Dynamic configuration of NPIV virtual ports in a fibre channel network
First Claim
1. A method of dynamically configuring Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports in a network, comprising:
- accessing a defined Fibre Channel network peripheral library (PLIB) microcontroller interface library;
modifying a bitmask size of a port table definition of the PLIB from a first defined size to a greater customized size to support a number of SCSI targets and accommodate port indices to allow user space applications to utilize NPIV functionality in an operating system kernel for the NPIV SCSI transport ports and perform endpoint creation on demand by the user space applications;
mapping a plurality of virtual ports to a single physical base port;
receiving a request to reconfigure the Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports;
during runtime of data storage operations, dynamically reconfiguring the plurality of virtual ports from a first mapping to a second mapping by assigning the virtual ports to a different physical base port in accordance with a defined port bitmask to perform a data transfer operation within a storage system;
enabling an NPIV mode for the different physical base port upon the reconfiguring; and
configuring the different physical base port using an endpoint address that identifies each port with a transport port ID (tpid) and a respective system address, online status, and transport-specific set of properties.
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Abstract
Embodiments are described for systems and methods that facilitate dynamic configuration of NPIV virtual ports in a Fiber Channel network environment. SCSI target endpoints are virtualized through NPIV mapping mechanisms. The assignment of many virtual ports to one or more base ports through the NPIV mapping allows data storage systems to be reconfigured dynamically or on-the-fly while the system is up and running. This also allows movement of virtual ports among physical ports, or even among different systems in the network. In a highly available system, such as critical data recovery systems, the ability to migrate data on-the-fly by moving endpoints port-to-port or system-to-system greatly facilitates the ability for data to be maintained and protected in a non-disruptive manner.
54 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of dynamically configuring Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports in a network, comprising:
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accessing a defined Fibre Channel network peripheral library (PLIB) microcontroller interface library; modifying a bitmask size of a port table definition of the PLIB from a first defined size to a greater customized size to support a number of SCSI targets and accommodate port indices to allow user space applications to utilize NPIV functionality in an operating system kernel for the NPIV SCSI transport ports and perform endpoint creation on demand by the user space applications; mapping a plurality of virtual ports to a single physical base port; receiving a request to reconfigure the Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports; during runtime of data storage operations, dynamically reconfiguring the plurality of virtual ports from a first mapping to a second mapping by assigning the virtual ports to a different physical base port in accordance with a defined port bitmask to perform a data transfer operation within a storage system; enabling an NPIV mode for the different physical base port upon the reconfiguring; and configuring the different physical base port using an endpoint address that identifies each port with a transport port ID (tpid) and a respective system address, online status, and transport-specific set of properties. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of dynamically configuring virtual Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports in a network, comprising:
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accessing a defined Fibre Channel network peripheral library (PLIB) microcontroller interface library; modifying a bitmask size of a port table definition of the PLIB from a first defined size to a greater customized size to support a number of SCSI targets and accommodate port indices to allow user space applications to utilize NPIV functionality in an operating system kernel for the NPIV SCSI transport ports and perform endpoint creation on demand by the user space applications; maintaining a port table that contains a plurality of physical base ports and plurality of virtual ports, wherein each physical base port and each virtual port has a unique port index; associating the physical base ports and virtual ports of the port table with a physical base port of a networked device through a mapping process to define a first virtual port map; and upon receiving a reconfiguration request and during runtime of data storage operations, dynamically reconfiguring the physical base ports and virtual ports to a second virtual port map through the mapping process by assigning the virtual ports to a different physical base port in accordance with the port table; enabling an NPIV mode for the different physical base port upon the reconfiguring; and configuring the different physical base port using an endpoint address that identifies each port with a transport port ID (tpid) and a respective system address, online status, and transport-specific set of properties. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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15. T method of m 14 wherein the data transfer operation is performed between one of:
- two transport ports in a device of the storage system, and two storage subsystems each containing one or more storage devices of the storage system.
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20. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having machine readable code embodied therein for dynamically configuring Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports in a network, comprising by:
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accessing a defined Fibre Channel network peripheral library (PLIB) microcontroller interface library; modifying a bitmask size of a port table definition of the PLIB from a first defined size to a greater customized size to support a number of SCSI targets and accommodate port indices to allow user space applications to utilize NPIV functionality in an operating system kernel for the NPIV SCSI transport ports and perform endpoint creation on demand by the user space applications; mapping a plurality of virtual ports to a single physical base port; receiving a request to reconfigure the Fibre Channel NPIV SCSI transport ports; and during runtime of data storage operations, dynamically reconfiguring the plurality of virtual ports from a first mapping to a second mapping by assigning the virtual ports to a different physical base port in accordance with a defined port bitmask to perform a data transfer operation within a storage system; enabling an NPIV mode for the different physical base port upon the reconfiguring; and configuring the different physical base port using an endpoint address that identifies each port with a transport port ID (tpid) and a respective system address, online status, and transport-specific set of properties, and wherein the transport-specific set of properties comprise a link speed and firmware version for the ports.
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Specification