Apparatus and method for preventing disruption of fibre channel fabrics caused by reconfigure fabric (RCF) messages

• US 7,821,969 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2008
• Issued: 10/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: DeSanti, Claudio, Di Benedetto, Marco
• Primary Examiner(s): Sam; Phirin
• Application Number:
  US12/049,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20080159172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0039 Electrical control

Abstract

An apparatus and method for preventing the disruption of Fibre Channel Fabrics caused by ReConfigure Fabric (RCF) messages is disclosed. The apparatus includes a storage area network and a plurality of Fibre Channel Switches arranged in a Fabric. Each of the plurality of Switches includes logic to selectively configure their Ports to either reject or accept RCF messages. When configured to reject RCF messages, the Switch Port that receives an RCF message will generate a reject message along with a reason code explanation “E_Port Isolated”, and then transition into an Isolated state. When the Switch that generated the RCF message receives the reject message, its Port also transition into the Isolated state. In accordance with the method of the present invention, either a Storage Service Provider or a client can access the Switches of the Fabric through either a command line interpreter or a management application. Once access to the Fabric is established, the logic of the Ports of the Switches can be selectively configured to reject or accept RCF messages as described above.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

at a first switch of a fabric of a storage area network, configuring a first port of the first switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages;

determining that the first port has received a reconfigure fabric message from a second port of a second switch of the fabric of the storage area network; and

transitioning the first port to an isolated state after the first port receives the reconfigure fabric message,

wherein the configuring the first port of the first switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages is performed by an administrator or a client, and wherein the configuring is performed at least in part to prevent disruptions of the fabric.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising reconfiguring the first port to accept reconfigure fabric messages upon receiving a management action to revoke the isolated state of the first port.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising reassigning the identifiers of any end devices connected to the first switch after reconfiguring the first port to accept reconfigure fabric messages.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling a domain manager of the first switch.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the first port of the first switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages comprises configuring the first port to respond to reconfigure fabric messages with a rejection message with a reason code explanation “

E _Port Isolated”

.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the first switch through a command line interpreter or a management application to selectively configure the ports of the first switch to reject the reconfigure fabric messages.

7. A Switch configured to be included in the Fabric of a storage area network, the Switch comprising:

logic to selectively reject or accept reconfigure fabric messages,

wherein a first port associated with the switch transitions to an isolated state after receiving a reconfigure fabric message and triggers a second port sending the reconfigure fabric message to transition to the isolated state, the second port associated with another Switch,

wherein the first port remains in the isolated state until a management action reconfigures the first port to accept reconfigure fabric messages, and

wherein the configuring the first port of the first switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages is performed by an administrator or a client, and wherein the configuring is performed at least in part to prevent disruptions of the fabric.

8. The Switch of claim 7, wherein the logic is configured to selectively cause a port of the Switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages when the logic is selected to reject reconfigure fabric messages.

9. The Switch of claim 8, wherein the logic is further configured to cause a port to generate a reject message if a reconfigure fabric message is received and the logic is selected to reject reconfigure fabric messages.

10. The Switch of claim 7, wherein the logic is configured to allow reconfigure fabric messages to be accepted by the Switch upon receiving a management action to revoke the isolated state of the first port.

11. The Switch of claim 10, wherein the logic is configured to reassign the identifiers of any end devices connected to the Switch after reconfiguring the first port to accept reconfigure fabric messages.

12. The Switch of claim 7, wherein the logic is configured to disable a domain manager of the Switch.

13. The Switch of claim 9, wherein configuring the first port to reject reconfigure fabric messages comprises configuring the first port to respond to reconfigure fabric messages with a rejection message with a reason code explanation “

E_Port Isolated”

.

14. The Switch of claim 9, further comprising configuring the Switch through a command line interpreter or a management application to selectively configure the ports of the Switch to reject the reconfigure fabric messages.

15. A system comprising one or more network devices comprising a processor, a memory, and a network interface attached to a network, each of the one or more network devices configured to:

configure a first port of the network device to reject reconfigure fabric messages;

determine at the network device that the first port has received a reconfigure fabric message from a second port of another network device of the fabric of the storage area network; and

transition the first port to an isolated state after the first port receives the reconfigure fabric message,

wherein the configuring the first port of the first switch to reject reconfigure fabric messages is performed by an administrator or a client, and wherein the configuring is performed at least in part to prevent disruptions of the fabric.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more network devices is further configured to reconfigure the first port to accept reconfigure fabric messages upon receiving a management action to revoke the isolated state of the first port.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein each of the one or more network devices is further configured to disable a domain manager of the network device.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the other network device is configured to transition the second port sending the reconfigure fabric messages to the isolated state after the first port transitions to the isolated state.

19. A method to configure a plurality of Switches arranged in a Fabric of a storage area network, comprising:

at a Fabric of a storage area network, permitting an administrator to establish a connection to the Fabric, the Fabric including a plurality of Switches; and

transmitting messages from the administrator to one or more of the Switches requesting that the Switches, including a first switch, configure one or more of their Ports to reject reconfigure fabric messages;

wherein the first switch transitions to an isolated state after receiving a reconfigure fabric message from a second switch and triggers the second switch to transition to the isolated state.