Patent ID: 8380824

Claim:
A method for implementing ownership of a storage device connected to a network, comprising: writing a first attribute of ownership information of the storage device associated with a first computer, having a processor and a memory, to a first location on the storage device, wherein the first computer is coupled to the storage device over the network; writing a second attribute of ownership information of the storage device associated with a second computer to a second location on the storage device, wherein the second computer is coupled to the first computer over the network; determining whether the first attribute matches the second attribute by the storage operating system; and in response to a mismatch, using the first attribute as definitive ownership information of the storage device based on storage of the first attribute at the first location on the storage device, wherein the definitive ownership of the storage device by the first computer allows the first computer to write data to the storage device and the second is computer is prevented from writing data to the storage device.