Patent ID: 8750094

Claim:
A trunking N_Port for a Fibre Channel node, the trunking N_Port comprising: an N_Port interface designed or configured to support a communication protocol for configuring virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN) functionality; and a controller designed or configured to communicate with an F_Port on a Fibre Channel switch and determine whether VSAN functionality is available on the F_Port and, if so, define one or more VSAN interfaces for one or more VSANs on the trunking N_Port, each of the one or more VSANs on the trunking N_Port having a corresponding VSAN on the F_Port, each of the one or more VSAN interfaces designed or configured to provide functionality of an N_Port for a corresponding VSAN on the trunking N_Port; wherein each of the one or more VSAN interfaces is designed or configured to provide frames containing information identifying the particular VSAN to which it belongs.