Patent ID: 7171453
Filing Date: 2007-01-30
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A storage apparatus comprising: a gateway, having a processor, a memory, a virtual private network program, a view table, and at least one port operative to connect to a virtual private network, said view table including authorized user addresses, virtual destination addresses corresponding to said user addresses, destination addresses corresponding to said virtual destination addresses, virtual volume IDs corresponding to said user addresses, and volume IDs corresponding to said virtual volume IDs; a plurality of devices that store information, each of said devices further comprising at least one volume; a server; a switch; and an internal network connecting said gateway, said server, said switch, and at least one of said plurality of devices that store information; wherein said gateway receives a data packet for storing, retrieves a virtual destination address and a user address from said data packet, confirms that the user address retrieved corresponds to an authorized user address in the view table, uses the view table to confirm that the virtual destination address corresponds to the user address, reads from said view table a corresponding destination address for a particular one of said plurality of devices that store information, and thereupon replaces in said data packet said virtual destination address with said corresponding destination address from said view table; and wherein said gateway searches in said data packet for a virtual private volume identifier, and if found, thereupon confirms that said virtual private volume identifier corresponds to the user address, reads from said view table a volume identifier corresponding to said virtual private volume identifier, and replaces said virtual private volume identifier in said data packet with said volume identifier.