Patent ID: 8918571

Claim:
A method of exposing expanders in a data storage fabric, wherein the data storage fabric includes an initiator, a switch expander, and a plurality of enclosure expanders, wherein an enclosure expander of the plurality of enclosure expanders includes a plurality of phys, the method comprising: generating a phy permission table in the switch expander, wherein the phy permission table is configured for access by the initiator and includes data as to which phys in a subset of less than the plurality of phys in the enclosure expander are discoverable by the initiator, wherein phys in the enclosure expanders not listed in the phy permission table in the switch expander are not discoverable by the initiator; creating a zone group of phys from the enclosure expanders assigned to the initiator; and updating the phy permission table to identify each phy coupled to the enclosure expanders in the zone group.