Patent ID: 7970917

Claim:
A real server coupled to a plurality of computers and a tape device, comprising: a processor configured to make a plurality of virtual servers on an operating system, the operating system executing processes for each of the plurality of virtual servers, wherein each of the plurality of virtual servers receives a file access request from one of the plurality of computers based on access permission information, the access permission information being set with respect to each of the plurality of virtual servers, and each of the plurality of virtual servers responds to the file access request; and an apparatus manager executed by the processor, wherein the apparatus manager is configured to generate and delete each of the plurality of virtual servers, and configured to permit or forbid each of the plurality of virtual servers access to the tape device coupled to the real server, wherein the apparatus manager determines whether a first virtual server of the plurality of the virtual servers is permitted to access the tape device, if the processor receives a backup request of data managed by the first virtual server from a first one of the plurality of computers that is permitted to access the first virtual server, and wherein the processor backs up the data to the tape device, if the first server is permitted to access the tape device.