CLAIMSI/We claim:
1. A switch for transmitting via destination ports communications received via source ports, comprising: a mapping that maps virtual addresses to destination ports; a component that receives via a source port a communication with a virtual address, that identifies a destination port for the virtual address based on the mapping, and that transmits the communication via the identified destination port; and a component that changes the mapping to map the virtual address to another destination port so that when another communication is received with the virtual address, it is transmitted via the other destination port.
2. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communications are transmitted from the same source.
3. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communications are transmitted to the same destination node.
4. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communications are transmitted to different destination nodes.
5. The switch of claim 1 wherein the switch is in a network of switches and the virtual address identifies a path from a source node to a destination node within the network.
6. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communications are received via the same source port of the switch.
7. The switch of claim 6 wherein each source port of the switch has its own mapping of virtual addresses to destination ports.
8. The switch of claim 1 wherein a source node that transmits the communications is not aware that the virtual address is mapped to the another destination port.
9. The switch of claim 1 wherein a virtual address is mapped to multiple destination ports and wherein communications are transmitted via each mapped-to destination port.
10. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communication is a Fibre Channel frame.
11. The switch of claim 1 wherein the communication is an InfiniBand Channel frame.
12. The switch of claim 1 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
13. A method in a switch for transmitting communications, the method comprising: receiving an indication to map a virtual address to a destination port of the switch; receiving a communication having a virtual address and transmitting the communications via the destination port; after transmitting the communications, receiving an indication to map the virtual address to another destination port of the switch; receiving other communication having the virtual address and transmitting the other via the other destination port wherein the virtual address identifies a path through a network of switches.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the communications are transmitted from the same source.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein the communications are transmitted to the same destination node.
16. The method of claim 13 wherein the communications are transmitted to different destination nodes.
17. The method of claim 13 wherein the switch is in a network of switches and the virtual address identifies a path from a source node to a destination node within the network.
18. The method of claim 13 wherein the communications are received via the same source port of the switch.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein each source port of the switch has its own mapping of virtual addresses to destination ports.
20. The method of claim 13 wherein a source node that transmits the communications is not aware that the virtual address is mapped to the second destination port.
21. The method of claim 13 wherein a virtual address is mapped to multiple destination ports and wherein communications are transmitted via each mapped-to destination port.
22. The method of claim 13 wherein each communication is a Fibre Channel frame.
23. The method of claim 13 wherein each communication is an InfiniBand Channel frame.
24. The method of claim 13 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
25. A method in a switch for identifying destination ports for communications, the method comprising: receiving a first communication having a virtual address; identifying a first destination port for the virtual address from a mapping that maps virtual addresses to destination ports; transmitting the first communication via the identified first destination port; and after transmitting the first communication, receiving an indication to map the virtual address to a second destination port; receiving a second communication having the virtual address; identifying the second destination port for the virtual address from the mapping; and transmitting the second communication via the identified second destination port wherein communications to the same virtual address are transmitted via different destination ports without modifying the virtual address.
26. The method of claim 25 wherein the first communication and the second communication are transmitted from the same source.
27. The method of claim 25 wherein the first communication and the second communication are transmitted to the same destination node.
28. The method of claim 25 wherein the first and the second communication are transmitted to different destination nodes.
29. The method of claim 25 wherein the switch is in a network of switches and the virtual address identifies a path from a source node to a destination node within the network.
30. The method of claim 25 wherein the first communication and the second communication are received via the same source port of the switch.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein each source port of the switch has its own mapping of virtual addresses to destination ports.
32. The method of claim 25 wherein a source node that transmits the first communication and the second communication is not aware that the virtual address is mapped to the second destination port.
33. The method of claim 25 wherein a virtual address is mapped to multiple destination ports and wherein communications are transmitted via each mapped-to destination port.
34. The method of claim 25 wherein the communication is a Fibre Channel frame.
35. The method of claim 25 wherein the communication is an InfiniBand Channel frame.
36. The method of claim 25 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
37. A routing device for transmitting via destination ports communications received via source ports, comprising: mapping means for mapping virtual addresses to destination ports; means for receiving via a source port a communication with a virtual address and for transmitting the communications via a destination port to which the virtual address maps; and means for changing the mapping to map the virtual address to another destination port so that when another communication is received with the virtual address, it is transmitted via the other destination port.
38. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communications are transmitted from the same source.
39. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communications are transmitted to the same destination node.
40. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communications are transmitted to different destination nodes.
41. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the routing device is in a network of routing devices and the virtual address identifies a path from a source node to a destination node within the network.
42. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communications are received via the same source port of the routing device.
43. The routing device of claim 42 wherein each source port of the routing device has its own mapping of virtual addresses to destination ports.
44. The routing device of claim 25 wherein a source node that transmits the communications is not aware that the virtual address is mapped to the another destination port.
45. The routing device of claim 25 wherein a virtual address is mapped to multiple destination ports and wherein communications are transmitted via each mapped-to destination port.
46. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communication is a Fibre Channel frame.
47. The routing device of claim 25 wherein the communication is an InfiniBand Channel frame.
48. The routing device of claim 1 wherein the routing device is an . interconnect fabric module.
49. A method in a routing device for retrieving an identification of a destination port for data, the data being received through a source port and having an address, the method comprising: when a cache associated with the source port has an identification of a port associated with the address of the data, retrieving the identification of the port from the cache; and when a cache associated with the source port does not have the identification of a port associated with the address of the data and when a table shared by multiple ports including the source port has the identification of a port associated with the address of the data, retrieving of the identification of the port from the table.
50. The method of claim 49 including storing the identification of the port retrieved from the table in the cache associated with the source port.
51. The method of claim 49 wherein the cache and the table contain port maps that designate one or more ports.
52. The method of claim 49 where in the address of the data is a virtual address.
53. The method of claim 49 including: when a table shared by multiple ports including the source port does not have the identification of a port associated with the address of the data, retrieving the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device.
54. The method of claim 53 including storing the identification of the port retrieved from the source external to the routing device in the table.
55. The method of claim 49 wherein the table is shared by four ports.
56. The method of claim 49 wherein the table is shared by multiple ports.
57. The method of claim 49 wherein each port is associated with its own cache.
58. The method of claim 49 wherein the address is a portion of a Fibre Channel frame.
59. The method of claim 49 wherein the address is a portion of an InfiniBand frame.
60. The method of claim 49 wherein the table is a virtual address label table.
61. The method of claim 49 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
62. The method of claim 49 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
63. The method of claim 49 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
64. The method of claim 49 wherein the address is a domain address.
65. A routing device comprising: a shared collection of mappings of identifiers to destination ports of the routing device; and a plurality of source ports, each source port having a cache for storing mappings of identifiers to destination ports of the routing device; a component that retrieves an identification of a destination port from the cache when the cache has a mapping of an identifier associated with communication received at the source port to a destination port; and a component that retrieves an identification of a destination port from the shared collection when the cache does not have a mapping of the identifier associated with the communication received at the source port to a destination port.
66. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the component that retrieves the identification of a destination port from the collection stores the identification of the destination port retrieved from the collection in the cache.
67. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the cache and the collection contain port maps that designate one or more ports.
68. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the identifier of the communication is a virtual identifier.
69. The routing device of claim 65 including a component that retrieves the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device when the collection does not have a mapping destination port. from the identifier
70. The routing device of claim 69 wherein the component that retrieves the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device stores the identification of the destination port retrieved from the source external to the routing device in the collection.
71. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the collection is shared by multiple source ports.
72. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the identifier is a portion of a Fibre Channel frame.
73. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the identifier is a portion of an InfiniBand frame.
74. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the collection is a virtual identifier label table.
75. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the routing device is a switch.
76. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
77. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
78. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
79. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the address is a domain address.
80. The routing device of claim 65 wherein the address is part of a virtual identifier.
81. A method in a routing device for retrieving an identification of a destination port for a communication, the communication being received through a source port and having an identifier, the method comprising: when a cache has an identification of a port associated with the identifier of the communication, retrieving the identification of the port from the cache; and when the cache does not have the identification of a port associated with the identifier of the communication and when a mapping shared by multiple ports including the source port has the identification of a port associated with the identifier of the communication, retrieving of the identification of the port from the mapping.
82. The method of claim 81 including storing the identificatio n of the port retrieved from the mapping in the cache.
83. The method of claim 81 wherein the cache and the mapping contain port maps that designate one or more ports.
84. The method of claim 81 wherein the identifier of the communication is a virtual address.
85. The method of claim 81 including: when the mapping shared by multiple ports including the source port does not have the identification of a port associated with the address of the communication, retrieving the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device.
86. The method of claim 85 including storing the identification of the port retrieved from the source external to the routing device in the mapping.
87. The method of claim 81 wherein each port is associated with its ow n cache.
88. The method of claim 81 wherein the identifier is a portion of a Fibre Channel frame.
89. The method of claim 81 wherein the identifier is a portion of an InfiniBand frame.
90. The method of claim 81 wherein the mapping is a label table.
91. The method of claim 81 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
92. The method of claim 81 wherein the identifier is a domain address.
93. A routing device comprising: means for mapping identifiers to destination ports in a shared collection; and means for mapping identifiers to destination ports in a cache collection for each of a plurality of ports; means for retrieving an identification of a destination port from the cache collection when the cache collection has a mapping of an identifier associated with a communication to a destination port; and means for retrieving an identification of a destination port from the shared collection when the cache collection does not have a mapping of the identifier associated with the communication to a destination port.
94. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the means for retrieving the identification of a destination port from the shared collection includes means for storing a mapping of the identifier to the retrieved identification of the destination port in the cache collection for the source port that received the communication.
95. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the cache collection and the shared collection contain port maps that designate one or more ports.
96. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the identifier of the communication is a virtual identifier.
97. The routing device of claim 93 including means for retrieving the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device when the shared collection does not have a mapping from the identifier of the communication to a destination port.
98. The routing device of claim 97 wherein the means for retrieving the identification of the port from a source external to the routing device stores the identification of the destination port retrieved from the source external to the routing device in the shared collection.
99. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the shared collection is shared by multiple source ports.
100. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the identif ier is a portion of a Fibre Channel frame.
101. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the identifier is a portion of an InfiniBand frame.
102. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the shared collection is a virtual identifier label table.
103. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
104. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the identifier is a domain address.
105. The routing device of claim 93 wherein the identifier is part of a virtual identifier.
106. A method in a switch for buffering data received through a source port before transmitting the data through a destination port, the method comprising: receiving a first frame of data through the source port; storing the received first frame of data; receiving a second frame of data through the source port; storing the received second frame of data; selecting either the first frame or the second frame for transmitting through the destination port based on a priority score of the first frame and the second frame.
107. The method of claim 106 wherein the first and second frames are stored in a buffer that is used to store frames received only through the source port.
108. The method of claim 106 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a priority associated with the frame.
109. The method of claim 106 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a class of service of the frame.
110. The method of claim 106 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on latency of the frame.
111. The method of claim 106 wherein the first frame is stored in a first buffer and the second frame is stored in a second buffer and all frames of a connection are stored in the same buffer.
112. The method of claim 106 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
113. The method of claim 106 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
114. The method of claim 106 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
115. The method of claim 106 wherein the second frame is received after the first frame and wherein the second frame is selected.
116. The method of claim 106 wherein a later received frame is selected before an earlier received frame.
117. A routing device comprising: a first buffer for storing a first frame received through a source port; a second buffer for storing a second frame received through the source port; and a component that selects either the first frame or the second frame for transmitting through a destination port based on a priority score of the first frame and the second frame.
118. The routing device of claim 117 wherein each source port of the routing device has a first and second buffer and a component that selects.
119. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the first and second buffer are used to store frames received only through the source port.
120. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a priority associated with the frame.
121. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a class of service of the frame.
122. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on latency of the frame.
123. The routing device of claim 117 wherein all frames of a connection are stored in the same buffer.
124. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
125. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
126. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
127. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the second frame is received after the first frame and the second frame is selected.
128. The routing device of claim 117 wherein a later received frame is selected before an earlier received frame.
129. The routing device of claim 117 wherein the routing device is a switch.
130. A routing device comprising: means for storing a first frame received at the routing device; means for storing a second frame received at the routing device; and means for selecting either the first frame or the second frame for transmitting based on a priority score of the first frame and the second frame.
131. The routing device of claim 130 wherein each source port of the routing device has a means for storing and a means for selecting.
132. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the means for storing are used to store frames received through only one source port.
133. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a priority associated with the frame.
134. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on a class of service of the frame.
135. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the priority score of a frame is based on latency of the frame.
136. The routing device of claim 130 wherein all frames of a connection are stored by the same means for storing.
137. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
138. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
139. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
140. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the second frame is received after the first frame and the second frame is selected by the means for selecting.
141. The routing device of claim 130 wherein a later received frame is selected before an earlier received frame by the means for selecting.
142. The routing device of claim 130 wherein the routing device is a switch.
143. A method in a routing device for identifying a destination port for data, the method comprising: comparing a domain address associated with the data with a domain address associated with the routing device; when the domain address associated with the data does not match the domain address associated with the routing device, identifying a port based on the domain address associated with the data; and when the domain address associated with the data matches the domain address associated with the routing device, identifying a port based on a virtual address associated with the data wherein the identified port is the destination port for the data.
144. The method of claim 143 wherein the identifying of the port based on the domain address associated with the data includes using the domain address to index a domain address table to retrieve an identification of the port.
145. The method of claim 144 wherein each entry of the domain address table contains a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
146. The method of claim 145 wherein the identifying of a port based on the domain address associated with the data identifies each of the ports designated by a retrieved port map.
147. The method of claim 143 wherein the identifying of the port based on the virtual address associated with the data includes using the virtual address to index a virtual address table to retrieve an identification of the port.
148. The method of claim 147 wherein each entry of the virtual address table contains a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
149. The method of claim 148 wherein the identifying of a port based on the virtual address associated with the data identifies each of the ports designated in a retrieved port map.
150. The method of claim 143 wherein the domain address and virtual address of the data form a virtual identifier.
151. The method of claim 143 wherein the data is a Fibre Channel frame.
152. The method of claim 143 wherein the data is an InfiniBand Channel frame.
153. The method of claim 143 wherein each port of the routing device has its own virtual address table and the virtual address table of the port through which the data is received is used to identify the port.
154. The method of claim 143 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
155. The method of claim 143 including transmitting the data through the identified port.
156. The method of claim 143 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
157. The method of claim 143 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
158. The method of claim 143 wherein a port identified using the domain address associated with the data is a port through which the data can be sent to a routing device with a domain address that matches the domain address of the data.
159. The method of claim 143 wherein the routing device is a switch.
160. A routing device comprising: a component that compares a domain address associated with data to be forwarded through the routing device with a domain address associated with the routing device; a component that, when the domain address associated with the data does not match the domain address associated with the routing device, identifies a port based on the domain address associated with the data; a component that, when the domain address associated with the data matches the domain address associated with the routing device, identifies a port based on a virtual address associated with the data; and a component that forwards the data through the identified port.
161. The routing device of claim 160 including a domain address table with a mapping of domain addresses to destination ports and wherein the component that identifies the port based on the domain address associated with the data uses the domain address to retrieve an identification of the port from the domain address table.
162. The routing device of claim 161 wherein each entry of the domain address table contains a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
163. The routing device of claim 162 wherein the component that identifies a port based on the domain address associated with the data identifies each of the ports designated by a retrieved port map.
164. The routing device of claim 160 including a virtual address table that maps virtual addresses to ports and wherein the component that identifies the port based on the virtual address associated with the data uses the virtual address to retrieve an identification of the port from the virtual address table.
165. The routing device of claim 164 wherein each entry of the virtual address table contains a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
166. The routing device of claim 165 wherein the component that identifies a port based on the virtual address associated with the data identifies each of the ports designated in a retrieved port map.
167. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the domain address and virtual address of the data form a virtual identifier.
168. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the data is a Fibre Channel frame.
169. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the data is an InfiniBand frame.
170. The routing device of claim 160 wherein each port of the routing device has its own virtual address table and the virtual address table of the port through which the data is received is used to identify the port.
171. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
172. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the routing device is a switch.
173. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
174. The routing device of claim 160 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
175. The routing device of claim 160 wherein a port identified using the domain address associated with the data is a port through which the data can be sent to a routing device with a domain address that matches the domain address of the data.
176. A storage medium containing a virtual identifier for a communication, the virtual identifier comprising: a virtual address; and a domain address wherein the domain address is used to route the communication when a routing device has a domain address that does not match the domain address of the virtual identifier and wherein the virtual address is used to route the communication when the routing device does not have a domain address that matches the domain address of the virtual identifier.
177. The storage medium of claim 176 wherein the storage medium is a data transmission medium.
178. The storage medium of claim 176 wherein the virtual identifier is a destination identifier.
179. The storage medium of claim 176 wherein the virtual identifier is a source identifier.
180. The storage medium of claim 176 wherein the virtual identifier is part of a frame.
181. The storage medium of claim 180 wherein the frame is Fibre Channel compatible.
182. The storage medium of claim 180 wherein the frame is InfiniBand compatible.
183. A method in a network of routing devices for routing communications, the method comprising: receiving a communication at the network, the communication having a virtual identifier with a domain address and a virtual address that identifies a destination; routing the received communication to the destination in accordance with the domain address when the domain address of the received communications does not match the domain address of a routing device; and routing the received communication to the destination in accordance with the virtual address when the domain address of the received communications does not match the domain address of a routing device.
184. The method of claim 183 wherein the network comprising a collection of routing devices, each routing device being assigned to a domain with a domain address.
185. The method of claim 183 wherein the network is a Fibre Channel network.
186. The method of claim 183 wherein the network is an InfiniBand network.
187. The method of claim 183 wherein the routing devices are interconnect fabric modules.
188. The method of claim 183 wherein a routing device has a domain address table that maps domain addresses to ports of the routing device.
189. The method of claim 188 wherein each port has its own domain address table.
190. The method of claim 183 wherein a routing device has a virtual address table that maps virtual addresses to ports of the routing device.
191. The method of claim 190 wherein each port has its own virtual address table.
192. A routing device comprising: means for identifying a port based on a domain address associated with a communication when the domain address associated with the communication does not match a domain address associated with the routing device; means for identifying a port based on a virtual address associated with the communication when the domain address associated with the communication matches the domain address associated with the routing device; and means for forwarding the communication via the identified port.
193. The routing device of claim 192 including means for mapping domain addresses to ports and wherein the means for identifying a port based on the domain address associated with the communication uses the domain address to retrieve an identification of the port from the mapping.
194. The routing device of claim 193 wherein each mapping includes a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
195. The routing device of claim 194 wherein the means for identifying a port based on the domain address associated with the communication identifies each of the ports designated by a port map.
196. The routing device of claim 192 including means for mapping virtual addresses to ports and wherein the means for identifying the port based on the virtual address associated with the communication uses the virtual address to retrieve an identification of the port from the mapping.
197. The routing device of claim 196 wherein each mapping includes a port map that designates one or more of the ports of the routing device.
198. The routing device of claim 197 wherein the means for identifying a port based on the virtual address associated with the communication identifies each of the ports designated in a port map.
199. The routing device of claim 192 wherein the domain address and virtual address of the communication form a virtual identifier.
200. A method in a switch for selecting a destination port for data, the destination port being connected by a link to a port of another switch, the method comprising: providing a designation that a first port and second port are equivalent; receiving data that designates that the first port is to be the destination port for the received data; and when the first port is currently unavailable, selecting the second port as the destination port for the received data based on the provided designation that the first port and the second port are equivalent.
201. The method of claim 200 wherein the provided designation is stored in a table with an entry for ports of the switch.
202. The method of claim 201 wherein an entry for the first port designates that the second port is equivalent to the first port.
203. The method of claim 201 wherein an entry for the second port designates that the first port is equivalent to the second port.
204. The method of claim 200 wherein a port can be equivalent to multiple other ports.
205. The method of claim 204 wherein the multiple ports have associated priorities and the second port is selected as the destination port when it has a priority that is higher than another of the multiple ports that are available.
206. The method of claim 200 wherein the received data designates the first port to be the destination port based on a mapping of a virtual address of the received data to the first port.
207. The method of claim 200 wherein the provided designations is provided by a source external to the switch.
208. The method of claim 200 wherein the provided designation is dynamically updated by a source external to the switch.
209. The method of claim 200 wherein the switch is part of an interconnect fabric.
210. The method of claim 200 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
211. The method of claim 200 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
212. The method of claim 200 wherein the data is a Fibre Channel frame.
213. A routing device comprising: a designation that a first port and second port are equivalent; a component that receives a communication that designates that the first port is to be the destination port for the received communication; and a component that selects the second port as the destination port for the received communication based on the designation when the first port is currently unavailable.
214. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the designation is a table with an entry for source ports of the routing device.
215. The routing device of claim 214 wherein an entry for the first port designates that the second port is equivalent to the first port.
216. The routing device of claim 214 wherein an entry for the second port designates that the first port is equivalent to the second port.
217. The routing device of claim 213 wherein a port can be equivalent to multiple other ports.
218. The routing device of claim 217 wherein the multiple ports have associated priorities and the second port is selected as the destination port when it has a priority that is higher than another of the multiple ports that are available.
219. The routing device of claim 217 wherein the component that selects the second port selects the second port from one of the multiple other ports that is available.
220. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the received communication designates the first port to be the destination port based on a mapping of a virtual address of the received communication to the first port.
221. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the designation is provided by a source external to the routing device.
222. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the designation is dynamically updated by a source external to the routing device.
223. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the routing device is part of an interconnect fabric.
224. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
225. The routing device of claim 213 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
226. A routing device comprising: means for designating that a first port and second port are equivalent; means for receiving a communication that designates that the first port is to be the destination port for the received communication; and means for selecting the second port as the destination port for the received communication based on the designation that the first port and the second port are equivalent when the first port is currently unavailable.
227. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the means for designating is a mapping for source ports of the routing device.
228. The routing device of claim 227 wherein a mapping for the first port designates that the second port is equivalent to the first port.
229. The routing device of claim 227 wherein a mapping for the second port designates that the first port is equivalent to the second port.
230. The routing device of claim 226 wherein a port can be equivalent to multiple other ports.
231. The routing device of claim 230 wherein the multiple ports have associated priorities and the second port is selected as the destination port when it has a priority that is higher than another of the multiple ports that are available.
232. The routing device of claim 230 wherein the means for selecting the second port selects the second port from one of the multiple other ports that is available.
233. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the received communication designates the first port to be the destination port based on a mapping of a virtual address of the received communication to the first port.
234. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the means for designating is provided a designation by a source external to the routing device.
235. The routing device of claim 226 wherein means for designating receives a dynamic update from a source external to the routing device.
236. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the routing device is part of an interconnect fabric.
237. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
238. The routing device of claim 226 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
239. A method in a switch for avoiding a deadlock while a connection is being established through the switch, the method comprising: receiving data at a port, the data indicating that the port is to be part of a conflicting connection established through the switch; and when the port is already part of a current connection that is being established, when the current connection has a higher priority than the conflicting connection, maintaining the current connection; and when the current connection does not have a higher priority than the conflicting connection, establishing part of the conflicting connection through the port.
240. The method of claim 239 wherein the priority of a connection is based on priority of data to be transmitted through the connection.
241. The method of claim 239 wherein when the current connection has the same priority as the conflicting connection, using an identifier of the switch and a device that sent the data as a priority tiebreaker.
242. The method of claim 239 wherein the establishing of part of the conflicting connection through the port includes sending data through the partially built current connection indicating that the current connection cannot be established.
243. The method of claim 239 wherein the establishing of the conflicting connection includes attempting to establish the current connection through another port of the switch.
244. The method of claim 239 wherein the data is a start-of-connection frame.
245. The method of claim 239 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
246. The method of claim 239 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
247. A device comprising: a component that establishes an existing connection through a port; a component that receives a communication at the port, the communication indicating that the port is to be part of a conflicting connection established through the device; and a component that maintains the existing connection when the existing connection has a higher priority than the conflicting connection and that terminates the existing connection when the conflicting connection has a higher priority than the existing connection.
248. The device of claim 247 wherein the priority of a connection is based on priority of the communication to be transmitted through the connection.
249. The device of claim 247 wherein when the existing connection has the same priority as the conflicting connection, an identifier of the device and another device that sent the communication is used as a priority tiebreaker.
250. The device of claim 247 including a component that sends a communication through the existing connection indicating that the existing connection cannot be established.
251. The device of claim 247 including a component that attempts to establish the existing connection through another port of the device when the conflicting connection has a higher priority.
252. The device of claim 247 wherein the communication is a start-of- connection frame.
253. The device of claim 247 wherein the device is Fibre Channel compatible.
254. The device of claim 247 wherein the device is InfiniBand compatible.
255. The device of claim 247 wherein the device is a routing device.
256. The device of claim 247 wherein the device is a switch.
257. The device of claim 247 wherein the device is a node.
258. A method in a routing device for avoiding a deadlock while a connection is being established through the routing device, the method comprising: receiving a communication at the routing device, the communication indicating that the port is to be part of a new connection to be established through the routing device; and when the routing device is already part of a current connection that is being established, terminating the current connection and establishing part of the new connection through the routing device.
259. The method of claim 258 wherein the current connection is terminated and the new connection is established when the new connection has a higher priority.
260. The method of claim 259 wherein the priority of a connection is based on priority of communications to be transmitted through the connection.
261. The method of claim 259 wherein when the current connection has the same priority as the new connection, using an identifier of the routing device and an other device that sent the communication as a priority tiebreaker.
262. The method of claim 258 wherein the establishing of part of the new connection includes sending communications through a partially built current connection indicating that the current connection cannot be established.
263. The method of claim 258 wherein the establishing of the new connection includes attempting to establish the current connection through another port of the switch.
264. The method of claim 258 wherein the communication is a start-of- connection frame.
265. The method of claim 258 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
266. The method of claim 258 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
267. The method of claim 258 wherein the routing device has ports and a conflict occurs when the current connection and the new connection are to use the same conflicting port.
268. The method of claim 267 including selecting an equivalent port for the conflicting port and establishing the new connection through the selected equivalent port.
269. The method of claim 258 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
270. A device comprising: means for receiving a communication at a port, that port having an existing connection that is partially built, the communication indicating that the port is to be part of a new connection; means for maintaining the existing connection when the existing connection has a higher priority than the new connection; and means for terminating the existing connection when the new connection has a higher priority than the existing connection.
271. The device of claim 270 wherein the priority of a connection is based on priority of the communication to be transmitted through the connection.
272. The device of claim 270 wherein when the existing connection has the same priority as the new connection, an identifier of the device and another device that sent the communication is used as a priority tiebreaker.
273. The device of claim 270 including means for sending a communication through the existing connection indicating that the existing connection cannot be established.
274. The device of claim 270 including means for attempting to establish the existing connection through another port of the device.
275. The device of claim 270 wherein the communication is a start-of- connection frame.
276. The device of claim 270 wherein the device is Fibre Channel compatible.
277. The device of claim 270 wherein the device is InfiniBand compatible.
278. The device of claim 270 wherein the device is a routing device.
279. The device of claim 270 wherein the device is a switch.
280. A method in a switch for establishing a connection through the switch, the method comprising: receiving data at a source port of the switch, the data indicating that the switch is to be part of a new connection to be established through the switch; and when an existing connection conflicts with the new connection and the received data indicates to preempt, when the existing connection has a higher priority than the new connection, maintaining the connection; and when the existing connection does not have a higher priority than the new connection, establishing part of the new connection through the source port and a port previously used by the existing connection.
281. The method of claim 280 including before establishing part of the new connection, terminating the existing connection.
282. The method of claim 280 including before establishing part of the new connection, routing the existing connection through a different port of the switch.
283. The method of claim 280 including determining the priority of a connection based on a priority associated with the data to be sent through the connection.
284. The method of claim 283 wherein when the priorities of the data are the same using a device identifier as a tiebreaker.
285. The method of claim 280 wherein the received data indicates to preempt when a preempt flag is set.
286. The method of claim 280 wherein the data is a start-of-connection frame with a preempt flag being set.
287. The method of claim 286 wherein the start-of-connection frame indicates the priority.
288. The method of claim 280 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
289. The method of claim 280 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
290. The method of claim 280 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
291. The method of claim 280 wherein the source port is not a port used by the existing connection.
292. The method of claim 280 wherein the existing connection is completely built.
293. A routing device comprising: a component that receives a communication indicating that the routing device is to be part of a new connection to be established that conflicts with an existing connection through the routing device; and a component that maintains the existing connection when the existing connection has a higher priority than the new connection and that establishes part of the new connection through a port previously used by the existing connection when the existing connection does not have a higher priority and the new connection indicates to preempt.
294. The routing device of claim 293 including a component that terminates the existing connection when the existing connection does not have a higher priority and the new connection indicates to preempt.
295. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the priority of a connection is based on a priority associated with the communications of the connection.
296. The routing device of claim 295 wherein when the priorities of the communications are the same, using a device identifier as a tiebreaker.
297. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the received communication indicates to preempt when a preempt flag is set.
298. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
299. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
300. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
301. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the communications is received via a source port is not a port used by the existing connection.
302. The routing device of claim 293 wherein the existing connection is completely built.
303. A method in a routing device for preempting an existing connection with a new connection, the method comprising: receiving a communication at a source port of the routing device, the communication indicating that the routing device is to be part of the new connection to be established through the routing device; and when the existing connection conflicts with the new connection and the received communication indicates to preempt, terminating the existing connection and establishing the new connection through the source port and a port previously used by the existing connection.
304. The method of claim 303 including when before establishing part of the new connection, re-establishing the existing connection through a different port of the routing device.
305. The method of claim 303 including maintaining the existing connection when it has a higher priority than the new connection.
306. The method of claim 303 including determining a priority of a connection based on a priority associated with the communication to be sent through the connection.
307. The method of claim 306 wherein when the priorities of the communications are the same using a device identifier as a tiebreaker.
308. The method of claim 303 wherein the received communication indicates to preempt when a preempt flag is set.
309. The method of claim 303 wherein the communication is a start-of- connection frame with a preempt flag being set.
310. The method of claim 303 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
311. The method of claim 303 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
312. The method of claim 303 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
313. The method of claim 303 wherein the source port is not a port used by the existing connection.
314. The method of claim 303 wherein the existing connection is completely built.
315. A routing device comprising: means for receiving a communication indicating that the routing device is to be part of a new connection to be established that conflicts with an existing connection through the routing device; and means for establishing the new connection through a port previously used by the existing connection when the communication indicates to preempt.
316. The routing device of claim 315 including means for terminating the existing connection when the communication indicates to preempt.
317. The routing device of claim 315 including means for maintaining the existing connection when the existing connection has a higher priority than the new connection.
318. The routing device of claim 317 wherein the priority of a connection is based on a priority associated with the communications of the connection.
319. The routing device of claim 318 wherein when the priorities of the communications are the same, using a device identifier as a tiebreaker.
320. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the received communication indicates to preempt when a preempt flag is set.
321. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
322. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
323. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
324. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the communications is received via a source port is not a port used by the existing connection.
325. The routing device of claim 315 wherein the existing connection is completely built.
326. A method in a switch for multicasting data whose delivery is not guaranteed, the method comprising: receiving data to be multicasted; storing the received data in a buffer; identifying destination ports through which the received data is to be transmitted; and repeating determining the destination ports that are currently available and through which the data has not already been transmitted and transmitting the data through the determined destination ports until the data has been transmitted through all the destination ports or until the data has timed out at the switch.
327. The method of claim 326 wherein each port of the switch has its own buffer.
328. The method of claim 326 wherein the data indicates that the data is to be multicasted without acknowledgement.
329. The method of claim 326 wherein the data indicates a Fibre Channel class 3 data.
330. The method of claim 326 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
331. The method of claim 326 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
332. The method of claim 326 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
333. The method of claim 326 wherein the identifying of destination ports includes using a virtual address and a label table that maps virtual addresses to destination ports.
334. The method of claim 326 including when it is determined that a destination port is not available, determining whether an equivalent port is available.
335. A routing device that receives a communication to be multicasted to destinations, that stores the communication in a buffer, that identifies destination ports through which the received communication is to be transmitted to the destinations, and that transmits the communication to the identified destination ports as the destination ports become available until the communication has been transmitted through all the destination ports.
336. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the transmitting of the communication to the identified destination ports as the destination ports become available continues until a criterion is satisfied.
337. The routing device of claim 336 wherein the criterion is a time out.
338. The routing device of claim 336 wherein the criterion is the buffer is needed to store another communication.
339. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the communication is received via a port and each port of the routing device has its own buffer.
340. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the communication indicates that the communication is to be multicasted without acknowledgement.
341. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the communication indicates a Fibre Channel class 3 communication.
342. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
343. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
344. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the routing device is a switch.
345. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
346. The routing device of claim 335 wherein the communication includes a virtual address and the routing device includes a label table that maps the virtual address to destination ports.
347. The routing device of claim 335 that identifies an equivalent destination port when the identified destination port is not available.
348. A method in a routing device for multicasting a communication, the method comprising: receiving the communication; and transmitting the received communications through destination ports of the routing device as they become available until a criteria indicates to stop transmitting the communications.
349. The method of claim 348 wherein the transmitting includes determining the destination ports that are currently available and through which the communication has not already been transmitted and transmitting the communication through the determined destination ports.
350. The method of claim 348 wherein the criteria is a time out.
351. The method of claim 348 wherein the communication is not guaranteed to be delivered to all destinations.
352. The method of claim 348 including storing the communication in a buffer.
353. The method of claim 348 wherein the communication indicates that the communication is to be multicasted without acknowledgement.
354. The method of claim 348 wherein the communication indicates a Fibre Channel class 3 communication.
355. The method of claim 348 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
356. The method of claim 348 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
357. The method of claim 348 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
358. The method of claim 348 including identifying destination ports using a virtual address and a label table that maps virtual addresses to destination ports.
359. The method of claim 348 including determining whether a destination port is available and when it is determined that a destination port is not available, determining whether an equivalent port is available.
360. A routing device comprising: means for receiving a communication to be multicasted to destinations; means for storing stores the communication in a buffer; means for identifying destination ports through which the received communication is to be transmitted to the destinations; and means for transmitting the communication to the identified destination ports as the destination ports become available until a criterion has been satisfied.
361. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the criterion is transmitting of the communications to all of the identified destination ports.
362. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the criterion is a time out.
363. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the criterion is the buffer is needed to store another communication.
364. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the communication is received via a port and each port of the routing device has its own buffer.
365. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the communication indicates that the communication is to be multicasted without acknowledgement.
366. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the communication indicates a Fibre Channel class 3 communication.
367. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
368. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
369. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
370. The routing device of claim 360 wherein the communication includes a virtual address and the routing device includes means for mapping the virtual address to destination ports.
371. The routing device of claim 360 includes means for identifying an equivalent destination port when the identified destination port is not available.
372. A method in a switch having ports connected to a crosspoint switch of the switch, the crosspoint switch having inputs and outputs connected to the ports, the crosspoint switch for connecting one port to another port, the crosspoint switch having at least one output that is not connected to a port, the method comprising: providing a reserved address; receiving data through a source port, the received data having an address; and when the address of the received data matches the provided reserved address, directing the crosspoint switch to connect the source port to the output that is not connected to a port so that data addressed to the reserved address is routed to the output not connected to a port.
373. The method of claim 372 wherein the output not connected to a port is connected to a device that is external to the switch.
374. The method of claim 372 wherein the reserved address identifies that the received data is related to an upper layer protocol.
375. The method of claim 374 wherein the upper layer protocol is a Fibre Channel upper layer protocol.
376. The method of claim 374 wherein the upper layer protocol is an InfiniBand upper layer protocol.
377. The method of claim 372 wherein the reserved address identified that the received data is administrative data.
378. The method of claim 372 wherein the crosspoint switch has at least one more output than the number of ports of the switch.
379. The method of claim 372 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
380. The method of claim 372 wherein the data is a frame.
381. The method of claim 372 wherein the address of the received data is a virtual address.
382. A routing device comprising: a plurality of ports; a switch having switch ports connected to the ports and having at least one switch port that is not connected to a port; a component that receives communications at a source port; a component that directs connecting of the source port to the switch port that is not connected to a port based on an indication that a communications is administrative; and a component that transmits the communication from the source port to the switch port that is not connected to a port.
383. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the switch port that is not connected to a port is connected to a device that is external to the routing device.
384. The routing device of claim 383 wherein the device that is external to the routing device hosts a network manager for controlling a network of routing devices.
385. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the indication that the communications is administrative is a reserved address of the communications.
386. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the switch port that is not connected to a port is connected to a device that provides a Fibre Channel upper layer protocol.
387. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the switch port that is not connected to a port is connected to a device that provides an InfiniBand upper layer protocol.
388. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the switch has at least one more switch port than the number of ports of the routing device.
389. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
390. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
391. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the communications is a frame.
392. The routing device of claim 382 wherein the indication that the communication is administrative includes a virtual address.
393. A method in a routing device having routing device ports connected to a crosspoint switch of the switch, the crosspoint switch having switch ports connected to the routing device ports, the method comprising: receiving a communication through a source routing device port; and when the received communication indicates that it is administrative, directing the crosspoint switch to connect the source routing device port to a switch port connected to a device for processing administrative communications.
394. The method of claim 393 wherein the switch port that is connected to the device for processing administrative communications is not connected to a routing device port.
395. The method of claim 394 wherein in device includes a network manager.
396. The method of claim 393 wherein the switch port that is not connected to a routing device port is connected to a device that is external to the routing device.
397. The method of claim 393 wherein the communication indicates that it is to be process by an upper layer protocol.
398. The method of claim 397 wherein the upper layer protocol is a Fibre Channel upper layer protocol.
399. The method of claim 397 wherein the upper layer protocol is an InfiniBand upper layer protocol.
400. The method of claim 393 wherein the crosspoint switch has at least one more switch port than the number of routing device ports.
401. The method of claim 393 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
402. The method of claim 393 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
403. The method of claim 393 wherein the communication is a frame.
404. The method of claim 393 wherein the communication includes a virtual address designating that the communication is administrative.
405. A routing device comprising: a plurality of routing device ports; switching means for connecting a switch port to another switch port, each routing device port being connected to switch port; an administrative port connected to a switch port; means for configuring the switch means to connect a switch port connected to a source routing device port that has received an administrative communication; and means for transmits the administrative communication from the source routing device port to the switch port that is connected to the administrative port.
406. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the administrative port is connected to an administrative device.
407. The routing device of claim 406 wherein the administrative device hosts a network manager for a network of routing devices.
408. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the administrative port is connected to an administrative device that is external to the routing device.
409. The routing device of claim 408 wherein the administrative device hosts a network manager for controlling a network of routing devices.
410. The routing device of claim 405 wherein a communication is indicated as being administrative by a reserved address of the communication.
411. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the switch port that is connected to an administrative port is connected to a device that provides a Fibre Channel upper layer protocol.
412. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the switch port that is connected to an administrative port is connected to a device that provides an InfiniBand upper layer protocol.
413. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the switching means has at least one more switch port than the number of routing device ports.
414. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
415. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
416. The routing device of claim 405 wherein the communications is a frame.
417. The routing device of claim 405 wherein a virtual address indicates that the communication is administrative.
418. A method in a switch for controlling access to a network, the method comprising: for each node connected to the switch, receiving from a network manager addresses to which the node is authorized to transmit a communication; receiving a communication from a node, the communication having a destination address; determining based on the received addresses whether the node that transmitted the communication is authorized to transmit a communication to the destination address; and when it is determined that the node is not authorized, suppressing the transmitting of the received communication through the network.
419. The method of claim 418 wherein the address is a virtual address.
420. The method of claim 418 wherein the switch has multiple ports, wherein each port is connected to a node, and wherein each port has access to the received addresses to which the connected-to node is authorized to transmit a communication.
421. The method of claim 418 including storing the received addresses in a label table associated with a port of the switch that is connected to the node.
422. The method of claim 418 including notifying the network manager that the node is not authorized to transmit received communications.
423. The method of claim 418 including indicating that the node is no longer authorized to transmit any communication.
424. The method of claim 423 wherein received addresses are stored in association with the node and the indicating includes removing the association of an address with the node.
425. The method of claim 423 wherein the indicating that the node is no longer authorized to transmit to the address occurs in response to an indication from the network manager that the node is no longer authorized to transmit to the address.
426. The method of claim 423 wherein the indicating that the node is no longer authorized to transmit to the address occurs in response to expiration of a timeout period.
427. The method of claim 423 wherein the indicating that the node is no longer authorized to transmit to the address occurs in response to detecting a condition in a physical layer of a link to between the switch and the node.
428. The method of claim 418 wherein an address is received from the network manager during registration of the node.
429. The method of claim 418 including when it is determined that the node is authorized, transmitting the received communication to the destination address.
430. The method of claim 418 wherein the receiving includes receiving a filter parameter that indicates valid data of a communication from the node.
431. The method of claim 430 including when the received communication does not satisfy a filter parameter, discarding the received communication.
432. The method of claim 431 wherein the filter parameter is priority.
433. The method of claim 431 wherein the filter parameter is class of service.
434. A method in a routing device for controlling access to a network, the method comprising: receiving a filter for a node, the filter indicating a valid parameter for a communication transmitted by the node through the network; receiving a communication from the node, the communication having a parameter; determining whether the parameter of the received communication is valid based on the received filter; and when it is determined that parameter of the received communication is not valid, suppressing the transmitting of the received communication.
435. The method of claim 434 wherein the parameter is a virtual address and the filter indicates one or more virtual addresses that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
436. The method of claim 434 wherein the parameter relates to priority of a communication and the filter indicates a priority that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
437. The method of claim 434 wherein the parameter relates to class of service of a communication and the filter indicates a class of service that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
438. The method of claim 434 wherein the routing device has multiple ports, wherein each port is connected to a node, and wherein each port has access to a received filter for the connected-to node.
439. The method of claim 434 wherein the received filter is associated with a destination address assigned to the node and wherein the filter is applied to communications transmitted by the node that have that destination address.
440. The method of claim 434 including notifying a network manager when the transmitting of a communication is suppressed.
441. The method of claim 434 wherein the filter is received from a network manager.
442. The method of claim 434 wherein the filter is received from the network manager based on registration of the node.
443. The method of claim 434 wherein the routing device is a switch.
444. The method of claim 434 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
445. The method of claim 434 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
446. A routing device for controlling access to a network, comprising: a component having a filter for a node, the filter indicating valid parameters for communications transmitted by the node through the network; a component that receives communications from the node, the communications having parameters; a component that applies the filter to the communications to determining whether the parameters of the received communications are valid; and a component that discards a received communication when it is determined that a parameter of the received communication is not valid.
447. The routing device of claim 446 wherein a parameter is a virtual address and the filter indicates one or more virtual addresses that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
448. The routing device of claim 446 wherein a parameter relates to priority of a communication and the filter indicates a priority that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
449. The routing device of claim 446 wherein a parameter relates to class of service of a communication and the filter indicates a class of service that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
450. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the routing device has multiple ports connected to nodes and wherein each port has access to a filter for the connected-to node.
451. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the filter is associated with a destination address assigned to the node and wherein the filter is applied to communications transmitted by the node that have that destination address.
452. The routing device of claim 446 including notifying a network manager when a communication is discarded.
453. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the filter is received from a network manager.
454. The routing device of claim 453 wherein the filter is received from the network manager during registration of the node.
455. The routing device of claim 446 including a component that indicates that the node is not allowed to transmit any communications when it is determined that the parameter of a received communication is not valid.
456. The routing device of claim 446 including when it is determined that the parameter of the received communication is not valid, indicating that the node is not allowed to transmit communications to a destination address associated with the received communication.
457. The routing device of claim 446 including a component that transmits a received communication when it is determined that the parameters of the received communication are valid.
458. The routing device of claim 446 including a component that modifies the filter so that the modified filter is applied to subsequent communications received from the node.
459. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the routing device is a switch.
460. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
461. The routing device of claim 446 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
462. A routing device for controlling access to a network, comprising: means for applying a filter to communications received from a node to determining whether parameters of the communications are valid; and means for discarding a communication when it is determined that a parameter of the communication is not valid.
463. The routing device of claim 462 wherein a parameter is a virtual address and the filter indicates one or more virtual addresses that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
464. The routing device of claim 462 wherein a parameter relates to priority of a communication and the filter indicates a priority that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
465. The routing device of claim 462 wherein a parameter relates to class of service of a communication and the filter indicates a class of service that can be validly used in a communication transmitted by the node.
466. The routing device of claim 462 wherein the routing device has multiple ports connected to nodes and wherein each port has access to a filter for the connected-to node.
467. The routing device of claim 462 wherein the filter is associated with a destination address assigned to the node and wherein the means for applying the filter applies it to communications transmitted by the node that have that destination address.
468. The routing device of claim 462 including a component that transmits a received communication when it is determined that the parameters of the received communication are valid.
469. The routing device of claim 462 wherein the routing device is a switch.
470. The routing device of claim 462 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
471. The routing device of claim 462 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
472. The routing device of claim 462 includes means for receiving a filter from a network manager.
473. The routing device of claim 472 wherein the filter is received during registration of the node.
474. A method in a switch for controlling access to a network, the method comprising: receiving from a network manager an indication that a node connected to the switch is authorized to transmit communications using a destination address; receiving from the node communications using the destination address; transmitting the received communications through the network; and upon occurrence of a criterion indicating to not transmit communications of the node through the network, suppressing of the transmitting of communications using the destination address that are subsequently received from the node.
475. The method of claim 474 wherein the criterion is receiving an indication from the network manager that the node is no longer authorized to transmit communications using the destination address.
476. The method of claim 474 wherein the criterion is expiration of a timeout period.
477. The method of claim 476 including starting the timeout period when the indication is received from the network manager.
478. The method of claim 476 including starting the timeout period when a communication using the destination address is received.
479. The method of claim 476 including re-starting the timeout period whenever a communication using the destination address is received.
480. The method of claim 474 wherein the criterion is detecting a communications error in a transmission between the switch and the node.
481. The method of claim 480 wherein the communications error is detected at a physical layer.
482. The method of claim 474 wherein the criterion is disconnecting of the node from the switch.
483. The method of claim 474 wherein the criterion is terminating the connection between the switch and the node.
484. The method of claim 474 wherein the switch has multiple ports with the node being connected to one of the multiple ports.
485. The method of claim 474 wherein the destination address is a virtual address.
486. The method of claim 474 wherein the switch is Fibre Channel compatible.
487. The method of claim 474 wherein the switch is InfiniBand compatible.
488. The method of claim 474 wherein the switch is an interconnect fabric module.
489. A routing device for controlling access to a network, comprising: a component that receives an indication that a node connected to the routing device is authorized to transmit communications through the network; and a component that transmits through the network communications received from the node so long as a criterion indicating to not transmit such communications has not occurred.
490. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the criterion is receiving an indication from the network manager that the node is no longer authorized to transmit communications through the network.
491. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the received indication specifies a destination identifier to which the node is authorized to transmit communications.
492. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the criterion is expiration of a timeout period.
493. The routing device of claim 492 including starting the timeout period when the indication is received from the network manager.
494. The routing device of claim 492 including starting the timeout period when a communication is received from the node.
495. The routing device of claim 492 including re-starting the ,timeout period whenever a communication is received from the node.
496. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the criterion is detecting a communications error in a transmission between the routing device and the node.
497. The routing device of claim 496 wherein the communications error is detected at a physical layer.
498. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the criterion is disconnecting of the node from the routing device.
499. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the criterion is terminating the connection between the routing device and the node.
500. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
501. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
502. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.
503. The routing device of claim 489 wherein the routing device is a switch.
504. A routing device for controlling access to a network, comprising: means for receiving an indication that a node connected to the routing device is authorized to transmit communications through the network; and means for transmitting through the network communications received from the node so long as there is no indication to not transmit such communications.
505. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the indication to not transmit is receiving an indication from the network manager that the node is no longer authorized to transmit communications through the network.
506. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the received indication specifies a destination identifier to which the node is authorized to transmit communications.
507. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the indication to not transmit is expiration of a timeout period.
508. The routing device of claim 507 including means for starting the timeout period when the indication is received from the network manager.
509. The routing device of claim 507 including means for starting the timeout period when a communication is received from the node.
510. The routing device of claim 509 wherein the timeout period is started when the received communication has a designated destination address.
511. The routing device of claim 507 including means for re-starting the timeout period whenever a communication is received from the node.
512. The routing device of claim 511 wherein the timeout period is re-started when the received communication has a designated destination address.
513. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the indication to not transmit is detecting a communications error in a transmission between the routing device and the node.
514. The routing device of claim 513 wherein the communications error is detected at a physical layer.
515. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the indication to not transmit is disconnecting of the node from the routing device.
516. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the indication to not transmit is terminating the connection between the routing device and the node.
517. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the routing device is Fibre Channel compatible.
518. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the routing device is InfiniBand compatible.
519. The routing device of claim 504 wherein the routing device is an interconnect fabric module.