Patent ID: 6865617

Claim:
A method of mirroring data transfer commands in a network, the network including a SCSI initiator and a plurality of SCSI targets, the initiator and targets all being connected to a TCP/IP network, comprising the steps of: (a) transmitting, from the initiator, a registration command via the TCP/IP network, to each target of the plurality of targets, the registration command including a multicast address and a virtual logical unit number; (b) establishing a mapping, responsive to the registration command, at each of the SCSI devices, indicating an association between the SCSI device and the virtual logical unit number and the multicast address; (c) transmitting, from the initiator, a SCSI data transfer command, the SCSI data transfer command indicating the multicast group address; (d) receiving, at each of the members of the multicast group, the data transfer command, and transferring data in response thereto; (e) executing, in each of the SCSI members of the multicast group, the specified data transfer command.