Patent ID: 7761699

Claim:
A method for controlling a plurality of storage systems, each of said plurality of storage systems including a controller and a plurality of logical volumes and connected to other storage systems via a common mutual connecting network and connected to a plurality of host computers via a storage area network (SAN) switch, said method comprising: obtaining information on access frequency of a plurality of access paths to each of said plurality of logical volumes from one or more of said plurality of host computers; determining whether said access frequency of a first logical volume of a first storage system via said common mutual connecting network exceeds a threshold; and executing one of the following processes in response to said threshold being exceeded: changing from a first access path, which connects to at least one of said host computers to said first logical volume using a second storage system and said common mutual connecting network, to a second access path, which connects at least one of said host computers to said first logical volume without using said common mutual connecting network, by conducting switching via said SAN switch based on said information on access frequency of said plurality of access paths; moving said first logical volume to said second storage system from said first storage system based on said information on access frequency of said plurality of access paths; and copying said first logical volume to said second storage system based on said information on access frequency of said plurality of access paths.