Emulex Design & Manufacturing Corporation

Hugh Le

Bruce Gregory Warren

William Patrick Goodwin

David Alexander Neufeld

Brett Talmadge White

Calvin Springer Hall, Iv

Given the different configurations for SAS and SATA Host and Target Ports, embodiments of the present invention automatically detect the configuration of SATA and SAS Phys when any device is inserted into a port enclosure and properly configure the connection regardless of the Phy configuration of the connected device. When a device is connected to the system, the port listens for either a SATA or SAS OOB signal to determine if the receive pin of the port is properly connected to the transmit signal of the attached device. By switching the configuration periodically and listening for the OOB signal, the port can determine which configuration is proper. Once a signal is detected, the port can properly configure the connection and continue with the SATA or SAS insertion algorithm. A user may alternatively choose which configuration to use and bypass the automatic detection and configuration.

Detection and configuration of SAS/SATA connection

Auto-discrimination between FC and SATA devices upon insertion of a device into a port of a FAST-compatible switch is disclosed. Without user intervention, the port is able to determine the type of device attached, set the appropriate data rate in the Phy or SERDES and, in the case of FC or SATA drives, start the disk insertion process into the active switch zones. The SERDES is first initialized to FC speeds, and the receive path is searched for a receive signal. Upon detecting a receive signal, the detection circuitry then checks to see if a valid SATA Out Of Band (OOB) sequence is received. If a valid SATA OOB sequence is received, the SERDES is configured for SATA speeds and analog settings. If a valid SATA OOB sequence is not received, and instead a FC auto-negotiation process runs to completion, the SERDES remains at FC speeds.

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Costa Mesa, CA, United States of America

Hugh Le