Patent ID: 6842841

Claim:
A data storage system comprising: a plurality of host computers; a library having a plurality of storage units and a plurality of physical drives for processing the plurality of storage units, the library further having a library server operable to mount the plurality of storage units into the plurality of physical drives; and a controller having a plurality of virtual drives each associated with a respective one of the plurality of host computers, the controller operable to receive a request from a host computer for access to a desired storage unit, select a physical drive to receive the desired storage unit, direct the library server to mount the desired storage unit into the selected physical drive, and connect the virtual drive to the selected physical drive to provide the host computer with access to the desired storage unit through the virtual drive, the virtual drive presenting the host computer with a perspective that the host computer is connected to a dedicated tape drive not shared with any other host computer in the plurality of host computers.