The present invention allows more than two devices to be connected to a single ATA bus. The devices are each assigned a unique identifier, and a controller selects a device by sending a selection command that includes a selection identifier across data lines of the ATA bus to the devices. The devices each receive the selection command and compare the selection identifier to the assigned identifier. The device which matches the selection identifier to its assigned identifier is selected, and the other devices are not selected.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/210,713, filed Jun. 9, 2000 entitled "Increasing the Disk Drive Count on a Single ATA Bus" which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Embodiments of the invention include a bus bridge that is capable of communicating with more than one MSC device coupled to it. In some embodiments, the bridge includes a LUN processor that translates different LUN numbers received from the bus into different addresses and LUNs for devices connected to the bridge. The bridge masks the fact that multiple MSC devices are coupled to it by reporting to the host that only a single device having multiple LUNs are coupled to the bridge.
