Patent ID: 9229645
Filing Date: 2016-01-05
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A storage system comprising: a first storage device, and a second storage device, which are mutually coupled via a network with a host, wherein the first storage device and the second storage device each include a processor, a memory, at least one physical storage area, and a plurality of ports connected to the network, the memory storing instructions for causing the processor to store data from the host in the at least one physical storage area, wherein, when the first storage device and the second storage device receive a request to create a distributed virtual volume, including a plurality of data segments, from the host and a port of the host which has permission to access the distributed virtual volume, the processor of the first physical storage device: creates a first partial volume constituting a part of the distributed virtual volume in the first storage device on the at least one physical storage area of the first storage device; determines one or more ports of the first storage device which are permitted to receive access to the distributed virtual volume from the port of the host, and stores the one or more ports of the first storage device and the port of the host as access information; establishes a coupling between the host and the first storage device according to the access information; and the processor of the second physical storage device: creates a second partial volume constituting a part of the distributed virtual volume in the second storage device on the at least one physical storage area of the second storage device; determines one or more ports of the second storage device which are permitted to receive access to the distributed virtual volume from the port of the host, and stores the one or more ports of the first storage device and the port of the host in the access information; establishes a coupling between the host and the second storage device according to the access information; and wherein the access information also includes which of the one or more ports of the first storage device permitted to receive access to the distributed virtual volume from the port of the host are further permitted to access which ones of the logical data segments of the distributed virtual volume stored in the first partial volume, and which of the one or more ports of the second storage device permitted to receive access to the distributed virtual volume from the port of the host are further permitted to access which ones of the logical data segments of the distributed virtual volume stored in the second partial volume, wherein the logical data segments of the distributed virtual volume stored in the first partial volume are different from the logical data segments of the distributed virtual volume stored in the second partial volume, and wherein the host issues an input/output (I/O) request to the distributed virtual volume by referring to the access information.