Patent ID: 7194550

Claim:
A network system comprising; a unified networking device configured to: provide a single-hop communication path between a storage device and a server, a single-hop communication path between the storage device and a network switch, and a single-hop communication path between the server and the network switch, the unified networking device comprising: an application specific integrated circuit configured to: determine that an incoming packet requires protocol conversion; and send at least a portion of the incoming packet to a network processing unit in response to the determination; and the network processing unit configured to: identify a first communication protocol of the incoming packet, the incoming packet destined for a destination port associated with a second communication protocol; determine if the first communication protocol matches the second communication protocol; determine if the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol have a common layer if the first communication protocol does not match the second communication protocol; and encapsulate the incoming packet in the second communication protocol if the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol have a common layer.