Method and apparatus for configuring fabrics within a fibre channel system
First Claim
1. A method for configuring a system including a plurality of components that are interconnected via links used to transfer information between two components, wherein each component in the system supports service parameters used in communicating with other components in the system, and wherein the plurality of components including at least two components whose corresponding service parameters differ, the method comprising the steps of:
- A. determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for communicating across the system;
B. determining which components support at least a first set of service parameters that are compatible, the first set defining service parameters that are compatible for every component in a single fabric;
C. identifying groups of components that have compatible service parameters, the identification of groups of components having compatible service parameters establishing the configuration of the system;
D. identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of service parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric;
E. determining whether the service parameters supported by every component in at least one group are identical; and
F. when the service parameters supported by every component in the at least one group are not identical, modifying the service parameters for at least one component in the at least one group so that the service parameters supported by every component in the at least one group are identical.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for configuring a system that includes a plurality of interconnected components that each supports service parameters for communicating with other components in the system. A determination is made as to which components support service parameters that are compatible, and groups of components having compatible service parameters are identified. Adjacent components exchange information frames that identify their service parameters. Each component compares its service parameters with those of its adjacent components to determine whether they are compatible, updating its own service parameters if necessary. Any component that updates its service parameters issues another information frame. Thus, information frames are exchanged until it is determined which components support compatible service parameters, and what service parameters are to be used for communicating among those components. Additionally, a unique address is automatically assigned to every port in the system. Control over the entire range of available addresses is initially granted to a master component, which assigns unique addresses to its own ports, and then relinquishes control over ranges of addresses to other components which each becomes the managers of the addresses over which it is granted control. Each address manager assigns unique addresses to its ports, and if any extra addresses are available, relinquishes control over those extra addresses to another component.
94 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for configuring a system including a plurality of components that are interconnected via links used to transfer information between two components, wherein each component in the system supports service parameters used in communicating with other components in the system, and wherein the plurality of components including at least two components whose corresponding service parameters differ, the method comprising the steps of:
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A. determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for communicating across the system; B. determining which components support at least a first set of service parameters that are compatible, the first set defining service parameters that are compatible for every component in a single fabric; C. identifying groups of components that have compatible service parameters, the identification of groups of components having compatible service parameters establishing the configuration of the system; D. identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of service parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric; E. determining whether the service parameters supported by every component in at least one group are identical; and F. when the service parameters supported by every component in the at least one group are not identical, modifying the service parameters for at least one component in the at least one group so that the service parameters supported by every component in the at least one group are identical. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for configuring a system including a plurality of interconnected components that are interconnected according to a fabric topology and via links used in transferring information between two components, each component supporting service parameters used in communicating with other components in the system, the plurality of components including at least two components whose corresponding service parameters differ, the method comprising the steps of:
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A. determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for communicating across the system; and
determining which components support at least a first set of service parameters that are compatible, the first set defining service parameters that are compatible for every component in a single fabric;B. identifying groups of components that have compatible service parameters, the identification of groups of components having compatible service parameters establishing the configuration of the system, and identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric; C. determining which components within each group are interconnected by at least one path of links and components that supports the service parameters that are compatible for every component in the group; D. identifying regions of components within each group that are interconnected by at least one path of links and components that supports the service parameters that are compatible for every component in the group; E. establishing a set of fabric-wide service parameters that define a set of compatible service parameters for every component in a single fabric, compatibility for the set of fabric-wide service parameters for a first pair of components connected via a link being insufficient to ensure communication between the first pair of components; and F. establishing a set of region-wide service parameters that define a set of compatible service parameters for every component in a single region, compatibility for the sets of fabric-wide and region-wide service parameters for a second pair of components connected via a link being sufficient to ensure communication between the second pair of components; and
whereinstep A includes determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for the set of fabric-wide service parameters; step B includes identifying groups of components whose sets of fabric-wide service parameters are compatible, each group identifying a separate fabric; step C includes determining which components within each group are interconnected by at least one path of links and components that support the group'"'"'s set of compatible fabric-wide service parameters and that further support compatible sets of region-wide parameters; and step D includes identifying regions of components within each group that are interconnected by at least one path of links and components that support the group'"'"'s set of compatible fabric-wide service parameters and that further support compatible sets of region-wide service parameters. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for configuring a system including a plurality of interconnected components, each component supporting service parameters used in communicating with other components in the system, the plurality of components including at least two components whose corresponding service parameters differ, the method comprising the steps of:
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A. determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for communicating across the system; and
determining which components support at least a first set of service parameters that are compatible, the first set defining service parameters that are compatible for every component in a single fabric;B. identifying groups of components that have compatible service parameters, the identification of groups of components having compatible service parameters establishing the configuration of the system, and identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric; wherein step B includes identifying each group of components having compatible service parameters with a common group name, wherein each component has a unique identification name, wherein step B further includes identifying each group of components having compatible service parameters by adopting the unique identification name of one of the components in the group as the common group name; and wherein step B further includes the steps of; C. assigning each component a name priority; and D. adopting as the common group name the unique identification name of a component in the group that has the highest name priority.
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23. A method for configuring a system including a plurality of interconnected components that are interconnected according to a fabric topology, each component supporting service parameters used in communicating with other components in the system, the plurality of components including at least two components whose corresponding service parameters differ, the method comprising the steps of:
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A. determining which components support service parameters that are compatible for communicating across the system; and
determining which components support at least a first set of service parameters that are compatible, the first set defining service parameters that are compatible for every component in a single fabric;B. identifying groups of components that have compatible service parameters, the identification of groups of components having compatible service parameters establishing the configuration of the system, and identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric; C. determining whether the service parameters supported by every component in at least one group are identical; D. when the service parameters for every component in the at least one group are not identical, modifying the service parameters for at least one component in the at least one group so that the service parameters supported by every component in the at least one group are identical; wherein steps A-D include the steps of; E. exchanging information frames between each pair of components that are adjacent each other in the system, adjacent components being directly coupled via a data link, the information frame exchanged between each pair of adjacent components specifying the service parameters of the components forming the pair; F. comparing each component'"'"'s service parameters with those of its adjacent components to determine whether they are compatible; and G. when the service parameters for a pair of adjacent components are compatible but not identical, modifying the service parameters for at least one of the components forming the pair so that the service parameters for the components forming the pair are identical; wherein when the service parameters are modified in step G for any component, steps A-D further include the steps of; H. identifying the components whose service parameters were modified as modified components; I. exchanging information frames between each pair of components that are adjacent each other in the system and including at least one modified component, the information frames exchanged between each pair of adjacent components specifying the service parameters of the components forming the pair; J. comparing the service parameters of each modified component with those of its adjacent components to determine whether they are compatible; K. when the service parameters for a pair of adjacent components that includes a modified component are compatible but not identical, modifying the service parameters for at least one of the components forming the pair so that the service parameters for the components forming the pair are identical; and L. when the service parameters are modified in step K for any component, identifying only those components whose service parameters were modified in step K as modified components and returning to step I; wherein the components are interconnected according to a fabric topology, and wherein; step B includes identifying groups of components supporting compatible first sets of parameters, each group identifying a separate fabric; and steps E-L include transferring information frames between adjacent components that are in separate fabrics.
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Specification