A load balancing method for a storage system includes receiving a log-in request from a client via a data network and a network adapter, using a control thread executed by one of a plurality of cores to assign a first connection between the client and a first data thread, and receiving I/O requests from the client and controlling the execution of one or more operations by a first core in response to the I/O requests. The plurality of cores includes a first core executing a first data thread and a second core executing a second data thread.