International Business Machines Corporation

Shira Bash

Shay Haim Akirav

Haim Bitner

Elena Drobchenko

Samuel Krikler

A method according to one embodiment is performed in an environment wherein a plurality of backup hosts are connected to a plurality of virtual tape library servers (VTL servers) which in turn are connected to each of a plurality of disk library units (DLUs), each VTL server being adapted to receive tape storage commands, and in response to receiving a tape storage command, the respective VTL server accepts the tape storage command and responding as if the VTL server were the respective target tape storage device, and wherein data simultaneously streaming from the plurality of backup hosts is received by multiple of the VTL servers, where the multiple VTL servers receiving the simultaneously streamed data write to the same DLU.

Tape storage emulation for open systems environments

A Virtual Tape (VT) server residing on a network is connectible on its front end to a plurality of heterogeneous backup hosts, with different operating systems and/or backup applications, and on its back end to one or more disk storage devices in an open systems environment. The VT server responds to tape storage commands sent by the backup host as if it were the intended tape storage device and then emulates the desired tape storage activity on the one or more disk storage devices. In a described implementation, the host and server act as SCSI initiator and target and communicate over a Fibre Channel connection.

Growing community of inventors

Westen Galilee, Israel

Shira Bash