Patent ID: 7581056

Claim:
A virtualization engine in a network, comprising: a front end virtualization engine included in a first switch, the front end virtualization engine configured to receive an input/output (I/O) request from a host, perform interlock, select a back end virtualization engine, and send virtual enclosure port information corresponding to the host to the back end virtualization engine, wherein load balancing performed on a per exchange or per virtual logical unit number (VLUN) basis is used to select the back end virtualization engine to handle the I/O request; a back end virtualization engine cluster comprising a plurality of back end virtualization engines including the back end virtualization engine included in a second switch, wherein the back end virtualization engine is selected to perform a virtual to physical lookup for the I/O request to allow forwarding of the I/O request to a selected target; wherein a virtual enclosure port identified using virtual enclosure port information sends control frames to the front end virtualization but bypasses the front end virtualization engine when sending data frames to the back end virtualization engine.