Patent ID: 8140720

Claim:
A method of setting communication paths between storage apparatuses in a storage system having a plurality of the storage apparatuses, the method comprising: storing in each of the storage apparatuses coupling mode information that is indicative of whether the storage apparatus is in a first mode or a second mode where, in the first mode, the storage apparatus is permitted setting of a communication path between the storage apparatus and each of a plurality of others of the storage apparatuses and, in the second mode, the storage apparatus is permitted setting of a communication path only between the storage apparatus and one of the other storage apparatuses; and communicatively coupling a management apparatus that comprises a communication path setting part that provides a user interface for setting communication paths to each of the storage apparatuses; wherein the communication path setting part does not permit setting of a communication path between any two of the plurality of storage apparatuses, at the time of setting the communication path, when the coupling mode information of both of the two of the plurality of storage apparatuses indicate the first mode.