Patent ID: 8792386

Claim:
A method based on a fiber channel (FC) network for propagating an attribute across interconnecting switches between a first network element and a second network element, wherein the switches have ports that have initial states set to be an empty state, wherein in the empty state, the attribute has not been registered and does not need to be propagated, said method comprising: after a first port of a first switch on the first network element side that is in the empty state is to be in a first state, wherein the first state indicates that said attribute has been registered and needs to be propagated, the first switch configuring a second port of the first switch on the second network element side that is in an empty state to be in a second state, wherein the second state indicates that said attribute has not been registered but needs to be propagated, and sending, through the second port of the first switch, towards the direction of the second network element, a first registration message that informs a first port of a second switch to register said attribute and indicates that the second port of the first switch has not registered said attribute; and after a second port of the second switch on the second network element side that is in the second state is to be in the first state, the second switch sending, through the first port of the second switch that has been configured into the first state, towards the direction of the first network element, a second registration message that informs the second port of the first switch to register said attribute and indicates that the first port of the second switch has registered said attribute.