and SAN nodes; the PMA maintains system operation policies; the RA with the FA direct LAN packets to SAN nodes; the FA handles conversion between a SAN protocol and a LAN protocol for packets within the SAN/LAN architecture. The cluster nodes include a node management agent (NMA); the NMA includes an SMA and PMA; these two agents perform the same functions as those in the router node; and a management node sets policies on the router node and includes a monitoring agent to query router node statistics.