Electrical computers and digital processing systems: memory – Storage accessing and control – Control technique
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-30
2001-09-04
Nguyen, Than (Department: 2187)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: memory
Storage accessing and control
Control technique
C711S004000, C711S163000, C711S111000, C711S112000, C711S115000, C711S152000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286087
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a storing apparatus using a storing medium such as optical disk, magnetic disk, floppy disk, or the like, a storage control method, and a storing medium. More particularly, the invention relates to a storing apparatus for allowing firmware on the side of a storing apparatus to manage an accessing function of a storing medium by a password which is inputted by the user, a storage control method, and a storing medium.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In recent years, storing apparatuses using various removable media such as magnetic tape apparatus, CD drive, DVD drive, MO drive, floppy disk apparatus, large capacity floppy apparatus, and the like which can be used in various computer apparatuses, a television, a video, and the like have been put into practical use. As for the storing apparatus using such a removable medium, since data in the medium can be referred, changed, or copied everywhere so long as the medium and the apparatus exist, there is a problem such that security of data in the medium cannot be maintained.
In a security system for maintaining the security of data of an input/output apparatus such as a disk drive or the like, a security function is provided for the OS of an upper apparatus, thereby managing an access to the input/output apparatus. That is, according to a security program of the OS, the user is allowed to set a password which is used to permit the access to the input/output apparatus by a set-up menu and, when data in a file or the like is preserved to a medium of the input/output apparatus, the password set by the user is written into a predetermined area of the medium by using a normal write command. When the user accesses the file in the medium after completion of the preservation, the user is requested to input the password and the password inputted by the user is collated with the password read out from the medium. When the coincidence of the collation of the password is obtained, the access to the file in the medium is permitted. When the password is different, the access to the file is inhibited. According to the security system as mentioned above, an illegal access to the input/output apparatus by the third person who does not know the password is inhibited, so that the security of data can be held.
In the storing apparatus such as a magnetooptic disk drive or the like using the removable medium, however, since the password of the medium can be read or written by a normal read/write command in the security system provided by the OS, it is difficult to sufficiently assure the security of data. That is, in the security system provided by the OS, since the position of the password for the file preserved in the medium is known, the password can be relatively easily illegally checked, changed, or erased by using the normal read/write command, so that the security of the data cannot be sufficiently assured. Although the removable medium can be ordinarily written and read out, depending on the file which is preserved, there is a case where it is desired that the writing after completion of the preservation is inhibited and only the reading is executed. However, the using method such that the writing of data in the medium is inhibited and only the reading is permitted is performed on a medium unit basis in accordance with physical shapes of opening portions formed in, for example, functional areas FA1 and FA2 of an MO cartridge. Consequently, there is an inconvenience such that the accessing form in which the writing and reading are permitted, the form in which the writing is inhibited and the reading is permitted, and the form in which the writing and reading are inhibited cannot be managed as necessary with respect to a plurality of data in the medium. In recent years, particularly, MO cartridge media having large capacities such as 540 MB and 640 MB have been put into practical use. In a manner similar to a hard disk, a method whereby one medium area is divided into a plurality of data areas called partitions and one partition logically distinguished as one virtual medium and is used has been adopted. As mentioned above, in the removable medium of a hard disk type having the partitions, if a different accessing form can be used every partition, it is extremely convenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a storing apparatus in which security of data preserved in a storing medium is improved and, when an area in the medium is divided into a plurality of data areas, a different access form can be selected every area.
The invention relates to a storing apparatus using, for example, a removable medium as a storing medium. According to the invention, the storing apparatus has functions of a medium information reading unit, a medium management information forming unit, and a command processing unit which are constructed by firmware of the storing apparatus. When the removable medium is inserted, the medium information reading unit reads out system information and access management information from a predetermined area of the removable medium. The medium management information forming unit forms medium management information including a password and/or an access kind code which is used to permit the access to each data area into a memory by the system information and the access management information so as to correspond to a plurality of logically divided data areas in the removable medium. When an access request command is received from, for example, an upper apparatus, the command processing unit discriminates the permission or inhibition of the access for an address and the kind of access of the access request command with reference to the medium management information. When it is possible to access, the command processing unit executes the access request command. When it is impossible to access, the command processing unit reports an error. In this instance, the system information has been recorded in a predetermined logic block address in the data area in the removable medium. The access management information has been recorded in an area which cannot be shown by the logic block address except for the user area of the removable medium. The access kind code is any one of a read access code to permit only the read access, a read/write access code to permit both of the read access and the write access, and a security code to permit the access only when the collation coincidence of passwords is derived. According to the storing apparatus of the invention as mentioned above, the kinds of accesses are managed as medium management information in correspondence to a plurality of data areas, for example, partitions in the removable medium. Consequently, even when the password which is used for the security access is illegally obtained, the security cannot be cancelled unless the correspondence relation such that the password belongs to which partition in the medium is known, so that further higher security of data can be assured as compared with a case where the security of the whole medium is held. The management of each access kind of all of the reading, reading/writing, and security corresponding to the data areas in the medium is performed on the storing apparatus side, so that a burden on the upper apparatus regarding the access management of the medium can be fairly reduced.
Further, even in the same medium, different access forms such as
I. read access of write inhibition and read permission
II. write/read access of the write permission and read permission
III. security access which needs a password can be arbitrarily determined as necessary in dependence on the data area. The optimum medium management according to the contents of data to be recorded can be performed. When the received password coincides with the password in the designated data area in the medium management information, the command processing unit updates the access kind code in the medium management information. As for the access management information on the remov
Ito Masahiro
Shigeyoshi Tanaka
Fujitsu Limited
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd
Nguyen Than
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