Method and apparatus for testing loop pathway integrity in a fibre channel arbitrated loop
First Claim
1. A method for performing an integrity test in a fibre channel arbitrated loop in order to determine whether any errors are present in the loop, the loop including a fibre channel switch element the method comprising:
- sending a fibre channel frame through the arbitrated loop;
receiving the fibre channel frame after it has traversed the arbitrated loop;
performing a data compare between the fibre channel frame that was sent and the fibre channel frame that is received;
detecting internal errors, if any, in the switch element; and
if an internal error is detected, isolating a port that generated the error;
wherein the step of sending the frame through the arbitrated loop comprises sending the frame through a plurality of ports within the switch, the ports being connected in series with a receive path of one port being connected to a transmit path of a next port.
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Abstract
A method for performing a fibre channel arbitrated loop integrity test using a fibre channel switch element is provided. The method includes, sending a fibre channel frame through the arbitrated loop; receiving the fibre channel frame after it has traversed through the arbitrated loop; performing a data compare between the fibre channel frame that was sent and the fibre channel frame that is received; detecting internal errors, if any, in the traversed fibre channel loop; and isolating a module that may have generated the error. The switch element includes, a cascade port that is used to couple one fibre channel switch element to another in a loop; and a port that sends a fibre channel frame through the loop and detects internal errors based on the comparison and a isolates a module that may have generated the internal error.
191 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for performing an integrity test in a fibre channel arbitrated loop in order to determine whether any errors are present in the loop, the loop including a fibre channel switch element the method comprising:
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sending a fibre channel frame through the arbitrated loop; receiving the fibre channel frame after it has traversed the arbitrated loop; performing a data compare between the fibre channel frame that was sent and the fibre channel frame that is received; detecting internal errors, if any, in the switch element; and if an internal error is detected, isolating a port that generated the error; wherein the step of sending the frame through the arbitrated loop comprises sending the frame through a plurality of ports within the switch, the ports being connected in series with a receive path of one port being connected to a transmit path of a next port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A fibre channel switch element coupled to an arbitrated loop, the switch element comprising:
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a cascade port configured to couple the fibre channel switch element to a second fibre channel switch element in a loop; a plurality of transmission protocol engine (TPE) ports within the first switch element, the TPE ports being connected in series with a receive path of one port being connected to a transmit path of a next port; and a frame manager module configured to send a fibre channel frame through the loop, to compare the fibre channel frame that was sent and the fibre channel frame that is received, to detect internal errors, if any, in the first switch element based on the comparison, and to isolate a TPE port that generated the internal error. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A system for performing integrity tests in a fibre channel arbitrated loop, the system comprising:
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a plurality of fibre channel switch elements cascaded in a loop; a first one of the fibre channel switch elements including a plurality of transmission protocol engine (TPE) ports, the TPE ports being connected in series with a receive path of one port being connected to a transmit path of a next port; and the first switch element further including a host port, a cascade port, and a frame manager module for performing diagnostic services, wherein the frame manager module is configured to send a fibre channel frame through the loop, to compare the fibre channel frame that was sent and the fibre channel frame that is received, to detect internal errors, if any, in the first switch element based on the comparison, and to isolate a TPE port that generated the internal error. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification