System, apparatus, and method for enhancing storage management in a storage area network

A system to control access by at least one computer system to a uniquely identifiable logical storage unit, each said computer system uniquely identifiable with a computer system ID, the system comprising:

• a storage structure including at least one memory;
• a configuration manager, coupled to said storage structure, to configure a first memory selected from said at least one memory, said configuration including:
• a first table including tabulation of an association between at least one corresponding computer system ID and at least one port ID to identify a subset of the at least one computer system having access to the storage unit controller identifiable by the port ID;
• and
• a second table including tabulation of an association between a controller port ID, selected from said at least one port ID, and the at least one uniquely identifiable logical storage unit to identify a subset of the at least one uniquely identifiable logical storage unit that is accessible using said controller port ID;
• a first table manager, coupled to said first table, to receive a first tabulation command to define at least a subset of said first tabulation;
• a second table manager, coupled to said second table, to receive a second tabulation command to define at least a subset of said second tabulation;
• a request manager for receiving a first request from a first computer system selected from the at least one computer system to access the uniquely identifiable logical storage unit;
• an access manager for determining from associations of said first tabulation and said second tabulation whether said first request shall be granted;
• and
• at least one processor, coupled with said configuration manager, said first tabulation manager, said second tabulation manager, said request manager, and said access manager to control access.

A system to control access by at least one computer system to a uniquely identifiable logical storage unit, each said computer system uniquely identifiable with a computer system ID, the system comprising:

• a switch couplable with the at least one computer system, said switch including a first table including an association between at least one port ID and at least one corresponding computer system ID to identify a subset of the at least one computer system having access to a storage unit controller identified by the port ID;
• said storage unit controller coupled with a second table including an association between each said port ID and at least one uniquely identifiable logical storage unit that is accessible based on said port ID;
• means for receiving a first request from a first computer system selected from the at least one computer system to access the uniquely identifiable logical storage unit;
• and
• means for determining from associations of said first table and said second table whether said first request shall be granted.

A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism, comprising:

• a program module to control access by at least one computer system to a uniquely identifiable logical storage unit that is associated with a storage unit controller within a storage area network, each said computer system uniquely identifiable with a computer system ID, the program module including instructions for:
• (a) tabulating an association between at least one port ID and at least one corresponding computer system ID to identify a subset of the at least one computer system having access to the storage unit controller identified by the port ID;
• (b) tabulating an association between each said port ID and at least one uniquely identifiable logical storage unit that is accessible based on said port ID;
• (c) receiving a first request from a first computer system selected from the at least one computer system to access the uniquely identifiable logical storage unit;
• (d) determining from associations tabulated at (a) and (b) whether said first request shall be granted;
• and
• a CPU coupled to said computer-readable medium, for executing said computer program code therein.

A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:

• a program module that directs computer system components to function in a specified manner including controlling access by at least one computer system to a uniquely identifiable logical storage unit with each computer system uniquely identifiable with a computer system ID, the program module including instructions for:
• (a) tabulating an association between at least one port ID and at least one corresponding computer system ID to identify a subset of the at least one computer system having access to the storage unit controller identified by the port ID;
• (b) tabulating an association between each said port ID and at least one uniquely identifiable logical storage unit that is accessible based on said port ID;
• (c) receiving a first request from a first computer system selected from the at least one computer system to access the uniquely identifiable logical storage unit;
• and
• (d) determining from associations tabulated at (a) and (b) whether said first request shall be granted;
• and
• a CPU coupled to said computer-readable medium, for executing said computer program code therein.

A controller to control access to a first logical storage unit selected from a plurality of logical storage units using a request port ID selected from a plurality of port IDs, the controller system comprising:

• a storage structure including at least one memory;
• a configuration manager, coupled to said storage structure, to configure said first memory selected from said at least one memory, said configuration including a second tabulation to identify access by representing an association between at least two port IDs selected from the plurality of port IDs, wherein each of the at least two port IDs is associated with at least one logical storage unit selected from the plurality of logical storage units;
• a second tabulation manager, coupled to said second tabulation, to receive a second tabulation command to define at least a subset of said second tabulation;
• a request manager for receiving a first request identifying the request port ID, to access the first logical storage unit;
• an access manager for determining from said second tabulation if said first request shall be granted;
• and
• at least one processor, coupled with said storage structure, said configuration manager, said second tabulation manager, said request manager, and said access manager to control access.