Virtual Connection Management for Reliable Server Transport

The patent introduces virtual connections as intermediary entities that manage data transfer over Fibre Channel networks. These virtual connections act as mediators between storage devices and clients, establishing reliable communication paths that maintain data integrity even across long distances. The virtual connection layer provides error handling, flow control, and path management that ensures communication reliability regardless of physical distance.

The patent merges multiple virtual connections into a unified management structure where a single virtual connection can handle multiple data streams and paths. This consolidation reduces the overhead of managing individual connections while maintaining the parallelism and efficiency benefits of multiple pathways. The system combines path selection, load balancing, and error recovery functions into an integrated virtual connection management mechanism.

The patent implements dynamic load balancing where virtual connections can be created, modified, and terminated based on real-time network conditions and data transfer requirements. The system dynamically selects optimal paths and distributes data streams across multiple virtual connections according to current load conditions, rather than using static allocation. This dynamic approach optimizes communication efficiency while the virtualization layer abstracts the complexity from users.

The patent makes the virtual connection mechanism universal by designing it to work with multiple protocols including SCSI over Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and FC-PH. The virtual connection layer provides a common framework that handles protocol-specific details internally while presenting a unified interface. This multi-functionality allows the system to leverage the reliability of SCSI protocols while reducing overall complexity through protocol-agnostic virtual connection management.