Patent ID: 8594080

Claim:
A method for use with a host and storage, comprising: operations by a storage area network (SAN) having a communication protocol, a cluster of servers, a plurality of input/output adapters including a host adapter coupled to the host and a plurality of device adapters coupled to the storage, and a virtual storage area network (VSAN) switch coupling the servers to the input/output adapters, the operations including: creating in a first partition of the VSAN switch, a first connection between a predetermined input port of a plurality of input ports and a predetermined output port of a plurality of output ports of the VSAN switch, wherein the first connection is a multi-layer connection which includes a network layer connection conforming to the network layer of the communication protocol; creating in a second partition of the VSAN switch, a second connection between a predetermined input port of the plurality of input ports, and a predetermined output port of the plurality of output ports of the VSAN switch, wherein the second connection is a destination address independent physical layer connection conforming to the physical layer of the communication protocol; forwarding through the multi-layer connection of the first partition in accordance with the network layer of the communication protocol, data packets received at the predetermined input port of the multi-layer connection of the first partition, to the predetermined output port of the multi-layer connection of the first partition, as determined by a destination address within each data packet; and forwarding in accordance with the physical layer of the communication protocol, data bits of data packets received at the predetermined input port of the physical layer connection of the second partition, to the predetermined output port of the physical layer connection of the second partition, independently of any destination address within each data packet.