Patent ID: 7103653

Claim:
A storage area network (SAN) management system comprising: host computers, each comprising a storage area network management mechanism; storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism; switches coupled to the host computers and to the storage devices, said switches interconnecting the host computers and the storage devices, each of the switches comprising a region-setting mechanism; and an integrated management mechanism to manage the SAN according to a process comprising: obtaining access route information of the host computers and the storage devices; setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information; transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer; transmitting region information to the region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity; and transmitting access limit information concerning the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device.