Patent ID: 8005993

Claim:
A storage expander system comprising: a first enclosure; a communications port, the communication port configured to operate under a communications protocol to operatively accessing at least one long term storage devices; a port expander circuit within the first enclosure and coupled to the communications port, the port expander circuit configured to have a plurality of secondary ports that operate under the communications protocol for accessing at least one long term storage device; and a processor within the first enclosure; wherein the storage expander system is configured to couple to a network attached storage (NAS) device over the communications port, the NAS residing within an enclosure external to the first enclosure, and the NAS device provides external long-term storage for a computer system coupled to the NAS device; wherein the storage expander system receives information from the NAS over the communications port for long-term storage in at least one long term storage device; and wherein the processor receives an enclosure management command from the NAS over the communications port and performs an enclosure management function based on the enclosure management command.