Patent ID: 7461227

Claim:
A storage system comprising: a storage device storing data; a network adapter including a first port connected to a communication path, and a first processor that is connected to said first port, and that is configured to receive a file access request via said communication path and give commands to access the data stored in said storage device as well as to back up said data stored in said storage device; a channel adapter including a second port connected to a device storing backup data, and a second processor that is connected to said second port, and that is configured to send out said data stored in said storage device via said second port to said device storing backup data in response to receiving from said first processor a backup command; a disk adapter configured to access data stored in said storage device; and a connection mechanism by which said network adapter, said channel adapter, and said disk adapter are connected, wherein said first processor is further configured to receive from an external device a backup command, and in response thereto to perform a split operation on a logical volume on which said data is stored, and then to send to said device storing backup data an instruction to back up the data.