A CHN comprises NAS memory capable of storing data received from a host terminal, and a transfer destination decision circuit. When an access request is received from the host terminal, if the access request is a data access request entailing data transfer performed between the host terminal and a cache area, and if a cache address associated with a file system address included in the data access request is identified, the transfer destination decision circuit transfers the data for reading in the cache area indicated by the cache address directly to the host terminal without passing through the NAS memory, or transfers data for writing included in the access request to the cache area without passing through the NAS memory.