A method and apparatus for processing a file system operation at a database server is provided. A request to perform a file system operation on a resource stored in a database is received at a database system. The request may be implemented using the NFS protocol. The request may include state identification data that identifies state information associated with the request. State information associated with the request is retrieved within the database system based on the state identification data. State information is information that describes the operational state of the requestor for a particular file. The request is then processed based, at least in part, on the state identification. File system operations may be processed a database management system to access any data, such as a file, relational data, and object-relational data.