Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to storage area networks, and more particularly to using elements in storage area network to manage cluster membership of hosts attached to the storage area network.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Demand for higher performance computer systems is never ending. Increased performance is demanded at both the host processing side and at the storage side. to improve performance and flexibility of the connection between hosts and storage units, storage area networks (SANs) have developed. SANs provide the capability to flexibly connect hosts to storage, allowing improved performance while reducing costs. The predominate SAN architecture is a fabric developed using Fibre Channel switching. Fibre Channel is a series of ANSI standards defining a high speed communication interface. One property of Fibre Channel is that links can be point to point. When the devices are interconnected by a series of switches, a fabric is formed. The fabric allows routing communications between the various connected devices.  
           [0005]    In addition to high performance connections between the hosts and the storage units, a second technique used to increase system performance is clustering of the hosts. By interconnecting hosts, they can work together on the various tasks of a common program. This technique requires high speed communications between the hosts to manage the operations. These communications can occur using numerous networking protocols, such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand or Myrinet.  
           [0006]    However, several problems occur when clustering hosts, which limits the performance gains available. A first problem is cluster membership management. Every host (or node as often called) needs to understand the group of valid members of the cluster. There is significant overhead and network associated with this activity, particularly as the number of nodes grows. Simplistically, each node must periodically communicate with each other node, which generates traffic and requires processing by the node, both when sending and when receiving. Then, if a node senses a problem, all of the nodes need to reach consensus on the cluster membership. This consensus process is time consuming and also generates additional network traffic. So it would be desirable to improve the membership management of a cluster to eliminate much of the processing overhead, traffic and consensus-building.  
           [0007]    A second problem is resource sharing. Usually the various nodes will share various resources. But also usually only one node at a time can access the resource. This is addressed by locking the resource when a node has control. When using locking to gain control of the resource, the node performs an operation on the lock to determine if another node has control. If not, the node gains control. If another node has control, the requesting node continues to perform the operation until successful. Thus traffic over the network is generated to handle the lock operation. Usually this is traffic between nodes because a node is used to implement the shared memory used to form the lock. So this further hinders performance by frequent accesses to the node and creates overhead sending and receiving the operations. The problem becomes significant in most systems because there are a large number of locks that must be implemented, with a large number of nodes vying for control. It would be desirable to limit traffic and overhead required to maintain resource locks.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The preferred embodiments according to the present invention provide the capability to manage the cluster membership and to provide and manage locks in the switches forming the network.  
           [0009]    To manage the cluster membership, a zone is created, with indicated members existing in the zone and the zone being managed by the switches. The nodes communicate their membership events, such as heartbeat messages, using an API to work with the switch to which they are attached. The desired membership algorithm is executed by the switches, preferably in a distributed manner. Each switch then enforces the membership policies, including preventing operations from evicted nodes. This greatly simplifies the programs used on the nodes and unburdens them from many time consuming tasks, thus providing improved cluster performance.  
           [0010]    In a like manner, the switches in the fabric manage the resource locks. The nodes send their lock requests, such as creation and ownership requests, to the switch to which they are connected using sample common transport layer commands. The switches then perform the desired lock operation and provide a response to the requesting node. Again, this greatly simplifies the programs used on the nodes and unburdens them from many time consuming activities, providing improved cluster performance. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram of a Fibre Channel network with a zone in an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system indicating an example of the connections within a Fibre Channel fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of switches according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a node according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4A is a block diagram of one embodiment of a principal switch suitable for cluster membership and lock management in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4B is a block diagram of one embodiment of a local switch suitable for cluster membership and lock management in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of node operations according to the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of principal switch operations according to the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of local switch operations according to the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention in a redundant fabric environment. 
     
    
       [0021]    The figures depict a preferred embodiment of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]    A system and method for managing cluster membership and locks using a fabric in a Fibre Channel communications network is described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention.  
         [0023]    Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.  
         [0024]    Some portions of the detailed description that follows are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps (instructions) leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.  
         [0025]    It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.  
         [0026]    The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, an magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, the computers referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.  
         [0027]    The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein, and any references below to specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode of the present invention.  
         [0028]    Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever practicable, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0029]    Fibre Channel Network Structure  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 1 illustrates a Fibre Channel network  100  with a zone  178  of hosts or nodes specified in an embodiment of the present invention. Generally, the network  100  is connected using Fibre Channel connections, though other network interconnects such as Infiniband or Myrinet could be used. In the embodiment shown and for illustrative purposes, the network  100  includes a fabric  102  comprised of four different cluster control switches  110 ,  112 ,  114 , and  116 . It will be understood by one of skill in the art that a Fibre Channel fabric may be comprised of one or more switches.  
         [0031]    A variety of devices can be connected to the fabric  102 . A Fibre Channel fabric supports both point-to-point and loop device connections. A point-to-point connection is a direct connection between a device and the fabric. A loop connection is a single fabric connection that supports one or more devices in an “arbitrated loop” configuration, wherein signals travel around the loop through each of the loop devices. Hubs, bridges, and other configurations may be added to enhance the connections within an arbitrated loop.  
         [0032]    On the fabric side, devices are coupled to the fabric via fabric ports. A fabric port (F_Port) supports a point-to-point fabric attachment. Typically, ports connecting one switch to another switch are referred to as expansion ports (E_Ports).  
         [0033]    On the device side, each device coupled to a fabric constitutes a node. Each device includes a node port by which it is coupled to the fabric. A port on a device coupled in a point-to-point topology is a node port (N_Port). The label N_Port may be used to identify a device, such as a computer or a peripheral, which is coupled to the fabric.  
         [0034]    In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, fabric  102  includes switches  110 ,  112 ,  114  and  116  that are interconnected. Switch  110  is attached to hosts or nodes  156  and  158 . Switch  112  is attached to nodes  150  and  152 . Switch  114  is attached to storage device  170 . Typically, storage device  170  is a storage device such as a RAID device. Alternatively the storage device  170  could be a JBOD or just a bunch of disks device. Switch  116  is attached to storage devices  132  and  134 , and is also attached to node  160 . A user interface  142  also connects to the fabric  102 .  
         [0035]    Overview of Zoning within the Fibre Channel Network  
         [0036]    Zoning is a fabric management service that can be used to create logical subsets of devices within a Storage Area Network, and enables the partitioning of resources for the management and access control of frame traffic. More details on zoning and how to implement zoning are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. application Ser. Nos. 09/426,567 entitled “Method and system for Creating and Formatting Zones Within a Fibre Channel System,” by David Banks, Kumar Malavalli, David Ramsay, and Teow Kah Sin, filed Oct. 22, 1999, and Ser. No. 10/123,996, entitled “Fibre Channel Zoning by Device Name in Hardware,” by Ding-Long Wu, David C. Banks and Jieming Zhu, filed Apr. 17, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
         [0037]    Still referring to FIG. 1, a zone  178  nodes  150 ,  152 ,  154 ,  156  and  160  and storage device  170 . A zone indicates a group of source and destination devices allowed to communicate with each other. In this case zone  178  exemplary cluster. An exemplary use of this cluster would be execution of a large database.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system  228  indicating an example of the connections used within a Fibre Channel fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown, system  2  includes two cluster control switches  240  and  230 , a device  260  and a device  250 . Switch  240  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  246  for managing its switching and cluster functions, and switch  230  includes a CPU  236  for managing its switching and cluster functions. Switch  240  includes two ports  242  and  244 ; switch  230  includes two ports  232  and  234 . The number of ports shown on each switch is purely representative; and it will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art that a switch may contain more or fewer ports. Device  260  is communicatively coupled via its node port  262  to port  242  on switch  240 . Device  250  is communicatively coupled via its node port  252  to port  234  on switch  230 . Switch  240  and switch  230  are interconnected via ports  244  and  232 .  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 3 illustrates a basic block diagram of a cluster control switch  200 , such as switches  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  16 ,  230  or  240  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A processor and I/O interface complex  202  provides the processing capabilities of the switch  200 . The processor may be any of various suitable processors, including the Intel i 960  and the Motorola or IBM PowerPC. The I/O interfaces may include low speed serial interfaces, such as RS-232, which use a driver/receiver circuit  204 , or high-speed serial network interfaces, such as Ethernet, which use a PHY circuit  206  to connect to a local area network (LAN). Main memory or DRAM  208  and flash or permanent memory  210 , are connected to the processor complex  202  to provide memory to control and be used by the processor.  
         [0040]    The processor complex  202  also includes an I/O bus interface  212 , such as a PCI bus, to connect to Fibre Channel circuits  214  and  216 . The Fibre Channel circuits  214 ,  216  in the preferred embodiment each contain eight Fibre Channel ports. Each port is connected to an external SERDES circuit  218 , which in turn is connected to a media interface  220 , which receives the particular Fibre Channel medium used to interconnect switches used to form a fabric or to connect to various devices.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 3A is a general block diagram of an exemplary node  270 . It is understood that this diagram is for illustration purposes and many other variations are suitable for the node. A processor  272  is connected to a memory controller/bridge chip  274 . DRAM or main memory  276  is connected to the chip  274  to provide the main program memory used by the node  270 . A PCI bus is connected to the chip  274 , with various devices connected to the PCI bus. A flash memory  278  provides permanent boot memory. A hard drive interface  282  is connected to a hard drive for local storage of the operating systems and programs. An Ethernet interface  280  provides a local area network connection. A host bus adaptor or HBA  286  provides the connection to the fabric. The HBA  286  includes a Fibre Channel circuit  288 , a SERDES  290  and a media interface  292 .  
         [0042]    Proceeding then to FIG. 4, a general block diagram of the cluster control switch  110 ,  1112 ,  114 ,  16 ,  200 ,  230  or  240  hardware and software is shown. Block  300  indicates the hardware as previously described. Block  302 A is the basic software architecture of a principal cluster control switch. Generally think of this as the principal switch operating system and all of the particular modules or drivers that are operating within that embodiment. One particular block is the cluster services  304 . The cluster services  304  has various blocks including a membership algorithm block  306 A, a lock manager block  308 A, a lock area  310 A, and an API block  316  to interface the cluster services to the operating system  302  and driver modules  318  to operate with the devices in the hardware  300 . Other modules operating on the operating system  302  are Fibre Channel, switch and diagnostic drivers  320 ; port modules  322 , if appropriate; a driver  324  to work with the Fibre channel circuits; and a system module  326 . In addition, because this is a fully operational switch as well as a cluster control switch, the normal switch modules for switch management and switch operations are generally shown in the dotted line  320 . This module will not be explained in more detail.  
         [0043]    A local cluster control switch  302 B is shown in FIG. 4B. The local switch  302 B is very similar to the principal switch  302 A, except that the local switch  302 B includes a local membership module  306 B, a local lock manager  308 B and a local lock area  310 B. As will be described in more detail below, the local versions of the modules only act as interfaces between the nodes and the principal switch  302 A, storing only local information, such as caching local copies of lock status for nodes connected to the local switch. The membership algorithm module  306 A performs the primary membership functions, while the lock manager module  308 A performs the primary or fabric-wide lock function, keeping the lock information in the lock area  310 A. A given switch can preferably include both the local and principal modules, with the principal modules being active if the switches collectively select that switch to act as the principal switch.  
         [0044]    Operation of a node according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. In a first step  500  the node registers with the cluster services in step  500 . This is done by sending an appropriate call using a cluster membership message addressed to the local switch to which it is connected. The cluster membership message is formed using the proper API to the local switch to which it is connected. Control then proceeds to step  502  where particular resources which need to be locked are also registered with the principal switch, preferably using common transport (CT) logic commands developed for lock management. This can be done using a lock message addressed to a well known address.. Control then proceeds to step  504  where the node sends a heartbeat message, a different cluster membership message, to indicate that it is properly operational and so needs to be considered operational as part of the cluster. Control proceeds to step  506  to determine if the node has received any messages from the switch. If so, control proceeds to step  508  where these messages are processed. These messages will generally relate to membership information, such as the status of other nodes connected to the cluster. If no messages are received in step  506 , or after execution of step  508 , control proceeds to step  510  to determine if the node needs a locked resource. If so, control proceeds to step  512  where a lock message is sent to the switch using the API to request control of the particular locked resource. If the resource is not needed in step  510  or control is requested in step  512 , control proceeds to step  514  to determine if the node desires to leave the cluster. If not, control loops back up to step  504  where another heartbeat message is sent to the switch. If it does desire to leave the cluster in step  514 , control proceeds to step  516  where the node unregisters with switch cluster services.  
         [0045]    It is noted that while this is shown in FIG. 5 as a sequential or polled manner, in most cases these would be different threads which are operating inside the node so that they would actually be occurring simultaneously. For example, heartbeat messages would be sent periodically based on a timer routine, while received messages would be activated based on interrupt receipt of a particular message. Further, the need for locked resources would be occurring for a particular module which needed the particular resources. Thus this drawing of FIG. 5 is shown in a simplistic form to show the general operation of the node.  
         [0046]    It is also noted that FIG. 5 does not show the various data messages, which are transferred between the nodes to transfer data between the nodes. These data messages are addressed to the appropriate node and are transferred through the switches forming the fabric as appropriate.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 6 illustrates principal switch operation for the cluster services according to the present invention. In step  600  the switch receives the various registration requests, a type of cluster membership message, forwarded from the local switches and provides a status message back to the local switch. Control then proceeds to step  602 , where the principal switch sets up the proper zoning to isolate and configure the proper cluster zones. This zoning information is provided to each of the local switches so the zoning hardware can be appropriately configured. This can be done as shown in above-referenced applications. Control then proceeds to step  604  to receive any resource lock allocations forwarded from the local switches. In this step the principal switch sets up the various lock areas requested by the nodes using a lock message and provides a status response back to the local switch. Control then proceeds to step  606  to determine if a heartbeat message has been forwarded from a local switch. This would indicate that a particular node is still alive and should properly remain in the membership of the cluster. Control proceeds to step  608  message has been received to determine if a particular timeout for that particular node has passed. If not, control proceeds to step  610 , which is also where control would proceed after step  606  if a message had been received. In step  610  the switch determines if a disconnect request has been forwarded from a node because the node desires to unregister from the cluster. If not, control proceeds to step  612  to see if the node has been physically disconnected from the fabric, based on a message from a local switch. If the timeout has passed in step  608 , a disconnect request has been received in step  610  or the node has been physically disconnected in step  612 , control proceeds to step  614  where the principal switch removes the particular node from cluster membership according to the desired cluster membership algorithms. Numerous different membership algorithms could be utilized as desired. During this process the principal switch also alerts the local switches and the nodes using cluster membership messages so that each switch in the fabric and node in the cluster is aware of the particular cluster membership at any given time. Further, the principal switch also changes the zoning to indicate that the node has been removed, which zoning changes are sent to the local switches. Preferably this is done by changing the zoning so that the affected node only has read-only privileges and cannot write to any devices in the cluster, including the hosts and storage devices. Control proceeds from step  614  or if the node has not been disconnected in step  612 , to step  616  to determine if a lock request has been forwarded by a local switch. If so, control proceeds to step  618  where the particular lock request is processed by the lock management module to determine if the particular process or resource is locked. A reply is provided to the local switch of an acknowledgement or any rejection.. It is also noted that as in FIG. 5, the operations are shown in a polled or sequential manner for ease of explanation but in most cases the various requests or messages would be handled as received.  
         [0048]    It is noted that transferring of the data messages between the nodes is not shown in FIG. 6. This is because those transfers would occur as basic hardware switching functions of the switches, and thus are not part of the cluster services illustrated in FIG. 6.  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 7 illustrates local switch operation for the cluster services according to the present invention. In step  700  the local switch receives the various registration requests from the nodes. Control then proceeds to step  702 , where the registration request is forwarded to the principal switch, with the principal switch returning a status message and any changes in zoning. The status message is forwarded to the node. In step  704  the local switch sets up the proper zoning to isolate and configure the proper cluster zones. Control then proceeds to step  706  to receive any resource lock allocations from the nodes. In step  708 , the local switch forwards the lock allocations to the principal switch and sets up a local, cached copy in the local lock area  310 B. Also in step  708  the local switch receives a status message from the principal switch and forwards it to the node.  
         [0050]    Control then proceeds to step  710  to receive any zoning changes received from the principal switch. As described above, the principal switch preferably handles the membership algorithm. Should the principal switch determine that a node needs to be removed, it will forward the appropriate zoning changes to all the local switches. For example, if a node has become non-responsive, the principal switch could tell each local switch to zone that node for read-only operation so that the node cannot corrupt the database. At a later time the node could receive full rights, but only after it satisfies membership requirements for the cluster. The received zoning changes are applied in step  712 .  
         [0051]    Control then proceeds to step  714  to determine if a heartbeat message has been received. This would indicate that a particular node is still alive and should properly remain in the membership of the cluster. Control proceeds to step  718  if no message has been received to determine if a disconnect request has been received from a node because the node desires to unregister from the cluster. If not, control proceeds to step  720  to see if the node has been physically disconnected from the fabric. If a heartbeat message was received in step  714 , a disconnect request has been received in step  718  or the node has been physically disconnected in step  720 , control proceeds to step  716  where the local switch forwards the message or status change to the principal switch.  
         [0052]    Control proceeds from step  716 , or if the node has not been disconnected in step  720 , to step  722  to determine if a lock request has been received. If so, control proceeds to step  724  where the particular lock request is forwarded by the local lock management module  308 B in the local switch to the principal switch and a response is received from the principal switch. The response is forwarded to the node on step  726 , with the state cached in the local lock area  310 B. Control then proceeds from steps  722  or  726  to step  700 . It is also noted that as in FIG. 6, the operations are shown in a polled or sequential manner for ease of explanation but in most cases the various requests or messages would be handled as received.  
         [0053]    It is noted that transferring of the data messages between the nodes is not shown in FIG. 7. This is because those transfers would occur as basic hardware switching functions of the switches, and thus are not part of the cluster services illustrated in FIG. 7.  
         [0054]    The above example of cluster membership and lock management has been done using a single fabric for ease of explanation. In many cases Fibre Channel fabrics are often duplicated between devices to provide redundancy. This is shown in illustrative form in FIG. 8. Network servers  800  and  804  and mainframe  804  are each connected to fabric ( 1 )  808  and fabric ( 2 )  806 . Disk arrays  810  and  812  are also each connected to fabric ( 1 )  808  and fabric ( 2 )  806 . Thus there are two paths between any device, providing the desired redundancy. However, this arrangement complicates cluster membership and lock operations. While it would be possible to run those operations independently in each fabric, it is desirable to insure that the two fabrics are synchronized. Therefore, an inter-fabric cluster controller  814  is preferably provided. The controller  814  is connected to fabric ( 1 )  808  fabric ( 2 )  806  by links  818  and  820 , respectively. The actual control unit  816  is connected to these links. The block diagram of the control unit  816  is similar to the block diagram of switch  200 .  
         [0055]    Preferably the controller  814  does not pass messages, either cluster membership, lock or data between the fabrics  808  and  806 , though it may perform normal data message switching functions for each fabric independently if desired. In the preferred embodiment the controller  814  acts as the principal switch for each fabric. The controller  814  has additional software modules to check for consistency between the cluster membership and lock status of each fabric. Should an inconsistency develop, the controller  814  will send appropriate messages to each fabric  808  and  806  to maintain the consistency.  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 8 illustrates an additional problem which may occur. As can be seen, each device has two Fibre channel ports. But locks and cluster membership are based on the node, or software instance executing on the node, not on each Fibre channel port. Thus the registration and allocation requests, and cluster membership and lock ownership, are preferably based on the node or process, not the Fibre Channel port. For this description, it is assumed that the various messages are provided appropriately and the various switches and controllers base operations at the appropriate level for the particular action.  
         [0057]    An additional point which should be addressed is the failure of the local or principal switches. If a local switch fails, new locks associated with nodes connected to that local switch would not registered but previously existing locks would operate normally. If a principal switch fails, no new locks will be registered and a new principal switch will be elected from the local switches. Each local switch will provide its cached local lock information to the new principal switch to recreate the principal lock area. The principal switch will verify the lock ownership and normal operation will resume.  
         [0058]    The cluster membership operation described above is the preferred embodiment. However, a more simplified version can be implemented according to the invention. In the simplified version the principal switch does not perform the membership algorithm but instead broadcasts messages to all of the cluster nodes if an event affecting cluster membership occurs, such as a missing heartbeat message or a link failure, with the nodes thus communicating among themselves directly to determine the proper response. While this simple approach does not relieve the hosts from as much processing and message handling as the preferred embodiment, it is believed that there will still be a marked reduction because the membership affecting events will be very infrequent in normal operation.  
         [0059]    In addition, while the preferred embodiment performs the distributed operation by use of local switches and a principal switch, fully equal switches could be utilized, with each switch providing messages to update all other switches or by having switches responsible only for their local nodes and query the other switches for other operations, as in distributed name server operation. This equal switch organization would work satisfactorily in small fabrics, but operation would degrade for larger fabrics and for that reason the local and principal organization is preferred.  
         [0060]    Therefore it can be seen in the particular disclosed cluster control switch both the cluster management and the cluster lock activities. The operations and communications of the particular hosts or nodes in the cluster are offloaded, as is the complicated processing. Therefore performance of the nodes is increased, increasing overall cluster performance.  
         [0061]    Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments, other embodiments are possible. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. For example, different numbers of ports (other than the four ports illustrated herein) may be supported by the zone group based filtering logic. Additionally, the hardware structures within the switch may be modified to allow additional frame payload bytes to be read and used for frame filtering. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims and equivalents.

Technology Category: 5