Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Carlos Alonso

Richard L Hammons

Subhojit Roy

Naveen Maveli

Richard A Walter

Cirillo Lino Costantino

Michael Yiu-Wing Pong

Systems particularly a virtualization switch or a storage device, which include virtual ports connected to virtual devices with virtual worldwide names and virtual LUNs. Because Fibre Channel environment hosts can track worldwide names from one port to another and allow continuity in that regard, the virtual worldwide names are provided with relevant virtual LUNs and connected these to virtual ports so that the virtual devices can be moved as desired to overcome failures or to allow load balancing.

Method and apparatus for providing virtual ports with attached virtual devices in a storage area network

Managing cluster membership and providing and managing locks in the switches forming the interconnecting network. To manage the cluster membership, a zone is created, with indicated members existing in the zone and the zone being managed by the switches. The nodes communicate their membership events, such as alive messages, using an API to work with the switch to which they are attached. The desired membership algorithm is executed by the switches, preferably in a distributed manner. Each switch then enforces the membership policies, including preventing operations from evicted nodes. This greatly simplifies the programs used on the nodes and unburdens them from many time consuming tasks, thus providing improved cluster performance. In a like manner, the switches in the fabric manage the resource locks. The nodes send their lock requests, such as creation and ownership requests, to the switch to which they are connected using an API. The switches then perform the desired lock operation and provide a response to the requesting node. Again, this greatly simplifies the programs used on the nodes and unburdens them from many time consuming activities, providing improved cluster performance.

Method and device for managing cluster membership by use of storage area network fabric

Placing virtualization agents in the switches which comprise the SAN fabric. Higher level virtualization management functions are provided in an external management server. Conventional HBAs can be utilized in the hosts and storage units. In a first embodiment, a series of HBAs are provided in the switch unit. The HBAs connect to bridge chips and memory controllers to place the frame information in dedicated memory. Routine translation of known destinations is done by the HBA, based on a virtualization table provided by a virtualization CPU. If a frame is not in the table, it is provided to the dedicated RAM. Analysis and manipulation of the frame headers is then done by the CPU, with a new entry being made in the HBA table and the modified frames then redirected by the HBA into the fabric. This can be done in either a standalone switch environment or in combination with other switching components located in a director level switch. In an alternative embodiment, specialized hardware scans incoming frames and detects the virtualized frames which need to be redirected. The redirection is then handled by translation of the frame header information by hardware table-based logic and the translated frames are then returned to the fabric. Handling of frames not in the table and setup of hardware tables is done by an onboard CPU.

Host bus adaptor-based virtualization switch

An adjunct processor controls an inter-fabric service link (IFSL) coupled to at least two independent SAN switching networks. The inter-fabric service link is coupled between multiple switching fabrics to allow the attached switching fabrics to be logically managed as a single entity while still being physically independent of each other. The IFSL does not transmit nor receive data being transmitted from a storage device to a host; rather, only management data is transmitted along the IFSL. The IFSL includes an inter-fabric adjunct processor, and a plurality of connections to the attached switching fabrics on which the IFSL communicates with IFSL agents operating on various switching elements within the attached switching fabrics. IFSL agents generate management data corresponding to the particular switching element on which the agent operates. This management data is intermittently transmitted to the IFSL for processing. Upon receipt of this management data, the IFSL updates a fabric map containing the corresponding switching element according to the received management data. As a result, the IFSL has a current snapshot of the status and functionability of each of the switching elements within the attached switching fabrics. Additionally, the IFSL may respond to the received management data by transmitting operation requests to a switching element.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Carlos Alonso