System and method for on-demand node creation for fabric devices

A method for discovering fabric devices, comprising:

• providing a list of fabric devices available to a host system;
• receiving a request to create nodes in the host system for each fabric device in a selected subset of the fabric devices available to the host system;
• and
• creating a node in the host system for each of the fabric devices in the selected subset not already online.

A method for discovering devices attached to a storage network, comprising:

• receiving a request to identify devices attached to the storage network which are available to a host system;
• requesting the storage network to identify devices attached to the storage network which are available to the host system;
• receiving a list of the identified devices;
• receiving a request to on-line a subset of the identified devices;
• and
• creating a node within the host system for each of the identified devices in the subset that is not already online.

A device discovery method for a host system, wherein the host system comprises a plurality of I/O ports, the method comprising:

• determining whether each of the I/O ports is coupled to one or more direct attach devices or to a fabric;
• for each of the I/O ports connected to one or more direct attach devices, discovering the one or more direct attach devices and creating an operating system node for accessing each direct attach device;
• and
• for each of the I/O ports connected to the fabric, designating the I/O port as a fabric port without attempting to discover devices attached to the fabric.

A host system, comprising:

• one or more adapter ports for connecting to a fabric;
• a fabric driver configured to interface the host system to the fabric;
• an application configured to request the fabric driver to provide a list of fabric devices attached to the fabric that are visible to the host system through one of said adapter ports;
• wherein the fabric driver is further configured to provide the list of fabric devices to the application in response to the request from the application;
• wherein the application is further configured to indicate to the fabric driver a selected subset of the fabric devices from the list to be brought online for access from the host system;
• and
• wherein the fabric driver is further configured to online the selected subset of fabric devices so that the selected subset of fabric devices are accessible from the host system.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, wherein the sequence of instructions are executable by one or more processors to implement:

• receiving a list from a fabric driver of fabric devices available to a host system;
• receiving a request to select a subset of the fabric devices from the list;
• and
• requesting the fabric driver to create a node in the host system for each of the fabric devices in the subset.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, wherein the sequence of instructions are executable by one or more processors to implement:

• providing a list of fabric devices available to a host system;
• receiving a request to create nodes in the host system for each fabric device in a selected subset of the fabric devices available to the host system;
• and
• creating a node in the host system for each of the fabric devices in the selected subset.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, wherein the sequence of instructions are executable by one or more processors to implement:

• receiving a request to identify devices attached to the storage network which are available to a host system;
• requesting the storage network to identify devices attached to the storage network which are available to the host system;
• receiving a list of the identified devices;
• receiving a request to on-line a subset of the identified devices;
• and
• creating a node within the host system for each of the identified devices in the subset that is not already online.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions, wherein the sequence of instructions are executable by one or more processors to implement a device discovery process for a host system, wherein the host system comprises a plurality of I/O ports, and wherein the device discovery process comprises:

• determining whether each of the I/O ports is connected to one or more direct attach devices or to a fabric;
• for each of the I/O ports connected to one or more direct attach devices, discovering the one or more direct attach devices and creating an operating system node for accessing each direct attach device;
• and
• for each of the I/O ports connected to the fabric, designating the I/O port as a fabric port without attempting to discover devices attached to the fabric.

A method for discovering fabric devices, comprising:

• viewing a list of fabric devices available to a host system;
• selecting a subset of the fabric devices from the list;
• and
• requesting that each of the fabric devices in the subset be brought online if not already online for use from the host system.