Patent ID: 7822055

Claim:
A method for augmenting a transmission bandwidth of an existing Fibre Channel port that functions as a first node on a Fibre Channel link, the Fibre Channel link including a first linklet between the first node and a first repeater, a second linklet between the first repeater and a second repeater, and a third linklet between the second repeater and the second node, the second linklet being significantly longer than the first and third linklets, the method comprising: receiving at a first inline link device a login request frame transmitted from the first node, wherein the first inline link device is between the first node and the first repeater in the fibre channel link; programming a credit count for the first node contained in the login request frame into the first inline link device for use by an inbound transmitter of the first inline link device to transmit signals toward the first node; replacing the credit count for the first node in the login request frame with a credit count for an inbound receive buffer of the first inline link device, wherein the inbound receive buffer of the first inline link device has a larger credit count than the credit count of the first node and is adapted to receive signals transmitted over the second linklet for the inbound transmitter of the first inline link device to transmit toward the first node; and using an outbound transmitter of the first inline link, transmitting the login request frame with the credit count value of the inbound receive buffer of the first inline link device to the first repeater for transmission across the second linklet toward the second node.