Patent ID: 8694538

Claim:
A method of logging write requests to one or more storage volumes coupled to a switch comprising a plurality of virtualization cards and a logging element, comprising: receiving, at a first virtualization card of the plurality of virtualization cards, a write request from a host server, the write request being associated with a destination in the one or more storage volumes, wherein the switch couples one or more host server input/output ports to one or more input/output ports of the one or more storage volumes, and the destination in the one or more storage volumes is configured to log a plurality of write requests received by a plurality of virtualization cards, wherein the plurality of write requests are received from the host server, each of the plurality of virtualization cards are configured to operate as one of a plurality of controllers by virtue of being configured to determine the route by which data traverses a switching fabric connecting the one or more storage volumes and the host server, and the first virtualization card of the plurality of virtualization cards is associated with a distinct write request of a plurality of write requests; selecting the logging element, wherein the logging element is selected in response to being associated with the destination, wherein the selecting is performed by the first virtualization card, and the logging element is designated statically during switch initialization and is configured to manage a log for said destination, said identified logging element being selected from a plurality of available logging elements; and sending a message from the first virtualization card to the logging element in response to the selecting the logging element and the receiving the write request, wherein the message comprises information identifying a write intent for the destination for inclusion in the log; and providing a response to the write request from the first virtualization card to the host server.