Patent ID: 8442059

Claim:
A storage proxy, comprising: a first physical port configured to connect to a storage fabric, the first physical port configured as a first virtual front port to operate in a front zone of the storage fabric, and the first physical port further configured as a first virtual back port to operate in a back zone of the storage fabric; a second physical port configured to connect to the storage fabric, the second physical port configured as a second virtual front port to operate in the front zone of the storage fabric, and the second physical port further configured as a second virtual back port to operate in the back zone of the storage fabric, wherein the first virtual front port and the second virtual front port are configured to communicate with initiators through the front zone of the storage fabric and the first virtual back port and the second virtual back port are configured to communicate with a storage array through the back zone of the storage fabric; and processor configured to increase bandwidth utilization through the first virtual front port and the second virtual front port when storage access requests directed from the initiators to the storage array identify data stored in a tiering resource.