Patent ID: 7103710

Claim:
A storage system, comprising: a storage control unit connected to a computer; and a plurality of disk devices, wherein said storage control unit comprises: a plurality of interface units wherein at least one of said interface units is connected to said computer and others of said interface units are correspondingly directly connected to said disk devices, a memory, a plurality of access paths each being connected to said memory, and a selector being connected between said interface units and said access paths and being used to connect said memory and said interface units via a selected one of said access paths, wherein said selector receives an access request from an interface unit to said memory, and in response to said access request, selects an access path to be used to connect said memory and said interface unit, and inhibits other interface units among said interface units from using said access path until a sequence of transmissions including a request signal, a command signal, an address signal and a data signal, according to said access request, terminates.