发明名称 DYNAMIC TOPOLOGY CONFIGURATION IN A DAISY-CHAINED COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT
摘要 <p>A loop isolation circuit (LIC) (100) to enable subdivision of a single daisy-chained communication loop (e.g., FC-AL) into smaller loops and to enable joining of smaller loops into a single larger loop. An LIC (100) comprises essentially two multiplexors (102, 104) configured so as to permit controlled subdivision or joining of two loop portions. In a first selected state, the LIC (100) subdivides a communication loop in which is inserted into two loops. This configuration sacrifices accessibility among some devices previously on the large loop for the benefit of enhanced bandwidth and reduced overhead due to node count. Bandwidth is enhanced by enabling simultaneous operation of two (or more) loop portions for establishing and communicating over logical circuit connections. However, when a failure of a redundant loop precludes access to devices, the LIC (100) may be set to a second state to rejoin previously subdivided loops into a larger loop. This configuration restores access among all devices sharing common access to the larger loop. The LIC (100) of the present invention therefore enables communication loop controllers to dynamically reconfigure a daisy-chained loop communication system to enhance performance in normal operation. The LIC (100) further enables restoration of the larger loop to restore redundant loop configurations. The LIC (100) of the present invention is applicable in many daisy-chained loop communication environments including, but not limited to, Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL).</p>
申请公布号 WO1998028882(A1) 申请公布日期 1998.07.02
申请号 US1997023082 申请日期 1997.12.15
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