Patent ID: 7219151

Claim:
A method of communicating information using a node device that connects user-operated computers and storage devices to be accessed through a network to use the storage devices, the node device comprising: a first storage part that registers iSCSI management information including iSCSI initiator names, and user names and passwords for iSCSI authentication as user identification information that are presented to the node device; a second storage part that registers user management information indicating a correspondence relationship among user names, passwords, iSCSI target names of storage devices assigned to the users, and the storage areas assigned to the users, and target management information indicating a correspondence relationship between iSCSI target names and target addresses of the storage devices; a relay module that relays SCSI commands sent from the computers; and an authentication processing part that authenticates users by receiving user identification information sent from the computers and referring to the first storage part in relation to the identification information, wherein the method comprises the steps of: receiving identification information for specifying a user from the computer through a network; referring to the second storage part using the identification information as a key, and thereby obtaining from the second storage part, an iSCSI target name of a storage device having a storage area assigned to the user; sending the iSCSI target name of the storage device to the computer; establishing a session between the node device and the computer; establishing a session between the node device and the storage device used by the user; sending SCSI commands from the computer to the storage device through the node device; and sending information about the storage area assigned to the user to the computer from the storage device through the node device.