Patent ID: 6996670
Filing Date: 2006-02-07
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. In a storage area network (SAN) of a type having one or more host digital data processors and having a plurality of storage devices, an improvement comprising: at least a first host digital data processor of the one or more host digital data processors in communication access with at least a first one of the plurality of storage devices, the first host digital data processor having a file system that effects access to that storage device, the first host digital data processor being associated with a lower capacity bound and an upper capacity bound for storage devices added to extend the file system, wherein the lower capacity bound describes a minimum available storage capacity of the storage devices and the upper capacity bound describes a maximum available storage capacity of the storage devices, a manager, in communication with the first host digital data processor, that responds to a request on behalf of the first host digital data processor for extension of the file system by assigning one or more further storage devices to the first host digital data processor based upon the lower capacity bound and the upper capacity bound, wherein the manager identifies one or more storage devices from among the plurality of further storage devices accessible to the first host digital data processor having capacities in a range between the lower capacity bound divided by (s) and the upper capacity bound divided by (s), and assigns to the first host digital data processor the storage device from among those so identified having the greatest capacity, where (s) is one if the file system is not a striped RAID file system and, otherwise, is a number of stripes in that file system.