Method and apparatus for routing between fibre channel fabrics

• US 9,172,556 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2011
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Del Signore, Christopher A., Abraham, Vineet M., Patnaik, Pranab, Guan, Vincent W., Kaushik, Balakumar N., Gnanasekaran, Satish K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Fan
• Application Number:
  US13/284,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20120044933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 370351-430
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/433 with asynchronous transmission, e.g. token ring, register insertion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/25 Routing or path finding in a switch fabric

Abstract

An interfabric link between two separate Fiber Channel fabrics so that devices in one fabric can communicate with devices in another fabric without requiring the merger of the two fabrics. The interfabric switch performs a conversion or a translation of device addresses in each fabric so that they are accessible to the other fabric. In a first embodiment the external ports of the interfabric switch are configured as E_ports. A series of internal ports in each interfabric switch are joined together forming a series of virtual or logical switches. In a second embodiment the external ports are configured as NL_ports and the connections between the virtual switches are E_ports. The virtual switches in the interfabric switch match domains with their external counterparts so that the virtual switches effectively form their own fabric.

Claims

1. A network comprising:

a first Fibre Channel fabric;

a second Fibre Channel fabric;

a first device connected to said first Fibre Channel fabric;

a second device connected to said second Fibre Channel fabric; and

an interfabric device including;

a first port connected to said first Fibre Channel fabric;

a second port connected to said second Fibre Channel fabric; and

logic coupled to said first and second ports to allow Fibre Channel packets to transfer between said first device and said second device with all switching being done using Fibre Channel addresses.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein said logic includes circuitry to perform public to private address translations and circuitry to perform private to public address translations and

wherein Fibre Channel packets transferred between said first device and said second device are operated on by both said public to private circuitry and said private to public circuitry.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein said logic includes a first and a second Fibre Channel switch, said first Fibre Channel switch coupled to said first port, said second Fibre Channel switch coupled to said second port and said first and second Fibre Channel switches coupled together.

4. The network of claim 3, wherein said first and second Fibre channel switches are coupled by a private link and said public to private circuitry is contained in said first Fibre Channel switch and said private to public circuitry is contained in said second Fibre Channel switch.

5. The network of claim 4, wherein said private link is a loop.

6. The network of claim 4, wherein said first Fibre Channel switch includes private to public circuitry and said second Fibre Channel switch includes public to private circuitry.

7. The network of claim 3, wherein said first Fibre Channel switch includes a portion coupled to said first port and said portion is configured to operate as a private link and said second Fibre Channel switch includes a portion coupled to said second port and said portion is configured to operate as a private link, wherein said first Fibre Channel switch includes said private to public circuitry and said second Fibre Channel switch includes said public to private circuitry.

8. The network of claim 7, wherein said private links are loops.

9. The network of claim 8, wherein said first Fibre Channel switch includes public to private circuitry and said second Fibre Channel switch includes private to public circuitry.

10. A Fibre Channel interfabric device comprising:

a first Fibre Channel link port for coupling to a first Fibre Channel fabric;

a second Fibre Channel link port for coupling to a second Fibre Channel fabric; and

logic coupled to said first and second ports to allow Fibre Channel packets to transfer between a first device connected to the first Fibre Channel fabric and a second device connected to the second Fibre Channel fabric with all switching being done using Fibre Channel addresses.