Patent ID: 7073022

Claim:
A method of data storage, comprising: coupling a plurality of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (S-ATA) data storage devices with a plurality of device controllers via a plurality of multi-controller switching interfaces, wherein each of the multi-controller switching interfaces serially couples to S-ATA data storage devices via serial connections, each of the multi-controller switching interfaces having a plurality of connection points configured to couple with a plurality of S-ATA data storage devices; and transferring data between the plurality of S-ATA data storage devices and the device controllers coupled to the plurality of multi-controller switching interfaces via the plurality of connection points; wherein coupling the plurality of device controllers to the plurality of multi-controller switching interfaces further comprises: coupling a plurality of inputs of a multiplexer to serial outputs of the plurality of device controllers; serially coupling the multi-controller switching interfaces in a one-to-one ratio to each of the plurality of S-ATA data storage devices; and switching the plurality of inputs of the multiplexer to allow each of the plurality of device controllers to gain access to each S-ATA data storage device in the array.