Patent ID: 7356573

Claim:
A method of facilitating data tapping in a storage area network, the method comprising: in a storage area network (SAN), receiving SAN data that is being sent from an initiator to a target; in the SAN, sending the SAN data or a copy of the SAN data to both the target and to an appliance device; creating a control virtual target (CVT) in a network device for receiving one or more commands from the appliance device regarding data tapping setup or initiation or control; creating a data virtual target (DVT) within the SAN such that the DVT intercepts the SAN data from the initiator that is being sent to the target; and creating a virtual initiator (VI) in the SAN, wherein when the SAN data is intercepted by the DVT, the VI sends the SAN data, that is received by the DVT, or a copy of the SAN data, that is received by the DVT, from the VI to both the target and to the appliance device, wherein the creation of the DVT and the VI is specified by the appliance device by sending to the network device one or more commands that specify creation of the DVT, wherein the network device is coupled to the initiator and target and configured for handling SAN data traffic between the initiator and the target.