Claims
- 1. A method for managing data stored in a storage architecture comprising a plurality of logical storage areas in at least one storage device, the storage architecture shared by a plurality of customers such that more than one customer is assigned storage on any single storage device, the method comprising:
receiving from one of the plurality of customers a request for additional storage within the storage architecture; determining which of the plurality of logical storage areas are not assigned to any of the plurality of customer; displaying to the one customer a list of the unassigned logical storage areas; and assigning at least one of the unassigned logical storage areas to the one of the plurality of customers.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving input from the one of the plurality of customers selecting at least one of the unassigned logical storage areas; and wherein assigning at least one of the unassigned logical storage areas comprises assigning the customer-selected logical storage area to the customer based on the customer input.
- 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
authenticating the one of the plurality of customers before assigning based on the customer input.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining which of the plurality of unassigned logical storage areas to display to the customer.
- 5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining which of the plurality of unassigned logical storage areas to display to the customer comprises determining which of the plurality of unassigned logical storage areas to display to the customer based on price, volume, or performance.
- 6. A method for managing data stored in a storage architecture comprising a plurality of logical storage areas in at least one storage device, the storage architecture shared by a plurality of customers such that more than one customer is assigned storage on any single storage device, the method comprising:
determining based on the activity of one of the plurality of customers that the customer requires additional storage; determining which of the plurality of logical storage areas are not assigned to any of the plurality of customers; and assigning at least one of the unassigned logical storage areas to the customer.
- 7. A system for storing data from a plurality of customers by a storage provider, comprising:
a data storage infrastructure, comprising
a plurality of customer ports each receiving data from one of the customers; at least one storage device having a plurality of logical storage areas; and a configuration mechanism for associating the logical storage areas with the customer ports; and at least one management processor under control of the storage provider for receiving from one of the plurality of customers a request for additional storage within the data storage infrastructure, determining which of the plurality of logical storage areas are not assigned to any of the plurality of customer, sending instructions to a display device to display to the one customer a list of the unassigned logical storage areas, and assigning at least one of the unassigned logical storage areas to the one of the plurality of customers.
- 8. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the data storage infrastructure comprises a plurality of data storage devices.
- 9. A system as recited in claim 8, wherein each storage device comprises:
a plurality of input ports, and a device configuration mechanism operable under control of the management processor to divide the storage device into a plurality of device logical storage areas and to associate the input ports with corresponding device logical storage areas.
- 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one storage device is located in an access-controlled facility.
- 11. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one storage device comprises multiple storage units operatively connected to one another.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of provisional application 60/303,346, filed Jul. 9, 2001, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60303346 |
Jul 2001 |
US |