Patent ID: 8131857

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving a port login directed to a target from a first host; determining whether at least one other host is currently logged in to the target; sending a port login to the target corresponding to whether at least one other host is currently logged in to the target, wherein the target is a virtual target; wherein determining whether at least one other host is currently logged in to the target includes determining whether at least one other host is currently logged in to one or more physical targets associated with the virtual target; wherein sending a port login to the target corresponding to whether at least one other host is currently logged in to the target includes sending a port login to the one or more physical targets corresponding to whether at least one other host is currently logged in to the one or more physical targets; storing a login state associated with the target, the login state indicating a number of hosts logged in to the target; and sending the login state to another network device, wherein sending the login state to another network device includes sending a data structure including the login state associated with the target to another network device; wherein the data structure further identifies each Logical Unit (LUN) associated with the target and a LUN capacity for each LUN associated with the target.