Patent ID: 7577735
Filing Date: 2009-08-18
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for use in a server having a controller, a router and a plurality of virtual ports including one or more dedicated first virtual ports, the method comprising: placing the router in a normal mode with a first router configuration; discovering one or more target ports associated with a target device while in the first router configuration, wherein discovering includes initiating a device query from within the router to the target device via the one or more dedicated first virtual ports; creating, for each target port discovered in response to the device query, a target data structure, wherein the target data structure includes a target name that represents the target device; determining if a second virtual port from the plurality of virtual ports is available for communication between the target device and a first host, wherein the second virtual ports is a different port from the dedicated first virtual ports; while in the normal mode, dynamically allocating by the router the second virtual port to the first host via the target data structure if the second virtual port is available for communication between the target device and the first host, wherein dynamically allocating includes preventing hosts other than the first host from accessing the target device; receiving a command to transition the router from the normal mode to a transparent mode; and transitioning the router from the normal mode to the transparent mode, wherein transitioning includes replacing the first router configuration with a transparent mode router configuration, wherein, while in transparent mode, the router allows two or more hosts to access the same target device.