Selectable communication control between devices communicating using a serial attached SCSI (SAS) protocol

A system comprising:

• a plurality of devices capable of communicating in accordance with Serial Attached Small Computer Systems Interface (SAS) protocol;
• a SAS expander configured to communicate with a plurality of SAS devices using, at least in part the SAS protocol, the SAS expander including communication control circuitry to provide selectable communication control between at least a first SAS device and at least a second SAS device of said plurality of SAS devices, said communication control circuitry configured to designate at least one zone among said plurality of SAS devices, said communication control circuitry further configured to evaluate a communication request from one of said plurality of SAS devices to allow or deny said communication request based upon said at least one zone;
• and
• said first device comprising a circuit card and a bus, said circuit card being capable of being coupled to said bus and said circuitry.

A method comprising:

• designating at least one zone via communication control circuitry located within a SAS expander, said SAS expander configured to communicate with a plurality of SAS devices using, at least in part a SAS protocol, said at least one zone comprising at least a first device of a plurality of SAS devices;
• controlling communication between at least one other of said plurality of SAS devices and said first device via communication control circuitry, said first device and said other device being capable of communicating in accordance with a Serial Attached Small Computer Systems Interface (SAS) protocol;
• and
• evaluating a communication request from one of said plurality of devices, at said communication control circuitry, to allow or deny said communication request based upon said at least one zone.

An apparatus comprising:

• a SAS expander configured to communicate with a plurality of SAS devices using, at least in part a SAS protocol, said expander comprising:
• a plurality of first ports capable of coupling a plurality of first SAS devices together via an associated plurality of first communication links, said plurality of first SAS devices being capable of communicating via a first communication protocol, said first communication protocol comprising a Serial Attached Small Computer Systems Interface (SAS) communication protocol;
• a plurality of second ports capable of coupling a plurality of second SAS devices together via an associated plurality of second communication links, said plurality of second SAS devices being capable of communicating via a second communication protocol, said second communication protocol comprises a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (S-ATA) communication protocol;
• and
• communication control circuitry to provide selectable communication control between at least a first one of said plurality of first SAS devices and a second one of said plurality of first SAS devices, said communication control circuitry configured to designate at least one zone among said plurality of SAS devices, said communication control circuitry further configured to evaluate a communication request from one of said plurality of devices to allow or deny said communication request based upon said at least one zone.

An article comprising:

• a machine readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the machine performing operations comprising:
• designating at least one zone via communication control circuitry located within a SAS expander, said SAS expander configured to communicate with a plurality of SAS devices using, at least in part a SAS protocol, said at least one zone comprising at least a first device of a plurality of SAS devices;
• controlling communication between at least one other of said plurality of devices and said first device via communication control circuitry, said first device and said other device being capable of communicating in accordance with a Serial Attached Small Computer Systems Interface (SAS) protocol;
• and
• evaluating a communication request from one of said plurality of SAS devices, at said communication control circuitry, to allow or deny said communication request based upon said at least one zone.