US Patent No: 8,151,318
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
Method and apparatus for reliably and asymmetrically distributing security information within a fibre channel fabric
Stats
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Apr 3, 2012
Issued date -
Feb 25, 2003
filing date -
10/374,490
serial no -
In Force
status
Importance
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Abstract
A reliable asymmetric method for distributing security information within a Fiber Channel Fabric. The Switching Fabric includes a set of security servers, which maintain among themselves a replicated copy of the Fabric security databases using the currently defined Merge and Change protocols. The other Switches of the Fabric are configured as client-Switches. They maintain only the subset of the authorization and authentication information required for their correct operation. A client-Switch queries the security server when a new end-device is connected to it, or when it is connected to the Fabric. When the security configuration of the Fabric changes by an administrative action, a security server solicits the client-Switches to update their information. In an alternative embodiment, the end-devices may query directly the security server, usually for authentication purposes. A Fabric with a plurality of security servers balances among them the load of inquiries from clients, and is more reliable because it continues to operate in the event of failure of one or more servers. Reliability is achieved in a stateless manner through the FSPF protocol, the Fiber Channel routing protocol. Each security server announces itself to the Fabric by advertising an adjacency to a predefined virtual Domain_ID in its FSPF LSRs. Clients access servers by directing queries to this virtual Domain_ID.
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First Claim
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International Classification(s)
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Cited Art
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Patent Citation Ranking
Maintenance Fees
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee | due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Year Payment | $1600.00 | $800.00 | $400.00 | Oct 3, 2015 |
| 7.5 Year Payment | $3600.00 | $1800.00 | $900.00 | Oct 3, 2019 |
| 11.5 Year Payment | $7400.00 | $3700.00 | $1850.00 | Oct 3, 2023 |
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee |
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