All The Claims

1. A mold assembly for forming a container from a preform having a neck, the mold assembly comprising:
(a) a pair of modular mold half shells each comprising:
(i) a pair of upper body mold sections having upper inner walls defining an upper cavity whose shape corresponds to an upper body portion of the container to be formed;
(ii) at least one pair of lower body mold sections each releasably secured with a corresponding one of the pair of upper body mold sections, the at least one pair of lower body mold sections having lower body inner walls defining a lower cavity whose shape corresponds to a lower body portion of the container to be formed; and,
(iii) first fasteners passing through the upper body mold sections and at least into the main lower body mold sections to releasably secure the upper body mold sections with the lower body mold sections; and,

(b) two mold half carriers surrounding the upper and lower body mold sections and being moveable between an open position allowing access to the two modular mold half shells and a closed position for formation of the container, and each of the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry therewith one of the upper body mold sections.
2. The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper body mold sections have outer walls with a continuous groove cut therein that extends axially around the first outer walls and the mold half carries have inner walls from which extends a flange half ring interconnecting member that is adapted to fit into the continuous groove of the outer walls of the upper body mold sections to maintain the vertical registry.
3. A mold assembly for forming a container from a preform having a neck, the mold assembly comprising:
(a) a pair of modular mold half shells each comprising:
(i) a pair of upper body mold sections having upper inner walls defining an upper cavity whose shape corresponds to an upper body portion of the container to be formed; and,
(ii) at least one pair of lower body mold sections each releasably secured with a corresponding one of the pair of upper body mold sections, the at least one pair of lower body mold sections having lower body inner walls defining a lower cavity whose shape corresponds to a lower body portion of the container to be formed, the lower body mold sections each comprising:

a main lower body mold section having an upper wall, a lower wall, and a main body inner wall defining a main body portion of the container to be formed, and,
a second shim mold section having second shim inner walls defining a second minor body portion of the container and the second shim mold section butting against the lower wall of the main lower body mold section; and,
(b) two mold half carriers surrounding the upper and lower body mold sections and being moveable between an open position allowing access to the two modular mold half shells and a closed position for formation of the container, and each of the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry therewith one of the upper body mold sections.
4. The mold assembly of claim 3 wherein the lower body mold sections each comprises:
a main lower body mold section having an upper wall, a lower wall, and a main body inner wall defining a main body portion of the container to be formed, and
a first shim mold section having first shim inner walls defining a first minor body portion of the container and being sandwiched between the upper body mold section and the upper wall of the main lower body mold section.
5. The mold assembly of claim 4 wherein the first fasteners pass through the upper body mold section, the first shim mold section and at least into the main lower body mold section to releasably secure the upper body mold section with the first shim mold section and the main lower body mold section.
6. The mold assembly of claim 3 wherein second fasteners pass through the second shim mold section and at least into the main lower body mold section to releasably secure the second shim mold section with the main lower body mold section.
7. The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower body mold sections each comprise:
a main lower body mold section having an upper wall, a lower wall, and a main body inner wall defining a main body portion of the container to be formed,
a first shim mold section having first shim inner walls defining a first minor body portion of the container and being sandwiched between the upper body mold section and the upper wall of the main lower body mold section; and
a second shim mold section having second shim inner walls defining a second minor body portion of the container and the second shim mold section butting against the lower wall of the main lower body mold section.
8. The mold assembly of claim 7 wherein the first fasteners pass through the upper body mold section, the first shim mold section and at least into the main lower body mold section to releasably secure the upper body mold section with the first shim mold section and the main lower body mold section, and wherein second fasteners pass through the second shim mold section and at least into the main lower body mold section to releasably secure the second shim mold section with the main lower body mold section.
9. The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the upper body mold section has an upper wall and each of the two modular mold half shells comprises:
a top cavity insert supported on a top wall of the upper body mold section; and,
the first fasteners passing through the top cavity insert, the upper body mold section and at least into the at least one lower body mold section to releasably secure the lower body mold section in fixed relation to the upper body mold section.
10. The mold assembly of claim 9 wherein each modular mold half shell comprises a bottom cavity insert and the lower body mold sections each comprise:
a main lower body mold section having upper and lower walls, and a main body inner wall defining a main body portion of the container to be formed,
a first shim mold section having first shim inner walls defining a first minor body portion of the container and being sandwiched between the upper body mold section and the upper wall of the main lower body mold section;
a second shim mold section having second shim inner walls defining a second minor body portion of the container and being sandwiched between the lower wall of the main lower body mold section and the bottom cavity insert; and,
second fasteners passing through each of the bottom cavity insert and the second shim mold section and into the at least one lower body mold section to releasably secure the bottom cavity insert, the second shim and the main lower body mold section together.
11. A mold assembly for forming a container from a preform having a neck, the mold assembly comprising:
(a) a pair of modular mold half shells each comprising:
(i) a pair of upper body mold sections having upper inner walls defining an upper cavity whose shape corresponds to an upper body portion of the container to be formed;
(ii) at least one pair of lower body mold sections each releasably secured with a corresponding one of the pair of upper body mold sections, the at least one pair of lower body mold sections having lower body inner walls defining a lower cavity whose shape corresponds to a lower body portion of the container to be formed; and,
(iii) the upper body mold section and the lower body mold sections each having respectively first and second outer walls and at least one of the first and second outer walls includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart recessed cut out slots extending axially there around to reduce heat transfer contact surface area between the mold half shells and the mold half carriers; and,

(b) two mold half carriers surrounding the upper and lower body mold sections and being moveable between an open position allowing access to the two modular mold half shells and a closed position for formation of the container, and each of the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry therewith one of the upper body mold sections.
12. The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein passageways extend in sealing relation through the upper body mold sections and the lower body mold sections for supplying a liquid to regulate temperature of the mold half shells.
13. The mold assembly of claim 1 further including a base half shell portion releasably secured with the lower body mold sections and having an inner wall defining with a bottom cavity base insert the shape for a base portion of the container.
14. The mold assembly of claim 2 wherein each of the two mold half carriers and the pair of modular mold half shells have parting walls where the respective mold half carriers and modular mold half shells meet, the mold carrier parting walls having moveable latches that extend across the parting walls of the modular mold half shells to secure the shells to the carriers.
15. A mold assembly for forming a container from a preform having a neck, the mold assembly comprising:
(a) a pair of modular mold half shells each comprising:
(i) a pair of upper body mold sections having upper inner walls defining an upper cavity whose shape corresponds to an upper body portion of the container to be formed, the upper body mold sections having first outer walls;
(ii) at least one pair of lower body mold sections each releasably secured with a corresponding one of the pair of upper body mold sections, the lower mold sections having second body outer walls, and the lower mold sections having lower inner walls defining a lower cavity whose shape corresponds to a lower body portion of the container to be formed;
(iii) at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned; and,
(iv) passageways extend in sealing relation through the top cavity inserts, the upper body mold sections and the at least one lower body mold sections; and,

(b) two mold half carriers having carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, the two mold half carriers being moveable between an open position allowing access to the two modular mold half shells and a closed position for formation of the container, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between the seating face and the mold half carriers.
16. The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein:
the upper body mold sections have first outer walls;
the lower mold sections have second outer walls, and
wherein the pair of modular mold half shells each further comprise at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned;
wherein the two mold half carriers have carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between the seating face and the mold half carriers; and,
wherein the first fasteners pass through the top cavity inserts, the upper body mold sections, and at least into the main lower body mold sections.
17. The mold assembly of claim 8 wherein:
the upper body mold sections have first outer walls;
the lower mold sections have second outer walls, and
wherein the pair of modular mold half shells each further comprise at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned;
wherein the two mold half carriers have carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between the seating face and the mold half carriers; and,
wherein first fasteners pass through the top cavity inserts, the upper body mold sections, the first shim mold sections and at least into the main lower body mold sections.
18. The mold assembly of claim 3 wherein:
the upper body mold sections have first outer walls;
the lower mold sections have second outer walls, and
wherein the pair of modular mold half shells each further comprise at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned; and
wherein the two mold half carriers have carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between the seating face and the mold half carriers.
19. The mold assembly of claim 4 wherein:
the upper body mold sections have first outer walls;
the lower mold sections have second outer walls, and
wherein the pair of modular mold half shells each further comprise at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned; and
wherein the two mold half carriers have carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between seating face and the mold half carriers.
20. The mold assembly of claim 11 wherein:
the upper body mold sections have first outer walls;
the lower mold sections have second outer walls, and
wherein the pair of modular mold half shells each further comprise at least two top cavity inserts releasably secured with corresponding upper body mold sections, the top cavity inserts having third outer walls, the top cavity inserts having an aperture through which the preform passes at least into the upper cavity, and the top cavity inserts having a seating face against which the neck of the preform is positioned; and
wherein the two mold half carriers have carrier inner walls surrounding the first, second and third outer walls, and the two mold half carriers releasably securing in vertical registry relative thereto the upper body mold sections so as to maintain the seating face of the top cavity inserts in a fixed position relative to the mold half carriers whereby adjustments to length and shape of the upper inner walls of the upper body mold sections and to the lower inner walls of the lower body mold sections may be made to vary length and shape of the container without effecting the fixed position between seating face and the mold half carriers.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of determining scheduling information of a base station in a network operating according to the Long Term Evolution (\u201cLTE\u201d) standard, the method comprising:
monitoring transmissions on the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (\u201cPDCCH\u201d) of the wireless base station;
maintaining a list of active Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (\u201cRNTI’s\u201d) assigned by the wireless base station to user equipment;
extracting PDCCH detections from the monitored transmissions;
applying at least one false alarm reduction strategy to eliminate invalid PDCCH detections from the extracted PDCCH detections, said false alarm reduction strategy including determining an RNTI that is valid for an extracted PDCCH detection, and determining if the valid RNTI is included in the list of active RNTI’s; and
determining scheduling information of the wireless base station from the extracted PDCCH detections.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes obtaining information regarding active RNTI’s from a secondary source.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the secondary source is the wireless base station, an adjacent cell, a controller in the network, or a node in the network that is distinct from the wireless base station.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes monitoring acquisition messages exchanged between the wireless base station and the user equipment that assign RNTI’s to user equipment and control transitioning of the user equipment from an idle state to an active state.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein only downlink acquisition messages are monitored, or only uplink acquisition messages are monitored.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
monitoring the Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (\u201cPDSCH\u201d) of the wireless base station;
using information derived from the PDSCH to verify if a PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection; and
if the PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection, adding the RNTI that is valid for the PDCCH detection to the list of active RNTI’s.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising obtaining decoding metrics from at least one PDSCH packet detected on the PDSCH, and using the decoding metrics to determine if a corresponding PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising identifying which resource blocks are active for the PDSCH messages, and determining at least one of individual PDCCH detections and combinations of PDCCH detections that are valid for the resource blocks that are determined to be active.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the false alarm reduction strategy further includes discarding extracted PDCCH detections that contain information which is inconsistent with at least one known PDCCH requirement.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one known PDCCH requirement includes at least one of:
a restriction on allowed Downlink Control Information formats;
a restriction on allowed modulation options
a restriction on allowed coding options;
a restriction on frequency hopping; and
a restriction on allowable combinations of download control information formats and transmission modes.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the false alarm reduction strategy further includes comparing PDCCH detections with each other, and determining that a PDCCH detection is invalid if it is inconsistent with other PDCCH detections.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein a PDCCH detection is determined to be invalid if it includes an apparent parameter change that is unlikely to be valid, the apparent parameter change being at least one of:
an apparent change of a modulation scheme that is unlikely to be valid;
an apparent change of a coding scheme that is unlikely to be valid; and
an apparent change in DCI format that is unlikely to be valid;
13. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes discarding a selected RNTI from the list of active RNTI’s if, during a specified time interval, no PDCCH detections are extracted for which the selected RNTI is the valid RNTI.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one false alarm reduction strategy further includes:
determining a pattern of RNTI assignment by the wireless base station; and
determining if the RNTI that is valid for the extracted PDCCH detection is consistent with the pattern of RNTI assignment.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes monitoring RRC messages to determine changes in status of active RNTI’s.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising imposing at least one restriction on operating rules of the wireless base station that provides at least one criterion for discriminating between valid PDCCH detections and invalid PDCCH detections.
17. A system comprising:
a sniffing device configured for receiving PDCCH transmissions from a wireless base station in a network operating according to the Long Term Evolution (\u201cLTE\u201d) standard; and
a controller coupled to the sniffing device, the controller being configured to:
monitor transmissions on the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (\u201cPDCCH\u201d) of the wireless base station;
maintain a list of active Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (\u201cRNTI’s\u201d) assigned by the wireless base station to user equipment;
extract PDCCH detections from the monitored transmissions;
apply at least one false alarm reduction strategy to eliminate invalid PDCCH detections from the extracted PDCCH detections, said false alarm reduction strategy including determining an RNTI that is valid for an extracted PDCCH detection, and determining if the valid RNTI is included in the list of active RNTI’s; and
determine scheduling information of the wireless base station from the extracted PDCCH detections.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes obtaining information regarding active RNTI’s from a secondary source.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the secondary source is the wireless base station, an adjacent cell, a controller in the network, or a node in the network that is distinct from the wireless base station.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes monitoring acquisition messages exchanged between the wireless base station and the user equipment that assign RNTI’s to user equipment and control transitioning of the user equipment from an idle state to an active state.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein the controller is configure to monitor only downlink acquisition messages or only uplink acquisition messages.
22. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to:
monitor the Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (\u201cPDSCH\u201d) of the wireless base station;
use information derived from the PDSCH to verify if a PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection; and
if the PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection, add the RNTI that is valid for the PDCCH detection to the list of active RNTI’s.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the controller is further configured to obtain decoding metrics from at least one PDSCH packet detected on the PDSCH, and use the decoding metrics to determine if a corresponding PDCCH detection is a valid PDCCH detection.
24. The system of claim 22, wherein the controller is further configured to identify which resource blocks are active for the PDSCH messages, and determine at least one of individual PDCCH detections and combinations of PDCCH detections that are valid for the resource blocks that are determined to be active.
25. The system of claim 17, wherein the false alarm reduction strategy further includes discarding extracted PDCCH detections that contain information which is inconsistent with at least one known PDCCH requirement.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the at least one known PDCCH requirement includes at least one of:
a restriction on allowed Downlink Control Information formats;
a restriction on allowed modulation options
a restriction on allowed coding options;
a restriction on frequency hopping; and
a restriction on allowable combinations of download control information formats and transmission modes.
27. The system of claim 17, wherein the false alarm reduction strategy further includes comparing PDCCH detections with each other, and determining that a PDCCH detection is invalid if it is inconsistent with other PDCCH detections.
28. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to determine that a PDCCH detection is invalid if it includes an apparent parameter change that is unlikely to be valid, the apparent parameter change being at least one of:
an apparent change of a modulation scheme that is unlikely to be valid;
an apparent change of a coding scheme that is unlikely to be valid; and
an apparent change in DCI format that is unlikely to be valid;
29. The system of claim 17, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes discarding a selected RNTI from the list of active RNTI’s if, during a specified time interval, no PDCCH detections are extracted for which the selected RNTI is the valid RNTI.
30. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one false alarm reduction strategy further includes:
determining a pattern of RNTI assignment by the wireless base station; and
determining if the RNTI that is valid for the extracted PDCCH detection is consistent with the pattern of RNTI assignment.
31. The system of claim 17, wherein maintaining a list of active RNTI’s includes monitoring RRC messages to determine changes in status of active RNTI’s.
32. The system of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to impose at least one restriction on operating rules of the wireless base station that provides at least one criterion for discriminating between valid PDCCH detections and invalid PDCCH detections.
33. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program, executable by a machine, for operating a sniffing device configured for receiving PDCCH transmissions from a wireless base station in a network operating according to the Long Term Evolution (\u201cLTE\u201d) standard, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:
monitoring transmissions on the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (\u201cPDCCH\u201d) of the wireless base station;
maintaining a list of active Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (\u201cRNTI’s\u201d) assigned by the wireless base station to user equipment;
extracting PDCCH detections from the monitored transmissions;
applying at least one false alarm reduction strategy to eliminate invalid PDCCH detections from the extracted PDCCH detections, said false alarm reduction strategy including determining an RNTI that is valid for an extracted PDCCH detection, and determining if the valid RNTI is included in the list of active RNTI’s; and
determining scheduling information of the wireless base station from the extracted PDCCH detections.

1. A feeding device for introducing a piece of linen to be ironed into an ironing unit by means of suction, the feeding device being provided with
a suction shaft into which the piece of linen can be sucked;
a top suction portion which is provided for sucking the piece of linen into the suction shaft;
wherein the feeding device comprises a blocking clamp which is provided to clamp the piece of linen in a clamping position, and which is arranged in the feeding device in such a way that there is located after the clamping of the piece of linen a portion of this piece of linen above this blocking clamp that can be sucked by the top suction portion into the suction shaft,
wherein the feeding device is further provided with a closing element for closing off the suction shaft on the side which is located at the level of the ironing unit.
2. Feeding device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the feeding device is provided with a bottom suction portion which is provided for further taking the piece of linen, which is partly sucked up by the top suction portion into the suction shaft, along in the direction of the ironing unit once the blocking clamp has proceeded to a release position wherein this blocking clamp has released the piece of linen and once the top suction portion is set to non-active.
3. Feeding device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the bottom suction portion consists of one or more perforated conveyor belts, wherein the piece of linen is sucked against the perforated conveyor belts as a result of suction through the perforations and is further taken along.
4. Feeding device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the top and bottom suction portions suck in the linen under vacuum.
5. Feeding device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a rotational movement of the blocking clamp is activated by means of a pneumatic cylinder.
6. Feeding device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the feeding device is provided with rotatably arranged brushes which are provided for brushing off the side edges of the piece of linen during the introduction thereof into the ironing unit.
7. An ironing device, comprising an ironing unit for ironing of linen and a feeding unit for feeding the linen to be ironed into the ironing unit, wherein the feeding unit comprises a feeding device according to claim 1.
8. Feeding device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the blocking clamp is arranged so as to be able to rotate between the clamping position and the release position.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from at least one information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said apparatus comprising:
an exclusive control section performing exclusive control of a file when said channel controller receives from said information processing apparatus said requests to input and output data of the file.
2. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said requests to input and output data are sent in accordance with at least two types of network file system protocols, and if, during said exclusive control which is performed upon accepting one of said requests to input and output data sent in accordance with one of network file system protocols, another said request to inputoutput data sent in accordance with another network file system protocol is accepted, an effect of said exclusive control is also reflected on the another request to inputoutput data.
3. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein a memory area of said storage device is managed in a logical volume serving as a unit, the logical volume being logically set on the memory area, and
said IO processor performs exclusive control of said logical volume in response to said exclusive control of the file.
4. A storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said apparatus comprising:
a section receiving from said information processing apparatus a request for information specifying a storage location of a file on a memory area of said storage device, and sending said information to said information processing apparatus;
a section receiving a request to read data in blocks as units from said information processing apparatus, in which the request is generated based on said information, and outputting an IO request corresponding to the request to read data to said storage device; and
a section sending data read from said storage device to said information processing apparatus.
5. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of the channel controllers are provided therein, and the channel controllers include at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a LAN and at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a Fibre Channel.
6. A storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said apparatus comprising:
a section receiving from said information processing apparatus a request for information specifying a storage location of a file on a memory area of said storage device, and sending said information to said information processing apparatus; and
a section receiving a request to write data in blocks as units and data to be written from said information processing apparatus, in which the request is generated based on said information, and outputting to said storage device an IO request corresponding to the request to write data and the data to be written.
7. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the channel controllers are provided therein, and the channel controllers include at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a LAN and at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a Fibre Channel.
8. A storage device controlling apparatus including a plurality of channel controllers, each having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said apparatus comprising:
a section setting at least one of logical volumes logically set on a memory area of said storage device as a shared logical volume accessible from each of said channel controllers; and
a section performing fail-over based on take-over information of each of said channel controllers, in which the take-over information is stored in said shared logical volume and used when one of said channel controllers takes over processing of another one of said channel controllers.
9. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said fail-over is performed in any one of cases where a request to perform said fail-over is received from said information processing apparatus and where a fault occurs in said another channel controller.
10. A storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from at least one information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device,
wherein said file access processing section stores identification information of accessible said information processing apparatus, and accepts said requests to input and output data only in a case where said requests to input and output data are sent from said information processing apparatus for which said identification information is stored.
11. A method of controlling a storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from at least one information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving said requests to input and output data of a file from said information processing apparatus by said channel controller; and
performing exclusive control of said file.
12. A method of controlling the storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said requests to input and output data are sent in accordance with at least two types of network file system protocols, and if, during said exclusive control which is performed upon accepting one of said requests to input and output data sent in accordance with one of the network file system protocols, another said request to inputoutput data sent in accordance with another network file system protocol is accepted, an effect of said exclusive control is also reflected on the another request to inputoutput data.
13. A method of controlling the storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 11,
wherein a memory area of said storage device is managed in a logical volume serving as a unit, the logical volume logically being set on the memory area, and
said IO processor performs exclusive control of said logical volume in response to said exclusive control of the file.
14. A method of controlling a storage device controlling apparatus including:
a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device; and
a section receiving a request to read data in blocks as units sent from said information processing apparatus, and outputting an IO request corresponding to the request to read data to said storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving a request for information specifying a storage location of a file on a memory area of said storage device from said information processing apparatus, and sending said information to said information processing apparatus;
receiving said request to read data in blocks as units from said information processing apparatus, in which the request is generated based on said information;
outputting said IO request corresponding to said request to read data to said storage device; and
sending data read from said storage device to said information processing apparatus.
15. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of the channel controllers are provided therein, and the channel controllers include at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a LAN and at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a Fibre Channel.
16. A method of controlling a storage device controlling apparatus including:
a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data sent in files as units from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device; and
a section receiving a request to write data in blocks as units sent from said information processing apparatus, and outputting an IO request corresponding to the request to write data to said storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving a request for information specifying a storage location of a file on a memory area of said storage device from said information processing apparatus, and sending said information to said information processing apparatus;
receiving said request to write data in blocks as units and data to be written from said information processing apparatus, in which the request is generated based on said information; and
outputting said IO request corresponding to said request to write data and said data to be written to said storage device.
17. A storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a plurality of the channel controllers are provided therein, and the channel controllers include at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a LAN and at least one enabled to communicate with the information processing apparatus through a Fibre Channel.
18. A method of controlling a storage device controlling apparatus including a plurality of channel controllers, each having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from an information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said data to input and output data to a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
setting at least one of logical volumes logically set on a memory area of said storage device as a shared logical volume accessible from each of said channel controllers; and
performing fail-over based on take-over information of each of said channel controllers, in which the take-over information is stored in said shared logical volume and used when one of said channel controllers takes over processing of another one of said channel controllers.
19. A method of controlling the storage device controlling apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said fail-over is performed in any one of cases where a request to perform said fail-over is received from said information processing apparatus and where a fault occurs in said another channel controller.
20. A method of controlling a storage device controlling apparatus including a channel controller having a circuit board on which a file access processing section and an IO processor are formed, the file access processing section receiving requests to input and output data in files as units sent from at least one information processing apparatus via a network, the IO processor outputting IO requests corresponding to said requests to input and output data to a storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
storing identification information of accessible said information processing apparatus by said file access processing section; and
accepting said requests to input and output data only in a case where said requests to input and output data are sent from said information processing apparatus for which said identification information is stored.