International Business Machines Corporation

Evan Rivera

Christopher J Colonna

Roger Gregory Hathorn

John R Flanagan

Patricia G Driever

Richard Mark Sczepczenski

Mooheng Zee

A host port is enabled for security. In response to a determination by the host port that authentication or security association negotiation with a storage port cannot be completed successfully, the host port determines whether an audit mode indicator has been enabled in a login response from the storage port. The host port preserves input/output (I/O) access to the storage port based on determining whether the audit mode indicator has been enabled in the login response from the storage port.

Maintenance of access for security enablement on a host system

A storage port receives a login request. The storage port configures an audit mode indicator as enabled in a login response to a host port to enter a security enabled mode to indicate to the host port that Input/Output (I/O) operations are to be transmitted from the host port to the storage port even if authentication or security association negotiation with the storage port cannot be completed successfully.

Maintenance of access for security enablement in a storage device

Aspects of the invention include detecting that a rekey timer has expired. The rekey timer is one of a shared key rekey timer for a current shared key between the first node and a second node, and a session key rekey timer for a session key used in a secure communication between a channel on the first node and a channel on the second node. The session key was created based on the current shared key and is used for encrypting data in the secure communication. Based on the rekey timer being the shared key rekey timer, a new shared key is obtained and stored as the current shared key. Based on the rekey timer being the session key rekey timer, a new session key that is based at least in part on the current shared key is obtained and used in the secure communication.

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Carmel, NY, United States of America

Evan Rivera