Patent ID: 9712427
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: establishing a virtual connection over one of a plurality of available paths between a client having a fibre channel adapter and a storage server over a fibre channel (FC) network, the storage server comprising an FC adapter, wherein the virtual connection packages small computer system interface (SCSI) communications between the client and storage server within one or more FC frames, wherein establishing a virtual connection includes assigning one of the plurality of available paths to the virtual connection, wherein a path over the FC network comprises a connection between the FC adapter of the client and the server FC adapter; receiving, by the storage server FC adapter, from the client, over the FC network, a catalog of available paths, wherein the available paths comprise transport paths between the client and the storage server; receiving, by the storage server FC adapter, virtual connection endpoint load data from the client on a plurality of client-side virtual endpoints associated with the catalog of available paths, including the virtual endpoint of the client-side of the path assigned to the virtual connection; monitoring a current load on a plurality of virtual endpoints at the storage server that are associated with the catalog of available paths, including at least one virtual endpoint of the path assigned to the virtual connection; determining that the current load on at least one virtual endpoint of the path assigned to the virtual connection is higher than a predetermined threshold value, using the virtual connection endpoint load data received from the client and the current load monitored by the FC adapter; selecting an alternate path from the catalog of available paths between the client and storage server over the fibre channel network, wherein selecting an alternate path comprises selecting a path from the catalog of available paths with the lowest load considering both client-side and server-side endpoint loads of the path; migrating the established virtual connection to the selected alternate path; and messaging the client to utilize the selected alternate path using a SCSI communication packaged within one or more FC frames over the fibre channel network, wherein a SCSI communication comprises a SCSI request or a SCSI reply.