US 11,991,208 B2
Secure fibre channel/NVMe fabric communication system
Ramesh Kumar Subbiah, Chennai (IN); and Vibin Varghese, Chennai (IN)
Assigned to Dell Products L.P., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed by Dell Products L.P., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed on Nov. 30, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/107,624.
Prior Publication US 2022/0174094 A1, Jun. 2, 2022
Int. Cl. H04L 9/40 (2022.01); G06F 3/06 (2006.01); G06F 21/79 (2013.01); H04L 49/356 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 63/162 (2013.01) [G06F 3/0622 (2013.01); G06F 3/0659 (2013.01); G06F 3/067 (2013.01); G06F 3/0679 (2013.01); G06F 21/79 (2013.01); H04L 49/357 (2013.01); H04L 63/083 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A secure Fibre Channel Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) fabric communications system, comprising:
a host device that includes a host chassis having a host physical port, wherein the host device has been configured with a plurality of first host Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) Qualified Names (NQNs) that are each accessible via the host physical port and that have each been provided with a respective host NQN World Wide Port Name (WWPN);
an NVMe target device that has an NVMe target device chassis including a target physical port and housing a plurality of target subsystems that are each accessible via the target physical port and that have each been configured with a respective first target NQN and provided with a respective target NQN WWPN associated with that first target NQN; and
a Fibre Channel fabric that couples the host device to the NVMe target device, wherein the Fibre Channel fabric includes at least one Fibre Channel networking device that is configured to:
store, in a Fibre Channel networking database, zoning information that includes a respective zoning entry for each of a plurality of host NQN/target NQN pairs that is configured to zone that host NQN/target NQN pair for communication with each other, wherein each respective zoning entry uniquely maps the host physical port, a respective first host NQN configured on the host physical port, a respective first host NQN WWPN provided for that respective first host NQN, the target physical port, a respective first target NQN configured on the target physical port, and a respective first target NQN WWPN provided for that respective first target NQN;
perform, with the host device for each host NQN WWPN associated with the plurality of first host NQNs configured on the host device, host login operations that register the first host NQN associated with that host NQN WWPN as an NVMe host;
perform, with the NVMe target device for each target NQN WWPN associated with the respective first target NQN configured for each of the plurality of target subsystems housed in the NVMe target device chassis, target login operations that register the first target NQN associated with that target NQN WWPN as an NVMe target; and
provide, to the host device for each of the plurality of first host NQNs configured on the host device and based on the zoning information that was stored in the Fibre Channel networking database, target NQN details for one or more first target NQNs that are configured for respective target subsystems housed in the NVMe target device chassis and that are zoned for communication with that first host NQN, wherein the target NQN details are configured to allow each of the plurality of first host NQNs configured on the host device to establish a respective communication session with the one or more first target NQNs that are configured for respective target subsystems housed in the NVMe target device chassis and that are zoned for communication with that first host NQN, while preventing that first host NQN from accessing target subsystems that are not zoned for communication with that first host NQN.