Partitioning of Switches and Fabrics into Logical Switches and Fabrics

A method of partitioning network switches, comprising:

• partitioning the first network switch into a first plurality of virtual switch fabrics;
• partitioning the first network switch into a first plurality of logical switches;
• and
• associating the first logical switch with a first virtual fabric of the first plurality of virtual switch fabrics.

A network switch, comprising:

• a switch, partitionable into a plurality of logical switches, wherein each of the plurality of logical switches is a complete and self-contained network switch;
• a processor;
• a storage medium, connected to the processor;
• a chassis management system, stored on the storage medium, wherein the chassis management system, that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform actions that are associated with the switch as a whole;
• and
• a logical switch management system, stored on the storage medium, wherein the logical switch management system, that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform actions associated with any of the plurality of logical switches.

A network comprising:

• a plurality of external devices;
• a plurality of chassis, each comprising:
• a single-chassis fabric;
• and
• a switch configured for use with the single-chassis fabric;
• a first multi-chassis virtual fabric coupling the plurality of external devices, wherein the first multi-chassis virtual fabric comprises:
• a first virtual single-chassis fabric to which are coupled a first portion of the plurality of external devices, the first virtual single-chassis fabric selected from a plurality of virtual fabrics configured from the single-chassis fabric of a first chassis of the plurality of chassis;
• and
• a second virtual single-chassis fabric to which are coupled a second portion of the plurality of external devices, the second virtual single-chassis fabric selected from a plurality of virtual fabrics configured from the single-chassis fabric of a second chassis of the plurality of chassis;
• and
• a software stored on a storage medium of each of the plurality of chassis, the software for instructing a processor of the corresponding chassis to perform actions comprising:
• partitioning the single-chassis fabric of the chassis into a plurality of virtual single-chassis fabrics;
• associating a virtual single-chassis fabric of the plurality of virtual single-chassis fabrics with the multi-chassis virtual fabric;
• partitioning the switch into a plurality of logical switches;
• and
• assigning a first logical switch of the plurality of logical switches to the multi-chassis virtual fabric.