Patent ID: 7333612

Claim:
A method for transmitting encrypted Common Transport Information Units in a Fibre Channel network having a first network entity and a second network entity, the method comprising: identifying a Common Transport Information Unit having a source corresponding to the first network entity and a destination corresponding to the second network entity; determining if the Common Transport Information Unit corresponds to selectors of a first entry in a security database, wherein the determining includes comparing a class of traffic of the Common Transport Information Unit against a class of traffic identified in the first entry; when it is determined that the Common Transport Information Unit corresponds to the selectors of the first entry: assigning a security association identification to the Common Transport Information Unit; creating a second entry in the security database, the second entry including the security association identification and key and algorithm information; encrypting a first portion of the Common Transport Information Unit using the key and algorithm information associated with the entry in the security database; and transmitting the Common Transport Information Unit to the second network entity.