Patent ID: 7844711

Claim:
A storage allocation method for allocating a storage region to a plurality of computers in a system, the system including the plurality of computers, a plurality of storage devices, and a management device, the plurality of computers, the plurality of storage devices, and the management device being coupled by a network, wherein each of the plurality of storage devices includes a plurality of ports, the method comprising: generating, by a storage device of the plurality of storage devices, a plurality of targets in each of the plurality of ports, and a plurality of storage regions in the storage device; managing, by the management device, allocation information, which identifies the plurality of targets set by the storage device, initiator indicating a computer corresponding to a target of the plurality of targets, the plurality of storage regions set in the storage device, and a target allocation state indicating whether the target is allocated or unallocated to a computer of the plurality of computers; when an allocation request including a size required for a storage region is received from the computer, selecting, by the management device, a storage device of the plurality of storage devices, the selected storage device including a plurality of unallocated storage regions that are larger than the size requested, wherein each of the plurality of ports in the selected storage device includes targets that are unallocated to the computer, and the selected storage device selects an unallocated target as a first target in a port of the selected storage device and an unallocated storage region as the storage region to be allocated to the computer; when the number of allocated targets in the selected storage device exceeds a predetermined number, selecting, by the management device, another storage device for allocating the storage region to the computer; correlating, by the storage device, the selected first target and the initiator indicating the computer with the selected storage region; and reporting, by the management device, the allocated first target and the initiator to the computer.