COMPUTER NETWORK WITH RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT REMOVABLE MEDIA SERVICES

摘要

A computer network (10) includes workstations (12), file servers (14), a cabling system (16), and removable media servers (24). Removable media drives (26) couple to the removable media servers (24), and removable media (30) are removably loaded into the drives (26). The file servers (14) may reside in restricted access areas (22), but no such requirement is placed on the removable media servers (24) or their associated drives (26). A workstation (12) originates a request (64) for removable media data (68). The request (64) is redirected (60) from the workstation (12) through the network (10) to a file server (14). A network operating system (NOS) (84) running on the file server (14) passes the request (64) to a removable media redirector (100), which redirects the request (64) back through the network (10) to a removable media server (24). The removable media server (24) obtains the requested data (68) and routes these data back to the requesting file server (14). The file server (14) then passes the requested data (68) back through the NOS (84), where they are again routed through the network (10), this time to the requesting workstation (12). A database (104) is maintained at the file server (14) for use in managing the use of removable media (30) on the network (10).