Patent ID: 7096269

Claim:
A storage system apparatus, comprising: a first storage system for storing data, and a second storage system remote from the first storage volume for storing a remote mirror copy of the data; a plurality of alternative ports, providing switch-able connection from said first storage system via a plurality of networks to said second storage system, wherein the connection from said first storage system and said second storage system may be routed through at least two alternative ports of the plurality of alternative ports; said plurality of networks including a first network and a second network, said first network having a higher priority than said second network, the plurality of networks each having at least one of a plurality of status indications associated therewith; a processor; and a network monitor operable to detect at least one condition within at least one of the plurality of networks and set at least one of the plurality of status indications; wherein said processor is operable to use at least one user provided policy to select at least one of said plurality of alternative ports to send data from the first storage system to the second storage system, said selection based upon a comparison of at least one condition in said plurality of networks against the at least one user provided policy and based upon at least one of the plurality of status indications.