Storage System and Method for Namespace Reservation in a Multi-Queue Single-Controller Environment

A system comprising:

• a first host comprising a first set of input-output queues and an admin queue;
• a second host comprising a second set of input-output queues but not an admin queue, wherein the second host shares the admin queue of the first host;
• a storage system comprising a controller and a memory;
• and
• a switch configured to allow communication between the first host, the second host, and the storage system;
• wherein the host is configured to use the admin queue to:
• create a first association between the first set of input-output queues and a first namespace in the memory, wherein the first association associates the first namespace with an identifier of the first set of input-output queues or a command identifier of the first host;
• and
• create a second association between the second set of input-output queues and a second namespace in the memory wherein the second association associates the second namespace with an identifier of the second set of input-output queues or a command identifier of the second host:
• wherein the controller of the storage system is configured to restrict access to the first and second namespaces in the memory to the first and second hosts, respectively, based on the first and second associations.

A host comprising:

• a first set of input-output queues;
• an admin queue shared by the host and a second host;
• an interface through which to communicate with a storage system comprising a controller and a memory and with the second host comprising a second set of input-output queues, wherein the second host shares the admin queue of the host;
• and
• means for creating a first association between the first set of input-output queues and a first namespace in the memory and a second association between the second set of input-output queues and a second namespace in the memory, wherein the first association associates a first namespace with an identifier of the first set of input-output queues or a command identifier of the host, and wherein the second association associates a second namespace with an identifier of the second set of input-output queues or a command identifier of the second host.
• wherein the controller of the storage system is configured to restrict access to the first and second namespaces to the first and second hosts, respectively, based on the first and second associations.