Method and system for dividing a plurality of existing volumes of storage into a plurality of virtual logical units of storage

A method of data storage, comprising:

• a) partitioning a storage subsystem into a plurality of slices, said storage subsystem accessed by host applications using a protocol;
• b) mapping each of a plurality of virtual data storage units to respective slices in said plurality of slices;
• and
• c) transparently interfacing a host application with said storage subsystem such that said host application can indirectly access said storage subsystem using an unaltered internal operating code of said protocol by directly accessing more than one virtual data storage unit of said plurality of virtual data storage units.

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer readable memory coupled to said processor and containing program instructions that, when executed, implement a method of data storage, comprising:
• a) dividing a plurality of existing volumes from a storage subsystem into a plurality of slices, said existing volumes accessed by host applications using a protocol;
• b) mapping at least one of said plurality of slices to a plurality of virtual data storage units;
• c) interfacing a host application, directly accessing more than one of said virtual data storage units, with said plurality of existing volumes using an unaltered internal operating code of said protocol such that the interfacing is transparent to the host application.

A method of providing data storage, comprising:

• dividing each of a plurality of physical storage devices into slices;
• mapping at least a slice to a plurality of virtual data storage units;
• providing a host application with direct access to more than one of the virtual data storage units;
• and
• configuring a virtualization layer that uses at least one unaltered internal operating code to interface with an originally configured internal intelligence software layer to enable the host application to indirectly access the slices by directly accessing the more than one of the virtual data storage units.