US Patent 7152146 Control of multiple groups of network-connected storage devices

In a storage system comprising multiple storage devices with different interfaces, the characteristics, including the type of interface, of the storage devices on which the source volume is constructed are checked, a volume having the characteristics that match them is selected as the destination volume, and the contents of the source volume are automatically replicated into the destination volume. Candidates for replication (destination) volumes are automatically selected and presented to the user or the administrator, and replication volumes are automatically allocated, without requiring the user or the system administrator to be concerned with the characteristics of the storage devices.