Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Polycom, Inc.

Paul Ramsay

David C Banks

Kha Sin Teow

Jieming Zhu

Kumar Malavalli

Bent Stoevhase

Steven L Farnworth

Ezio Valdevit

Vince Guan

Wendy Y Dorn

In a system comprising a first fabric and a plurality of devices coupled to the fabric by Fiber Channel connections, the devices are logically grouped to form configurations and zones. A configuration includes at least one zone, and each zone includes at least one device as a member of the zone. Communications between the devices is restricted according to the configuration currently in effect. For example, one device may be permitted to communicate with another device only if they are members of a common zone.

Node device cooperating with switch which implements zones in a fibre channel system

In a system comprising a first fabric and a plurality of devices coupled to the fabric by Fibre Channel connections, the devices are logically grouped to form configurations and zones. A configuration includes at least one zone, and each zone includes at least one device as a member of the zone. Communications between the devices is restricted according to the configuration currently in effect. For example, one device may be permitted to communicate with another device only if they are members of a common zone.

Method and system for creating and implementing zones within a fibre channel system

In a system comprising a first fabric and a plurality of devices coupled to the fabric by fiber channel connections, the devices are logically grouped to form configurations and zones. A configuration includes at least one zone, and each zone includes at least one device as a member of the zone. Communications between the devices is restricted according to the configuration currently in effect. For example, one device may be permitted to communicate with another device only if they are members of a common zone.

Method and system for creating and implementing zones in hardware within a fiber channel system

A method and system for a management station managing a plurality of routing devices within a fabric. In one embodiment, this management of routing devices comprising the fabric occurs in the Storage Area Network environment. Use is made of a protocol which already exists in a Storage Area Network environment, such as the Fibre Channel Protocol for SCSI (&ldquo;FCP&rdquo;, for managing routing devices within a fabric. Each routing device comprising the fabric is assigned a logical unit number, which, in one embodiment, is based on the domain identifiers of each routing device. Further, the routing device to which the management station is physically is also labeled as LUN , and serves as the logical fabric SCSI Enclosure Services controller unit. The fabric interacts with the management station as though the fabric were a logical fabric SCSI Enclosure Services device coupled to a plurality of logical fabric SCSI Enclosure Services units. The management station is thus able to obtain information about, and manage, any of the routing devices comprising the fabric.

SCSI enclosure services

A system for remotely managing a device over a network comprises a data sampling engine, for receiving new data from the device, the new data corresponding to a component module of the device; a model object, coupled to the data sampling engine, for comparing the new data from the device with old data; and a view object, coupled to the model object, for updating the graphical representation of the device corresponding to the component module of the device. In a preferred embodiment, the device is a fiber channel switch. A method for managing a network device comprises the steps of: receiving new device data from the data sampling engine, the new device data corresponding to information regarding a particular module of the device; comparing the new device data with a set of old device data, the old device data corresponding to information which was received prior to receiving the new device data and which regards the particular module of the device; and transmitting a notification signal to the view object.

System and method for managing fibre channel switching devices

In a system comprising a first fabric and a plurality of devices coupled to the fabric by fibre channel connections, the devices are logically grouped to form configurations and zones. A configuration includes at least one zone, and each zone includes at least one device as a member of the zone. Communications between the devices is restricted according to the configuration currently in effect. For example, one device may be permitted to communicate with another device only if they are members of a common zone.

A modular Fibre Channel switch includes a data switching path and a message switching path to provide logical point to point connections between switch ports. The data switching path includes a bank of shared SRAM memory devices that are accessed in a time-sliced protocol by each switch port. A receiving switch port writes a data frame to the bank of shared SRAM and the transmitting switch port then reads the data frame from the shared SRAM thereby effecting the logical point to point connection. Because the switch port includes a frame logic circuit that allows for an arbitrary start of frame address, each frame can be written to the first available DRAM device thus eliminating the need to buffer the data frame while waiting for a predetermined DRAM device to cycle in the time sliced protocol. The message switching path includes a message crossbar switch that is barrel shifted in a time sliced fashion to effect message passing among the switch ports. The switch includes a motherboard containing an embedded G_Port ASIC, a message crossbar switch to handle message passing and shared memory that is used to perform data switching. The switch also includes a central processing unit daughter board and external switch port daughter boards.

Fibre channel switching system and method

A probing device for resolving the limitations of fabric registration by providing a fabric with a system and method for concurrently probing multiple end-devices, which would otherwise be unusable to register with the fabric, to registration information. In addition, by relying upon the probing device, a fabric can avoid requiring any end-devices from having to initiate registration with the fabric.

Probing device

A modular Fibre Channel switch includes a data switching path and a message switching path to provide logical point to point connections between switch ports. The data switching path includes a bank of shared SRAM memory devices that are accessed in a time-sliced protocol by each switch port. A receiving switch port writes a data frame to the bank of shared SRAM and the transmitting switch port then reads the data frame from the shared SRAM thereby effecting the logical point to point connection. Because the switch port includes a frame logic circuit that allows for an arbitrary start of frame address, each frame can be written to the first available DRAM device thus eliminating the need to buffer the data frame while waiting for a predetermined DRAM device to cycle in the time sliced protocol. The message switching path includes a message crossbar switch that is barrel shifted in a time sliced fashion to effect message passing among the switch ports. The switch includes a motherboard containing an embedded G.sub.-- Port ASIC, a message crossbar switch to handle message passing and shared memory that is used to perform data switching. The switch also includes a central processing unit daughter board and external switch port daughter boards.

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Paul Ramsay