Patent ID: 8762665

Claim:
A switch apparatus connectable between hosts and at least one storage device, the switch apparatus to provide a service of allotting virtual storage areas to be deployed in said at least one storage device to any of the hosts upon demand, the switch apparatus comprising: a processor to control allotment of the virtual storage areas to the hosts and allocation of physical storage areas of the at least one storage device to the virtual storage areas; and a memory to store information that, for each of the hosts, indicates whether or not the respective host is allowed access to the virtual storage areas, respectively, so that said information is thereby stored in the switch apparatus, wherein the processor allows and restricts access by the hosts to the virtual storage areas in accordance with the information stored in the memory, targets for accessing the virtual storage areas become virtual targets linked to the accessed virtual storage areas, the virtual targets being included in virtual cabinets, the memory stores at least one allowance list indicating virtual cabinets of the virtual cabinets to which copies are allowed by each of the hosts, upon receipt from a host of a request to copy between respective virtual storage areas of the virtual storage areas, the processor determines whether the copy in accordance with the request is allowed by the at least one allowance list, and the processor controls copy between the respective virtual storage areas when the copy in accordance with the request is allowed by the at least one allowance list, the at least one allowance list includes direction information that, for each of the virtual cabinets, indicates directions in which the respective virtual cabinet is allowed access to other virtual cabinets of the virtual cabinets, and the processor determines whether the copy in accordance with the request is allowed by the direction information in the at least one allowance list, and controls copy between the virtual areas in accordance with the determination of whether the copy is allowed by the direction information in the at least one allowance list.