Claims
- 1. 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 controlling the configuration mechanism to associate the customer input ports with specified logical storage areas to cause data received from specified customers to be stored in corresponding specified logical storage areas and to limit access to the logical storage areas to only the corresponding customers.
- 2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the data storage infrastructure comprises a plurality of data storage devices.
- 3. A system as recited in claim 2 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.
- 4. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the configuration mechanism comprises at least one fabric.
- 5. A system as recited in claim 3 wherein the configuration mechanism comprises at least one aggregation switch.
- 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage device is located in an access-controlled facility.
- 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage device comprises multiple storage units operatively connected to one another.
- 8. A method for storing data from a plurality of customers in a distributed secure environment by a data storage provider, comprising:
separating a storage infrastructure having a plurality of customer ports into a plurality of logical storage areas; operating a configuration mechanism of the storage infrastructure by a management processor to associate the logical storage areas with corresponding specified customer ports; receiving data from a customer via one of the customer ports; storing the received data into at least one logical storage area corresponding to the customer port; and permitting access to the stored data via only the customer port corresponding to the at least one logical storage area.
- 9. A method for storing data from a plurality of customers in a storage area network comprising at least one storage device and a plurality of ports, the method comprising:
separating the storage device into a plurality of logical storage areas; associating uniquely at least one of the logical storage areas with one of the plurality of customers; associating uniquely at least one of the plurality of ports with the one of the plurality of customers; and allowing only the one of the plurality of customers to access the at least one of the logical storage areas associated with the one of the plurality of customers.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of provisional application No. 60/297,754, filed Jun. 14, 2001, and provisional application No. 60/303,345, filed Jul. 9, 2001, both of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60297754 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
|
60303345 |
Jul 2001 |
US |