Patent ID: 6876656

Claim:
A switch for a packet switched or frame switched network, said switch having conventional routing circuitry, said network having client devices and storage devices and a storage manager that decides to redirect read and/or write transactions on any basis so as to virtualize said storage devices, said switch comprising: one or more ports which are structured to operate to receive one or more redirection commands from said storage manager or another switch in said network coupled to said storage manager containing old address data and new address data, said ports containing circuitry to store said old address data and new address data in one or more look up tables, said switch containing circuitry functioning to compare packet or frame type information included in a header of at least some packets or frames arriving at a port coupled to a client device or a storage device to determine if the packet or frame is of a type which is to be relabeled and redirected, and, if the packet or frame is of a type to be relabeled and redirected, comparing at least some of the old address data therein to the old address data entries for one or more redirection commands stored in one or more of said look up tables, and if there is a match to any of the old address data of said one or more redirection commands, relabelling said packet or frame by substituting the corresponding new address data from said matching redirection command(s) for said old address data in said packet or frame header, said new address data causing said relabeled packet or frame to be routed so as to bypass said storage manager but to look like it came from said storage manager, and then passing said relabeled packet or frame to said conventional routing circuitry for forwarding to the destination identified in said ne address data, and wherein the sequence in which the type of incoming packet is determined and the old address data lookup is performed is not critical.