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US 7,010,493 B2Granted
Method and system for time-based storage access services
AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.
InventorsMasayuki Yamamoto, Akira Yamamoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides techniques for managing access to storage resources according to an access time. Specific embodiments provide a variety of different kinds of time based access billing. For example, in specific embodiments, one or more of a time time-card storage access service mode, a time-lock storage access service mode, and a semi-timecard storage access service mode are provided.
Claims11
An apparatus for managing storage access, comprising:
- a disk system including multiple storage devices capable of being coupled to a host system via interface ports and a data communication channel;
- time components comprising time zone information;
- a disk system manager operative to control accessibility by the host system to the multiple storage devices based upon a service level agreement and the time component, the service level agreement specifying billing rates based upon the time components, the disk system manager capable of being coupled to the host system via a control communication channel that is different from the data communication channel;
- a storage access service system operative to grant time-based host system access to said multiple storage devices and to compute invoice amounts based upon the time component and the service level agreement, and wherein said storage access service system determines charges for user access by comparing said preset schedule to a billing rate schedule and thereupon computing a cost of said preset schedule;
- and
- means for users to agree to access at least one of said storage devices during a preset schedule, and wherein said storage access service system determines charges for user access service based upon said preset schedule.
3 more elements
A method for managing access to storage resources in a system having a plurality of tables, comprising:
- storing user information including an identity of a user an identity of a resource, a time zone, and at least one billing rate for accessing said resource in a first table of the plurality of tables the at least one billing rate being dependent on a predetermined time component in accordance with a service level agreement;
- receiving a computer-based request to access said resource from a user;
- granting access to said resource based upon said identity of said user, said identity of said resource, the time of the request, and said time zone using the first table said granting including enabling the user to access the resource via a data communication channel;
- using a control communication channel to map the resource to the user;
- storing access information including said identity of said user, said identity of said resource, and said time zone in a second table of said plurality of tables;
- and
- determining charges for accessing said resource based upon said identity of said user, said identity of said resource, the time of the access, and said at least one billing rate using the first table and the second table.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.