Computer system including a device with a plurality of identifiers

• US 5,809,279 A
• Filed: 02/04/1997
• Issued: 09/15/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Oeda, Takashi, Yoshida, Minoru, Honda, Kiyoshi, Matsunami, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Myers, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US08/794,908
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 395/480, 395/497.04, 395/405, 711/117
• US Class Current: 711/153
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0626 Reducing size or complexity of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0637 Permissions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 Plurality of storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A host computer is connected with a magnetic disk storage device by a SCSI bus. In the magnetic disk storage device, a plurality of partitions are set in a disk drive unit and have device identifiers (ID'"'"'s) respectively allocated thereto as SCSI ID'"'"'s=1, 2 and 3, which are supported by a disk controller. When the host computer has acquired the control of the SCSI bus through an arbitration and has selected, for example, the partition with the device identifier SCSI ID=1, the disk controller permits the host computer to access the partition in response to the selection. Since the partitions are different in attributes, properties etc., they seem to be magnetic disk storage devices that at separate from one another when viewed from the host computer. Thus, the single magnetic disk storage device can be managed as a plurality of storage devices of different nature.

Claims

1. A disk array storage device, comprising:

a disk array which is divided into a plurality of partitions; and

a disk array controller connectable to a host computer via a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus and to said disk array;

wherein said disk array controller allocates a different SCSI-ID to each of said plurality of partitions,

said disk array controller receives an SCSI-ID from the host computer via said SCSI bus,

said disk array controller recognizes if the received SCSI-ID coincides with any of the SCSI-IDs allocated to any of said plurality of partitions,

said disk array controller responds to the host computer if coincidence is recognized,

said disk array controller receives an SCSI command from the host computer,

said disk array controller selects one of said partitions corresponding to the SCSI-ID received from the host computer, and

said disk array controller controls access to the selected partition in accordance with the SCSI command received from the host computer and transfers a result of the access to the host computer.

2. A disk array storage device according to claim 1, wherein the SCSI command includes a Logical Unit Number.

3. A disk array storage device according to claim 1, wherein each of said partitions includes portions of multiple disks of said disk array.

4. A disk array storage device according to claim 3, wherein each of said partitions is assigned one of RAID levels.

5. A disk array storage device, comprising:

a disk array divided into a plurality of partitions, each assigned a different Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) ID; and

a disk array controller connectable to a host computer via an SCSI bus and to said disk array;

wherein said disk array controller receives an SCSI-ID from the host computer via said SCSI bus, recognizes if the received SCSI-ID coincides with any of the SCSI-IDs assigned to said plurality of partitions, responds to the host computer if coincidence is recognized, receives an SCSI command from the host computer, selects one of said plurality of partitions corresponding to the SCSI-ID received from the host computer, and controls access to the selected partition in accordance with the SCSI command received from the host computer.

6. A disk array storage device according to claim 5, wherein the SCSI command includes a Logical Unit Number.

7. A disk array storage device, comprising:

a disk array divided into a plurality of subgroups, each assigned a different Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) ID; and

a disk array controller connectable to a host computer via an SCSI bus and to said disk array;

wherein said disk array controller receives an SCSI-ID from the host computer via said SCSI bus, recognizes if the received SCSI-ID coincides with any of the SCSI-IDs assigned to said plurality of subgroups, responds to the host computer if coincidence is recognized, receives an SCSI command from the host computer, selects one of said plurality of subgroups corresponding to the SCSI-ID received from the host computer, and controls access to the selected subgroup in accordance with the SCSI command received from the host computer.

8. A disk array storage device according to claim 7, wherein the SCSI command includes a Logical Unit Number.

9. A disk array storage device according to claim 7, wherein each of said subgroups includes portions of multiple disks of said disk array.

10. A disk array storage device according to claim 9, wherein each of said subgroups is assigned one of RAID levels.

11. A disk array storage device, comprising:

a disk array divided into a plurality of storage areas, each assigned a different Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) ID; and

a disk array controller connectable to a host computer via an SCSI bus and to said disk array;

wherein said disk array controller receives an SCSI-ID from the host computer via said SCSI bus, recognizes if the received SCSI-ID coincides with any of the SCSI-IDs assigned to the storage areas, responds to the host computer if coincidence is recognized, receives an SCSI command from the host computer, selects one of said plurality of storage areas corresponding to the SCSI-ID received from the host computer, and controls access to the selected storage area in accordance with the SCSI command received from the host computer.

12. A disk array storage device according to claim 11, wherein the SCSI command includes a Logical Unit Number.

13. A disk array storage device, comprising:

a disk array divided into a plurality of devices, each assigned a different Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) ID; and

a disk array controller connectable to a host computer via an SCSI bus and to said disk array;

wherein said disk array controller receives an SCSI-ID from the host computer via said SCSI bus, recognizes if the received SCSI-ID coincides with any of the SCSI-IDs assigned to the devices, responds to the host computer if coincidence is recognized, receives an SCSI command from the host computer, selects one of said devices corresponding to the SCSI-ID received from the host computer, and controls access to the selected device in accordance with the SCSI command received from the host computer.

14. A disk array storage device according to claim 13, wherein the SCSI command includes a Logical Unit Number.