Abstract: A storage system where storage devices themselves have WORM functionality that can be set at any time. The storage system includes storage devices, and a controller for controlling data transmission between the storage devices and an information processor. Each storage device has a storage cell and a fuse at a midpoint on a write control line, and the controller applies a voltage to the fuse to blow it to set WORM for the storage cell.

Abstract: In a method of detecting an insensitive area in a radio communication system which includes a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile terminals, a total reception power data is requested to a concerned one of the plurality of base stations which is connected with a concerned one of the plurality of mobile terminals, when a signal indicating an insensitive state of the concerned mobile terminal is received. Radio environment of an up link is determined from the concerned mobile terminal to the concerned base station based on the total reception power data from the concerned base station. An up link insensitive area is determined based on a position data of the mobile terminal and the radio environment.

Abstract: A root cause analysis engine uses event durations and gradual deletion of events to improve analysis accuracy and reduce the number of required calculations. Matching ratios of relevant rules are recalculated every time notification of an event is received. The calculation results are held in a rule memory in the analysis engine. Each event has a valid duration, and when the duration has expired, that event is deleted from the rule memory. Events held in the rule memory can be deleted without affecting other events held in the rule memory. The analysis engine can then re-calculate the matching ratio of each rule by only performing the re-calculation with respect to affected rules related to the deleted event. The calculation cost can be reduced because analysis engine processes events incrementally or decrementally. Analysis engine can determine the most possible conclusion even if one or more condition elements were not true.

Abstract: A cap is provided which can be smaller in number of constituent elements, easy to manufacture with simple assembly operation, and of which cap cover can be smoothly opened with one hand for a long period of time. In the cap configured so that a pressing portion presses an opening/closing hinge of the cap cover backward to swing the cap cover in an open direction when a manipulation portion is pressed, a manipulation body includes an elastic connection rod arranged on a side of an outlet below a support, the manipulation portion is provided on a front end of the elastic connection rod, the pressing portion is provided on a rear end of the elastic connection rod, and the manipulation body is connected to the support via a deformable connection piece so as to allow a longitudinal movement of the manipulation body relative to the support.

Abstract: In order to store data in disk drives securely in an environment with a mixture of disk drives having write protection mechanisms and disk drives without write protection mechanisms, a different write protection mechanism must be checked for each of the disk drives, and write protection must be defined for each of the disk drives storing data to be saved, which may impose a large load on system administrators. There is provided a storage controller for performing data input/output processing from a computer by managing volumes of multiple storage subsystems as external volumes and by using these external volumes as virtual volumes. In the data input/output processing, write protection is achieved based on an access attribute set for each of the virtual volumes. When an access attribute is set for a virtual volume, the same access attribute is set for an external volume corresponding to the virtual volume. Thus, the write protection is achieved for the external volume corresponding to the virtual volume.

Abstract: A user interface includes a graphical topological representation of an information system. Information is collected regarding connections between switches, storage nodes and computer nodes in the information system. Any sub networks in the system are identified based on the collected information and classified as LANs or SANs. Connections between the various components are determined, and a layout of any identified LANs, computer nodes, SANs, and storage nodes is established for generating the topological representation in the user interface. The graphical topological representation of the information system is displayed in the user interface with the LAN icons, computer node icons, SAN icons and storage node icons laid out in a matrix-like arrangement of columns and rows, such that for LANs, computer nodes, SANs and/or storage nodes that are connected to each other, the corresponding icons are located on or near a same row in the graphical topological representation.

Abstract: A cap is provided which can be smaller in number of constituent elements, easy to manufacture with simple assembly operation, and of which cap cover can be smoothly opened with one hand for a long period of time. In the cap configured so that a pressing portion presses an opening/closing hinge of the cap cover backward to swing the cap cover in an open direction when a manipulation portion is pressed, a manipulation body includes an elastic connection rod arranged on a side of an outlet below a support, the manipulation portion is provided on a front end of the elastic connection rod, the pressing portion is provided on a rear end of the elastic connection rod, and the manipulation body is connected to the support via a deformable connection piece so as to allow a longitudinal movement of the manipulation body relative to the support.

Abstract: When an active data copy process relative to a logical storage device is performed without involving a computer, an access permission/rejection of the computer to the logical storage device is checked by referring to a correspondence between WWN of the computer and a logical storage device identifier LUN to thereby determine whether an access to a copy source logical storage device and a copy destination logical storage device is permitted or not. It is therefore possible to prevent an outflow of illegal data from a storage subsystem to be caused by an active copy instruction command.

Abstract: Provided is a method of managing a computer system including a plurality of storage systems and a plurality of management appliances for managing the plurality of storage systems. A first management appliance and a second management appliance hold an identifier of a first storage system and management data obtained from the first storage system. The method includes the steps of: selecting a third management appliance from the plurality of management appliances when a failure occurs in the first management appliance; transmitting the identifier held in the second management appliance from the second management appliance to the selected third management appliance; and holding the identifier transmitted from the second management appliance in the selected third management appliance. Thus, it is possible to prevent, after failing-over due to an abnormality of a maintenance/management appliance, a single point of failure from occurring to reduce reliability of the maintenance/management appliance.

Abstract: In a system where a management application sends commands to a remotely-located agent over a network, the agent maintains a security specification table defining the security level for each combination of the cipher and authentication algorithms of the communication path to/from the management application and a required security level table defining the minimum security level required for the execution of each command. Upon receiving a command from the management application, the agent obtains, by referencing these tables, the operational security level of the communication path and the required security level for the command, and executes the command only if the former is greater than or equal to the latter. This mechanism ensures high security in system management by preventing a malicious intruder from executing potent commands that can cause a down of a computer system, without unreasonably limiting the use of the management application by the system administrator.

Abstract: In order to limit host computers permitted to control a storage area from host computers, provided is a storage management computer coupled to one or more host computers for providing services and one or more storage systems, in which the storage management computer judges whether the host computer is permitted to control the storage area based on data indicating the configuration information of the storage system and service management information for managing the services provided by the host computers, and in case of which it is judged that the host computer is permitted to control the storage area, the storage management computer sets access control data to permit the host computer to control the storage area.

Abstract: A storage system where storage devices themselves have WORM functionality that can be set at any time. The storage system includes storage devices, and a controller for controlling data transmission between the storage devices and an information processor. Each storage device has a storage cell and a fuse at a midpoint on a write control line, and the controller applies a voltage to the fuse to blow it to set WORM for the storage cell.

Abstract: In a computer system having a storage system in which storage units are hierarchically configured, a management method for accurately grasping the capacity available to the computer is disclosed.

Abstract: In a system where a management application sends commands to a remotely-located agent over a network, the agent maintains a security specification table defining the security level for each combination of the cipher and authentication algorithms of the communication path to/from the management application and a required security level table defining the minimum security level required for the execution of each command. Upon receiving a command from the management application, the agent obtains, by referencing these tables, the operational security level of the communication path and the required security level for the command, and executes the command only if the former is greater than or equal to the latter. This mechanism ensures high security in system management by preventing a malicious intruder from executing potent commands that can cause a down of a computer system, without unreasonably limiting the use of the management application by the system administrator.

Abstract: When an active data copy process relative to a logical storage device is performed without involving a computer, an access permission/rejection of the computer to the logical storage device is checked by referring to a correspondence between WWN of the computer and a logical storage device identifier LUN to thereby determine whether an access to a copy source logical storage device and a copy destination logical storage device is permitted or not. It is therefore possible to prevent an outflow of illegal data from a storage subsystem to be caused by an active copy instruction command.

Abstract: In an environment in which storages are intensively collected, many unused areas are generated and no storage resources can be efficiently used as a storage pool. The capacity utilization (data capacity) of a storage device (volume) allocated to a computer is obtained and future capacity utilization is estimated from a change in the data capacity. The capacity of the storage device is compared with upper limit securing capacity and lower limit securing capacity values indicating the upper and lower limits of appropriate allocating capacity calculated from this estimated capacity utilization. When the capacity of the storage device is greater than the upper limit securing capacity, a different storage device, having at least the lower limit securing capacity and no more than the upper limit securing capacity, is allocated from the storage pool, and the storage device allocated previously is collected in the storage pool.

Abstract: The management computer 600 copies data in the volume 111 within the storage device 100A to the volume 115 within the storage device 100B. Upon completion of copy processing, the volume 115 is set to write protect. Then, the data in the volume 111 is read from the storage device 100A, and the data in the volume 115 is also read from the storage device 100B, to compare the two data items. Only when the data items agree with each other, setting of FC switch 400 is changed, and a target of the host computer 500 is switched from the storage device 100A to the storage device 100B. Therefore, it is possible to detect or prevent an illegal data modification in the course of data copying from the source volume to the destination volume.

Abstract: In a computer system having a storage system in which storage units are hierarchically configured, a management method for accurately grasping the capacity available to the computer is disclosed.

Abstract: Data states of storage apparatuses are managed. When a storage apparatus is allocated from a storage pool to a computer, management information written in the storage apparatus is erased if the data state of the storage apparatus is unknown. When the storage apparatus becomes unnecessary and is restored to the storage pool, the management information is also erased. Further, when the storage apparatus is allocated to the computer, a level of confidentiality is set. When the storage apparatus is restored to the storage pool, data in the storage apparatus is automatically erased according to the set level of confidentiality.

Abstract: In a computer system having hierarchically-arranged data storage apparatuses, a management computer provides information required for performing operation on the data storage apparatuses. Through a network for collecting management information, storage area information and hierarchy information are collected from each data storage apparatus. Management relation information is created using the collected storage area information and the collected hierarchy information together with programs for respectively managing the data storage apparatuses, and, the created management relation information is held. Based on the created management relation information, a display screen expressing the hierarchy of the data storage apparatuses is created. Further, responding to operation by a user, a return considering the hierarchy is displayed.