Patent ID: 7512735

Claim:
A method to control access to logical volumes disposed in an information storage and retrieval system, comprising the steps of: providing an information storage and retrieval system comprising a plurality of logical volumes, wherein said information storage and retrieval system is owned by a storage system owner; providing a plurality of host computers, wherein each of said plurality of host computers comprises a storage management program, a first operating system, and a second operating system, and is capable of communicating with said information storage and retrieval system, wherein each of said plurality of host computers are owned by different host computer owners, and wherein those different host computer owners differ from said storage system owner; forming by said storage system owner (N) host computer groups, wherein (N) is greater than or equal to 1; assigning by said storage system owner each of said plurality of host computers to one of the (N) host computer groups; forming by said storage system owner (N) logical volume groups; assigning by said storage system owner one or more of said plurality of logical volumes to the (i)th logical volume group, wherein (i) is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to (N), and wherein any logical volumes not assigned to any of the (N) logical volume groups remain unassigned; maintaining a database associating the (i)th host computer group with the (i)th logical volume group; permitting each of said one or more host computers assigned to the (i)th host computer group to access each logical volume comprising said (i)th logical volume group; wherein each of said plurality of host computers assigned to (i)th host computer group is not assigned to any other of the (N) host computer groups, and wherein each of said logical volumes assigned to the (i)th logical volume group is not assigned to any other of the (N) logical volume groups.