Method and apparatus for detecting and remedying excessive loop initialization
US7484117B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 19, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 27, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 12, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L12/433
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A drive shelf includes an embedded switching hub (ESH) that monitors Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) traffic, including loop initialization requests (LIRs), coming from drives attached to the ESH. When a number of LIRs issued by a single drive within a certain amount of time exceeds a threshold, the drive is bypassed. One threshold (a “burst” threshold) measures the number of LIRs issued within a short period of time. If the number exceeds a threshold that would prevent other data from circulating through the loop, the drive is bypassed. A second threshold (a long-term threshold) measures the number of LIRs issued within a longer period of time. If the drive issues a number of LIRs at a slower rate than the burst threshold, but still above the long-term threshold, the drive is bypassed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.