Importance

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Abstract

A method and system for discovering the location of a storage router, and therefore the attached storage devices, in a fibre channel network using the storage router's fully qualified domain name to ultimately determine the storage router's arbitrated loop physical address (AL_PA). An Internet protocol domain name query containing the fully qualified domain name is sent from a host computer over the storage area network to a domain name server to determine an Internet Protocol address for the storage router. The domain name server replies with the storage router Internet Protocol address. The host computer then sends an address resolution protocol request containing the Internet protocol address over the storage area network to determine a node name for the storage router. The storage router replies with its node name. The host computer then sends an FCP request containing the storage router's node name over the storage area network to determine an arbitrated loop physical address of the storage router. The storage router replies with its arbitrated loop physical address. The host computer can use a variety of standard inquiries discover storage devices attached to the storage router. The communication can then continue in fibre channel protocol between the storage and the host computer.

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First Claim