Intelligent file system with transparent storage tiering

A system, comprising:

• a file system manager implemented at one or more computing devices;
• and
• a plurality of groups of storage devices, including a first group of storage devices with a first capability level and a second group of storage devices with a different capability level;
• wherein the file system manager is configured to:
• determine an accessibility mode of a particular file system, wherein the accessibility mode is selected from a set which includes at least (a) a private mode and (b) a shared mode;
• identify, based at least in part on the accessibility mode of the particular file system, at least one storage device of the first group as an initial location of a first file system object;
• and
• initiate, based at least in part on a first metric associated with the first file system object, a first transfer of at least a portion of contents of the first file system object from the initial location to a second storage device of the second group, without receiving a corresponding request specifying that contents of the first file system object are to be transferred.

A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

• identify at least a first storage device of a network as an initial location of a file system object, wherein the network comprises a plurality of storage devices with respective capability levels;
• initiate a first transfer, based at least in part on a first metric, of at least a portion of contents of the file system object from the initial location to a second storage device, without receiving a corresponding request specifying that contents of the file system object are to be transferred;
• and
• provide, from the second storage device subsequent to the first transfer, contents of the file system object in response to a request received via a programmatic interface.