Patent ID: 8705351

Claim:
A system, comprising: a converged switch module having a processor, a first switching module that is configured for handling network traffic to and from a plurality of nodes, and a second switching module having a plurality of ports configured to operate as a part of a group that is managed by a controller, and each of the plurality of ports is configurable to process network traffic, storage traffic, or a combination of both network traffic and storage traffic to and from a virtual port; wherein the plurality of ports are presented to the first switch module as the group and are coupled to a storage area network for sending and receiving information complying with a storage protocol or a converged protocol; and wherein the controller selects one of the plurality of ports to operate as a primary port, and the primary port responds to a solicitation message from one of a plurality of nodes addressed to any of the ports within the group; and wherein the controller maintains a connection count for the plurality of ports and selects a port with a least connection count as the primary port to communicate with the requesting node.