Patent ID: 6574687
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A system interface for coupling data between a host computer and a bank of disk drives, such data transfer being controlled by directors interconnected through the interface, pairs of such directors being arranged in a redundant fibre channel network, such network comprising:a pair of the directors, each one of the directors having a pair of ports; a disk drive sections comprising a plurality of the disk drives in the bank of disk drives, each one of such disk drives having a pair of ports; a fibre channel port by-pass section having: a first pair of channel port by-pass cards, a first one of such cards in the first pair thereof being coupled between a first one of the pair of ports of a first one of the pair of directors and a first port of the pair of ports of the disk drives, a second one of the first pair of port by-pass cards in the first pair thereof being coupled between a first port of a second one of the pair of directors and a second port of the pair of ports of the disk drives; a disk printed circuit board having plugged therein the disk drives in the disk drive section and the pair of port by-pass cards, such board electrically interconnecting the pair of port by-pass cards and the disk drives in the disk drive section.