Method and apparatus for auto-protocol discrimination between fibre channel, SAS and SATA devices
US7752343B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 22, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jul 6, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 8, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/067
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Auto-discrimination between FC and SATA devices upon insertion of a device into a port of a FAST-compatible switch is disclosed. Without user intervention, the port is able to determine the type of device attached, set the appropriate data rate in the Phy or SERDES and, in the case of FC or SATA drives, start the disk insertion process into the active switch zones. The SERDES is first initialized to FC speeds, and the receive path is searched for a receive signal. Upon detecting a receive signal, the detection circuitry then checks to see if a valid SATA Out Of Band (OOB) sequence is received. If a valid SATA OOB sequence is received, the SERDES is configured for SATA speeds and analog settings. If a valid SATA OOB sequence is not received, and instead a FC auto-negotiation process runs to completion, the SERDES remains at FC speeds.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.