Multifabric zone device import and export

• US 7,936,769 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2004
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Makishima, Dennis Hideo, Chung, Daniel Ji Yong Park
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar; Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): SWEET, LONNIE V
• Application Number:
  US10/903,877
• Publication Number:
  US 20060023726A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,468 Days
• Field of Search: 370/398, 370/351, 370/254, 370/241, 709/220, 709/223
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/462 LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/60 Router architectures

Abstract

A Fibre Channel router used to join fabrics. EX_ports are used to connect to the fabrics. The EX_port joins the fabric but the router will not merge into the fabric. Ports in the Fibre Channel router can be in a fabric, but other ports can be connected to other fabrics. Fibre Channel routers can be interconnected using a backbone fabric. Global, interfabric and encapsulation headers are developed to allow routing by conventional Fibre Channel switch devices in the backbone fabric and simplify Fibre Channel router routing. Phantom domains and devices must be developed for each of the fabrics being interconnected. Front phantom domains are present at each port directly connected to a fabric. Each of these is then connected to at least one translate phantom domain. Zoning is accomplished by use of a special LSAN zoning naming convention. This allows each administrator to independently define devices are accessible.

Claims

1. A router comprising:

a programmable electronic device configured to;

compare zone definition data for a first Fibre Channel fabric to zone definition data for a second Fibre Channel fabric; and

enable communication between a first device in the first fabric and a second device in the second fabric, without merging the fabrics, if the comparison identifies a zone in each fabric comprising the first device and the second device.

2. The router of claim 1 wherein the zone definition data comprises:

a special tag identifying the zone definition as an interfabric zone definition;

a World Wide Name of the first device in the first fabric; and

a World Wide Name of the second device in the second fabric.

3. The router of claim 1 wherein the programmable electronic device is further configured to export a phantom representation of the first device into the second fabric.

14. The router of claim 1 wherein the programmable electronic device is further configured to receive at least one of the zone definition data for a first fabric and the zone definition data for the second fabric from a backbone fabric.

4. A network comprising:

a first Fibre Channel fabric including a first device;

a second Fibre Channel fabric separate from the first fabric and including a second device;

a router connected to the first and second fabrics and configured to compare zone definition data from the first fabric to zone definition data from the second fabric, and enable communication between the first device and the second device, without merging the fabrics, if each fabric'"'"'s zone definition data includes a zone including the first device and the second device.

5. The network of claim 4 wherein the zone definition data comprises:

a special tag identifying the zone definition as an interfabric zone definition;

a World Wide Name of the first device in the first fabric; and

a World Wide Name of the second device in the second fabric.

6. The network of claim 4 wherein the router is configured to export a phantom representation of the first device into the second fabric.

7. A method of establishing an interfabric zone comprising:

comparing interfabric zone definitions contained in a zoning database from a first Fibre Channel fabric to interfabric zone definitions contained in a zoning database from a second Fibre Channel fabric; and

allowing interfabric communication between a first device in the first fabric and a second device in the second fabric if an interfabric zone definition from the first fabric includes a World Wide Name of the first device and a World Wide Name of the second device and an interfabric zone definition from the second fabric includes the World Wide Name of the first device and the World Wide Name of the second device.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein an interfabric zone definition comprises:

a special tag identifying the zone definition as an interfabric zone definition;

a World Wide Name of at least one device in a local fabric; and

a World Wide Name of at least one device in a remote fabric.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of allowing interfabric communication between the first device and the second device further comprises:

exporting a phantom representation of the first device into the second fabric.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of allowing interfabric communication between the first device and the second device further comprises:

exporting a phantom representation of the second device into the first fabric.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein at least one of the zoning databases is received from a backbone fabric.

11. A network comprising:

a first Fibre Channel fabric including a first device;

a second Fibre Channel fabric separate from the first fabric and including a second device;

a backbone Fibre Channel fabric separate from both the first and second fabrics and connecting the first fabric and the second fabric; and

a router configured to;

compare zone definition data from the first fabric to zone definition data from the second fabric, wherein the zone definition data from the second fabric, can be received through the backbone fabric, and

enable communication between the first device and the second device, without merging the fabrics, if the first and second fabrics'"'"' zone definition data includes a zone including the first device and the second device.

12. The network of claim 11 wherein the zone definition data comprises:

a special tag identifying the zone definition as an interfabric zone definition;

a World Wide Name of the first device in the first fabric; and

a World Wide Name of the second device in the second fabric.

13. The network of claim 11 wherein the router is configured to import a phantom representation of the second device into the first fabric.