Patent ID: 7876703

Claim:
A network, comprising: a first host having a first host adaptor; a second host having a second host adaptor; a first storage device having a first, second, and third device adaptors; a second storage device having a fourth device adaptor; a first cable directly connecting the first host adaptor to the first device adaptor; a second cable directly connecting the second host adaptor to the second device adaptor; and a third cable directly connecting the third device adaptor to the fourth device adaptor, wherein the first and second hosts and first and second storage devices are accessible to each other in a network, wherein the first and second hosts continue to have access to the first storage device via the first and second cables while the second storage device is connected to the first storage device via the third cable, wherein physically connecting the second storage device to the first storage device with the third cable does not interrupt the first and second hosts access to the first storage device, wherein the first and second hosts data access to the first storage device is interrupted during an initialization procedure executed to make the second storage device available to the first and second hosts when the second storage device is connected to the third cable to connect to the first storage device.