Computer system including a device with a plurality of identifiers

• US 6,775,702 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2002
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Oeda, Takashi, Yoshida, Minoru, Honda, Kiyoshi, Matsunami, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Myers, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US10/298,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20030097504A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 710/9, 711/148, 711/202
• US Class Current: 709/226
• 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 (IDs) respectively allocated thereto as SCSI IDs=1, 2 and 3, which are supported by a disk controller. When the host computer has acquired the control, 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 device that are 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 computer system comprising:

a first computer;

a second computer connected to said first computer; and

a storage device system connected to said second computer,

wherein each of said second computer and said storage device system is assigned a specific identifier (ID), and

wherein when said second computer receives a command which includes either the specific ID of said second computer or the specific ID of said storage device system issued by said first computer, said second computer responds to the command according to the particular specific ID included in the command.

2. A computer system according to claim 1, wherein said specific ID is a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) ID.

3. A computer system according to claim 2, wherein more than one SCSI-ID is assigned to said storage device system, and said command includes information indicative of one SCSI-ID.

4. A computer system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a device connected to said second computer,

wherein said device is assigned a specific ID which is different from that of said storage device system, and

wherein said second computer responds to a command to said device issued by said first computer, said command including information indicative of said specific ID assigned to said device.

5. A computer comprising:

a first interface; and

a second interface connectable to a first device,

wherein each of said computer and said first device is assigned a specific ID,

wherein when said computer receives a command which includes the specific ID of said first device from another computer connected to said first interface, said computer transmits said command to said first device through said second interface, and transmits information received through said second interface to said another computer connected to said first interface, and

wherein when said computer receives a command which includes the specific ID of said computer from said another computer connected to said first interface, said computer executes processing based on the command.

6. A computer according to claim 5, wherein said specific ID is a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)-ID.

7. A computer according to claim 6, wherein said first interface and said second interface are each a SCSI respectively.

8. A computer according to claim 5, wherein said second interface is further connectable to a second device assigned a specific ID different from that of a said first device, and

wherein said computer receives a command including information indicative of said specific ID assigned to said first or second device from another computer connected through said first interface, and selects one of said first or second device through said second interface, and transmits information received through said second interface to said another computer connected to said first interface.

9. A computer system comprising:

a network file server controller to be coupled to a plurality of computers, said network file server controller receives an access request from said computers; and

a storage device coupled to said network file server, said storage device has a storage area configured with a plurality of disks for storing data in response to said access request and is allocated to a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses,

wherein said storage area is divided into a plurality of regions,

wherein said network file server controller has set therein relations so that a first IP address of said IP addresses is allocated to a first region of said regions and a second IP address of said IP addresses is allocated to a second region of said regions, and

wherein said network file server controller responds to said received access request based on said allocated IP addresses.

10. A computer system according to claim 9, wherein one of said regions includes more than two disks of said plurality of disks.

11. A computer system according to claim 10, wherein one of said regions is configured as one of Redundant Array of inexpensive Disks (RAID) levels.

12. A computer system according to claim 9, wherein said first IP address is assigned for a first computer of said computers, and said second IP address is assigned for a second computer of said computers, and

wherein said network file server controller supports said allocated IP addresses so that said first and second IP addresses assigned for each of said first and second computers.

13. A storage area managing method of a computer system which is to be coupled to a plurality of computers and has a storage device, said storage area managing method comprising the steps of:

dividing a storage area of said storage device into a plurality of storage regions;

allocating a first Internet Protocol (IP) address to a first region of said plurality of storage regions;

allocating a second IP address to a second region of said plurality of storage regions;

receiving an address request from one of said plurality of computers; and

responding to said received access request based on said allocated first or second IP addresses.

14. A storage area managing method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

configuring one of said regions with more than two disks of said plurality of disks.

15. A storage area managing method according to claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

configuring said one of said regions as one of Redundant Array of inexpensive Disks (RAID) levels.