Patent · US Active

Method of determining equivalent subsets of agents to gather information for a fabric

US8443078B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
4References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 20, 2010
Grant dateMay 14, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 11, 2031

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L67/1097
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques for identifying and selecting equivalent sets of agents with defined capabilities to perform certain actions are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, determining agents to gather information for a storage area network fabric may be performed through the use of fabric discovery operations which identify agents capable of performing various actions within the fabric. From the determined capabilities of the agents, a dynamic capability grid may be populated to assist with the generation of a list of equivalent subsets to perform the various actions. The most efficient set of agents from each equivalent subset may then be selected to perform actions, with other sets of agents in the equivalent subset available as secondary choices in case of an unexpected failure. For example, a fabric probe may be executed in a storage area network using discovered agents from a list of equivalent subsets to most efficiently accomplish network operations such as zoning and topology.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.