Patent ID: 8347031

Claim:
A storage system, comprising: a storage apparatus having a storage area for storing data; a management computer which manages input and output of the data in the storage apparatus; and a network connection unit which serves as an intermediary for a connection between said storage apparatus and said management computer, wherein said storage apparatus has a temporary storage area for temporarily accumulating transfer data, and a Fiber Channel Over Ethernet-enabled (FCOE-enabled) input/output (I/O) interface, the I/O interface being connected to said network connection unit, wherein said network connection unit has a buffer memory which temporarily accumulates the data transferred from said storage apparatus, monitors an amount of the data accumulated in the buffer, and if the amount of the data accumulated in the buffer has become greater than or equal to a predetermined value, transmits a data transfer pause request to said storage apparatus, and wherein in response to said data transfer pause request, said storage apparatus causes the data transfer to pause, and also, if an amount of the data transferred from said storage area to said temporary storage area has become a predetermined value, causes a data read-ahead process with respect to said temporary storage area to pause.