FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to data transmission networks, and specifically to coupling separated networks together.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Methods for transferring data within networks, such as local area networks (LANs) and storage area networks (SANs), rely on standard protocols describing how the data are transferred. Typically the data for a specific network are transferred as data-frames having a format defined by the protocol governing the functioning of the network. Two protocols which are used for transferring data at gigabit/s (Gbps) rates are the IEEE 802.3(Z) Ethernet protocol, issued by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., New Jersey, and the FC-PH Fibre Channel protocol, issued by the American National Standards Institute, Washington, D.C.  
           [0003]    Extending a network such as a Fibre Channel (FC) network by coupling it to other like networks is typically performed by coupling the networks together using one or more private lines.  
           [0004]    Methods for transferring data between networks operating under different protocols operating at Gbps rates are known in the art. For example, Dell Computer Corporation of Round Rock, Tex., provides a PowerVault Fibre Channel family of products which may be configured to transfer data between a Fibre Channel network and a gigabit Ethernet (GBE) network. Data transfer between the networks requires a suitably-adapted server.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is an object of some aspects of the present invention to provide a system for coupling separate data transmission networks to form a wide area network.  
           [0006]    It is a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide a system for coupling separate data transmission networks in a manner substantially transparent to clients of the networks.  
           [0007]    In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of networks which are separate from each other are coupled together via a central distributed wide area network (WAN). Each of the separate networks preferably operates according to a Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. These networks are herein termed FC networks, “FC islands,” or “islands.” The central WAN and the islands most preferably transfer data at a rate of the order of 1 gigabits/s (Gbps). The central WAN supports data transfer in the form of Internet Protocol (IP) frames, and communicates with the FC islands according to an Ethernet protocol, most preferably a gigabit Ethernet (GBE) protocol. Data is transferred between the islands and the WAN by encapsulating an FC data-frame as an IP frame with an Ethernet header, so forming an Ethernet/IP data-frame. Each island is coupled to the central WAN via a respective interface which converts data between Ethernet/IP and FC protocols. Thus, a client of one of the islands is able to communicate with a client of another of the islands using the FC protocol, so that the separate FC islands appear as one FC network to clients of the islands despite the intervening Ethernet/IP link, averting the need for one or more private lines as is used in the art.  
           [0008]    Each interface comprises a memory, containing a look-up table, which is controlled by a dedicated central processing unit (CPU). The interface is implemented using industry-standard devices and/or one or more custom or semi-custom devices, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Most preferably, the interface for each FC island is implemented as a component within a switch coupling clients of the island. Further preferably, the switch comprises the dedicated CPU. When interfaces are implemented using dedicated components and/or ASICs, data transfer between FC islands is significantly faster than data transfer using a server.  
           [0009]    In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a transmitting client, herein termed the transmitter, comprised in a first FC island, sends data in the form of an FC data-frame to a receiving client, herein termed the receiver, comprised in a second FC island. The FC data-frame is received by the interface to the central network in the first FC island, which converts the data-frame to one or more Ethernet/IP data-frames addressed to the interface in the second FC island. If data-frame size restrictions within the central WAN necessitate, the FC data-frame is fragmented into a plurality of ordered, encapsulated Ethernet/IP data-frames by the interface of the first island. The interface stores a temporary copy of the one or more Ethernet/IP data-frames in a buffer comprised in the interface. The interface also stores respective pointers to the one or more Ethernet/IP data-frames, and transmits the Ethernet/IP data-frames via the central network to the interface of the second island.  
           [0010]    The interface of the second island sends an acknowledgment of correct reception of each Ethernet/IP data-frame to the interface of the first island, which checks each acknowledgment against the buffer. When there is more than one Ethernet data-frame, the interface of the second island also arranges the received data-frames in order. If one of the acknowledgments is not received by the interface of the first island, the interface resends the data. The interface of the second island checks whether it has already received the resent data, and if it has, it ignores the resent data. Once the interface of the second island has received all the Ethernet/IP data-frames formed from the FC data-frame, it reconstructs the FC data-frame and forwards it to the receiver in its island. Neither the FC transmitter nor the FC receiver is aware of the intermediate conversion to an Ethernet protocol, so that the data transmission is effectively transparent to both The process of resending unacknowledged data, and ignoring the resent data if has already been received, improves the reliability of data communication over FC communication systems known in the art.  
           [0011]    In preferred embodiments of the present invention, Ethernet/IP data-frames are configured so as to optimize their length. Each data-frame is set to be less than or equal to a maximum length allowed by the Ethernet protocol, or to a maximum length allowed by a router or other active element within the central network. By reconfiguring data-frame length as necessary, an overall rate of data transmission is improved. Furthermore, Ethernet/IP data-frames produced in an interface can be routed according to a specific, selected path, i.e., via one or more specific routers comprised within the central WAN. By routing data-frames according to a specific path, the reliability and/or security and/or speed of data transmission is improved.  
           [0012]    There is therefore provided, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for transferring data between first and second networks via a central network therebetween, including:  
           [0013]    a first interface coupled between the first network, which operates according to a Fibre Channel protocol, and the central network, which operates according to a protocol different from the Fibre Channel protocol, the first interface comprising a memory containing a look-up table that includes a second-network-destination-address, and being adapted to receive from a client on the first network an initial data-frame comprising the second-network-destination-address, and to derive a second-interface-address from the look-up table using the second-network-destination-address as an index to the table, and to concatenate the second-interface-address to the initial data-frame so as to form a concatenated data-frame, and to convert the concatenated data-frame to a plurality of sub-frames responsive to a length of the concatenated data-frame, each sub-frame comprising a respective counter, and to convey the plurality of sub-frames to the central network for delivery to the second-interface-address; and  
           [0014]    a second interface coupled between the central network and the second network, which operates according to the Fibre Channel protocol, the second interface being adapted to receive the plurality of sub-frames at the second-interface-address, and to convey a respective acknowledgment of receipt of each of the plurality of sub-frames to the first interface, and to recover the initial data-frame from the plurality of sub-frames responsive to the respective counters, and to convey the recovered data-frame to the second network for delivery to the second-network-destination address;  
           [0015]    wherein the first interface is adapted to resend one or more of the plurality of sub-frames to the second interface responsive to not receiving the acknowledgment of the respective sub-frame, and wherein the second interface is adapted to check if a resent sub-frame has already been received therein, and responsive thereto, to ignore the resent sub-frame.  
           [0016]    Preferably, the second interface includes a second-interface memory containing a second-interface look-up table that includes a first-network-destination-address, the second interface being adapted to receive from a second-network client on the second network a second-network initial data-frame including the first-network-destination-address, and to derive a first-interface-address from the second-interface look-up table using the first-network-destination-address as an index to the second-interface look-up table, and to concatenate the first-interface-address to the second-network initial data-frame to form a second-network concatenated data-frame, and to convey the second-network concatenated data-frame to the central network for delivery to the first-interface-address, and wherein the first interface is adapted to receive the second-network concatenated data-frame at the first-interface-address, and to recover the second-network initial data-frame from the second-network concatenated data-frame and to convey the recovered second-network data-frame to the first network for delivery to the first-network-destination address.  
           [0017]    Preferably the apparatus includes a central processing unit (CPU) which is coupled to the first interface and which is adapted to control the first interface.  
           [0018]    Further preferably, the CPU is adapted to generate the look-up table in the memory.  
           [0019]    Preferably, the first interface is adapted to set a length of each of the plurality of sub-frames to be no greater than a predetermined maximum transmit unit length of one of the networks.  
           [0020]    Preferably, the protocol different from the Fibre Channel protocol comprises an Ethernet protocol.  
           [0021]    Preferably, the memory comprises a content addressable memory.  
           [0022]    There is further provided, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for transferring data between first and second networks via a central network therebetween, including:  
           [0023]    coupling a first interface between the first network, which operates according to a Fibre Channel protocol, and the central network, which operates according to a protocol different from the Fibre Channel protocol, the first interface including a memory containing a look-up table that includes a second-network-destination-address;  
           [0024]    receiving an initial data-frame including the second-network-destination-address from a client on the first network at the first interface;  
           [0025]    deriving from the look-up table a second-interface-address using the second-network-destination-address as an index to the look-up table;  
           [0026]    concatenating the second-interface-address to the initial data-frame;  
           [0027]    converting the concatenated data-frame to a plurality of sub-frames responsive to a length of the concatenated data-frame, each sub-frame comprising a respective counter;  
           [0028]    conveying the plurality of sub-frames to the central network for delivery to the second-interface-address;  
           [0029]    receiving the plurality of sub-frames at the second-interface-address of a second interface coupled between the central network and a second network operating according to the Fibre Channel protocol;  
           [0030]    conveying a respective acknowledgment of receipt of each of the plurality of sub-frames to the first interface;  
           [0031]    resending one or more of the plurality of sub-frames from the first interface responsive to the first interface not receiving one or more of the respective acknowledgments of receipt;  
           [0032]    checking if a resent sub-frame has already been received at the second interface;  
           [0033]    ignoring the resent sub-frame responsive to the check;  
           [0034]    recovering the concatenated data-frame from the plurality of sub-frames in the second interface responsive to the respective counters;  
           [0035]    generating a recovered initial data-frame from the concatenated data-frame; and  
           [0036]    conveying the recovered initial data-frame to the second network for delivery to the second-network-destination address.  
           [0037]    Preferably, the method includes:  
           [0038]    receiving a second-network initial data-frame including a first-network-destination-address from a second-network client on the second network at the second interface;  
           [0039]    deriving from a second-interface look-up table comprised in a second-interface memory in the second interface a first-interface-address using the first-network-destination-address as an index to the second-interface look-up table;  
           [0040]    concatenating the first-interface-address to the second-network initial data-frame;  
           [0041]    conveying the concatenated second-network data-frame to the central network for delivery to the first-interface-address;  
           [0042]    receiving the concatenated second-network data-frame at the first interface responsive to the first-interface-address;  
           [0043]    recovering the second-network initial data-frame in the first interface; and  
           [0044]    conveying the recovered second-network initial data-frame to the first network for delivery to the first-network-destination address.  
           [0045]    Preferably, the method includes coupling to the first interface a central processing unit (CPU) which is adapted to control the first interface.  
           [0046]    Further preferably, the method includes generating the look-up table in the CPU.  
           [0047]    Preferably, converting the concatenated data-frame to a plurality of sub-frames includes setting a length of each of the plurality of data-frames to be no greater than a predetermined maximum transmit unit length of one of the networks.  
           [0048]    Preferably, the memory comprises a content addressable memory.  
           [0049]    The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings, in which:  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0050]    [0050]FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a wide area network (WAN) coupled to a plurality of Fibre Channel (FC) networks, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process for transferring a data-frame which does not require an acknowledgment between a first client in a first FC network and a second client in a second FC network, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention;  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of structures of the data-frame during the transfer process of FIG. 2, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention;  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing a process for transferring FC data which is to be acknowledged from a first client in a first FC network to a second client in a FC second network, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 4B is a timing diagram for the process of FIG. 4B, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0055]    Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic block diagram of a coupled network system  10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. System  10  comprises a plurality of separated networks each having at least one end-user client. Clients of the separated networks communicate with each other via their respective networks and a central wide area network (WAN)  18 . Each of the plurality of separated networks, herein by way of example assumed to be a first network  12  comprising a first end-user client  13  and a second network  24  comprising a second end-user client  25 , preferably operates according to a Fibre Channel (FC) protocol, and is able to operate substantially independently of the other separated networks. Networks  12  and  24  are also termed herein “FC islands” or “islands.” WAN  18  comprises one or more routers  19  which are used for transferring data within network  18 . WAN  18  is able to transfer data in an Internet Protocol (IP) format within the WAN, and operates according to any industry-standard data transfer protocol such as an Ethernet protocol. WAN  18  is able to receive and transmit data formed according to an Ethernet protocol, and most preferably, the Ethernet protocol is a gigabit Ethernet (GBE) protocol supporting data transmission at a rate of at least 1 gigabit/s (Gbps). Further most preferably, the FC protocol also supports data transmission at a rate of at least 1 Gbps.  
         [0056]    FC island  12  is coupled to WAN  18  by a dedicated interface  14 A. A suitable interface is the GFS-8 interface produced by SanCastle Technologies Ltd., Yokneam, Israel. Interface  14 A comprises a memory  20 A comprising a look-up table, a wait for acknowledge (WFA) memory  15 A, and a buffer memory  17 A. In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, memory  20 A comprises a content addressable memory (CAM), such as a MUAA co-processor produced by Music Semiconductors of Eygelshoven, The Netherlands. Interface  14 A is most preferably installed in a switch  21 A, which couples client  13  to other clients of island  12  and which is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU)  16 A, preferably an Intel 960 produced by Intel Corporation, of Santa Clara, Calif. CPU  16 A also controls at least some of the operations of memory  20 A, WFA  15 A, and buffer  17 A, whose functions are explained hereinbelow. FC island  24  is coupled to WAN  18  by a dedicated interface  14 B, which is substantially similar in implementation and operation to interface  14 B, comprising a look-up memory  20 B, a WFA memory  15 B, and a buffer memory  17 B. Interface  14 B is most preferably installed in a switch  21 B, which is substantially similar in implementation and operation to switch  21 A, and which couples client  25  to other clients of island  24 . A CPU  16 B controls the operation of switch  21 B and also controls at least some of the operations of memory  20 B, WFA  15 B, and buffer  17 B. Interfaces  14 A and  14 B are also referred to hereinbelow as interface  14 , and switches  21 A and  21 B are also referred to hereinbelow as switch  21 . Similarly, corresponding components of the interfaces and switches are also referred to hereinbelow without suffixes A or B.  
         [0057]    A detailed description of the implementation of an interface substantially similar in operation to interface  14  is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/712,616, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference. Patent application Ser. No. 09/712,616 also provides a description of the operation of a switch substantially similar in operation to switch  21 .  
         [0058]    [0058]FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process for transferring a data-frame which does not require an acknowledgment between client  13  and client  25 , and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of structures of the data-frame during transfer, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention. The flowchart of FIG. 2 applies to a data-frame which is transmitted from client  13 , typically to announce an initial presence of the client in FC island  12 . It will be understood that the process described with reference to FIG. 2 substantially applies to other data-frames which do not require acknowledgment. Such data-frames include network control or management data-frames, or data-frames announcing the continuing presence of a network client, which are not directed data-frames from one client of system  10  to another client of the system.  
         [0059]    Initially client  13  generates an FC data-frame  50  (FIG. 3) according to an FC standard protocol, preferably according to a routing level Internet Protocol (IP). Alternatively, data-frame  50  is generated according to another routing level protocol. Data-frame  50  comprises a header section  52 , a data payload section  54 , and an FC end-of-frame (EOF) section  56 . Preferably, header section  52  comprises a source identity (ID) field  58  and a source media access control (MAC) address field  60  of client  13 , as well as a type field  62  indicating that the data-frame is a data-frame which does not need to be acknowledged. Header section  52  also preferably comprises a destination field  64 , described in more detail below, which is used to point to a specific client when data-frame  50  is used as a directed data-frame. Alternatively, data section  54  comprises some or all of the information in the ID, MAC, Type and destination fields. Clients in FC island  12 , other than client  13 , receive data-frame  50 , and record values of ID field  58  and MAC field  60  by methods known in the art, for use in transmitting data-frames to client  13 .  
         [0060]    The data-frame from client  13  is also received by interface  14 A, which decodes the source ID and MAC of the client, preferably using CPU  16 A. The source ID and MAC are entered into a look-up table comprised in memory  20 A, and routing information to client  13  is also entered into the look-up table. It will be appreciated that the routing information indicates that client  13  is comprised in FC island  12 .  
         [0061]    Interface  14 A then encapsulates data-frame  50  into an Ethernet/IP standard protocol format by adding an Ethernet header  71  and a data-transparent header  72  to data-frame  50 , in order to generate an Ethernet/IP data-frame  70 . Ethernet header  71  is most preferably a GBE header. Alternatively, header  71  is any other Ethernet protocol standard header. Data-transparent header  72  comprises an IP section  74  and a transport layer section  76 . Most preferably, transport layer section  76  is implemented according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Alternatively, section  76  is implemented according to another industry-standard protocol which supports IP data transmission, such as a Transport Control Protocol (TCP). It will be appreciated that using a UDP reduces the number of bytes needed to be generated in data-frame  70  compared to using a TCP. Header  72  also comprises an address of interface  14 A and/or of switch  21 A as a source address of Ethernet data-frame  70 . Header  72  further comprises a transmit pointer field  78  and a counter field  80 , whose functions are explained hereinbelow, and which are typically not utilized when data-frame  70  is a data-frame not requiring an acknowledgment.  
         [0062]    Interface  14 A conveys Ethernet/IP data-frame  70  to one or more routers  19  comprised in WAN  18 , which broadcast the data-frame within the network, so that interface  14 B in FC island  24  receives the data-frame. (Other interfaces between FC islands and central network  18  receive the data-frame, and act substantially as described herein with respect to FIG. 2.)  
         [0063]    Interface  14 B reads the address of interface  14 A and/or of switch  21 A from header  72 , and enters the addresses as routing information for client  13  into a look-up table comprised in memory  20 B. Interface  14 B then regenerates FC frame  50  by stripping headers  71  and  72  from frame  70 , reads the address of client  13  from the regenerated frame, and enters the address of client  13  into the look-up table.  
         [0064]    In a final step, interface  14 B transmits regenerated frame  50  to FC island  24 , so that clients, such as client  25 , comprised in island  24  are able to record values of ID field  58  and MAC field  60  of client  13 . The recording is implemented in substantially the same manner as clients in island  12  record the values.  
         [0065]    The process described hereinabove with respect to FIG. 2 is implemented for all clients in all FC islands coupled to WAN  18 , so that each interface generates a look-up table comprising address information and corresponding routing information for each client in its respective look-up memory. The process also supplies each client with respective addresses of all other clients in system  10 .  
         [0066]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other methods for generating look-up tables in the look-up memories of each interface, comprising routing information substantially similar to that described above, may be implemented in system  10 . For example, a CPU of a specific switch may transfer data comprised in the look-up table of a first interface to the look-up memory of a second interface, via WAN  18 . The transferred data is then incorporated in the look-up table of the second interface&#39;s look-up memory.  
         [0067]    The process described with respect to FIG. 2 typically applies for FC data-frames which are considerably smaller in length than the maximum 2112 bytes allowed by the FC protocol, since the data-frames have little or no data payload. Similarly, the Ethernet/IP data-frames generated are also considerably smaller than the maximum 1500 bytes allowed by the Ethernet protocol. In WAN  18 , one or more routers  19  may only be able to accept data-frames having a shorter length than the maximum allowed by the Ethernet protocol. For example, some routers known in the art accept data-frames up to a maximum length of 572 bytes. The maximum transmit unit (MTU) of a path of a network is defined as the smallest data-frame length acceptable by all active components of the path chosen for transmission. Typically, Ethernet/IP frames generated for data-frames which do not require an acknowledgment are significantly shorter than any MTU of the network. However, in some circumstances such frames may exceed a specific MTU. A process described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B can be adapted by those skilled in the art for cases where the Ethernet/IP frames generated in the process of FIG. 2 are larger than an MTU of the network.  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing a process for transferring FC data from client  13  (FIG. 1) in first FC island  12  to client  25  in second FC island  24 , and FIG. 4B is a timing diagram  90  for the process, according to a preferred embodiment or the present invention. The process described herein is implemented after look-up tables have been generated in memory  20 A and memory  20 B, and after client  13  has been supplied with the address of client  25 , preferably as described above with reference to FIG. 2. Client  13  generates an FC data-frame according to any protocol acceptable to clients within FC island  12 . The FC data-frame is substantially similar in form to data-frame  50  (FIG. 2), including the address of client  25  in destination field  64  of the FC header, and comprises data to be transferred from client  13  to client  25  in data field  54 . Client  13  then transmits the FC data-frame at a time  82  into FC network  12 , wherein interface  14 A receives the FC data-frame.  
         [0069]    Interface  14 A uses the look-up table of memory  20 A to determine routing information for the FC data-frame, and is thereby provided with the address of interface  14 B, by using the address of client  25  as an index to the look-up table. Interface  14 A encapsulates the FC data-frame to an Ethernet/IP data-frame substantially similar in form to data-frame  70 , incorporating the address of interface  14 B into transmit pointer field  78  comprised in header  72 .  
         [0070]    Interface  14 A determines if the length of the Ethernet/IP data-frame is greater than the MTU of a transmission path in WAN  18  selected by the interface, prior to transmitting the Ethernet/IP data-frame, by methods known in the art. If the length is greater than the MTU, interface  14 A converts the data-frame into a plurality of ordered Ethernet/IP sub-frames, each having a length less than the MTU. The sub-frames are substantially similar in form to data-frame  70 , and comprise the order of each sub-frame in a counter field  80  of header  72 . Interface  14 A stores a copy of the Ethernet/IP data-frame or sub-frames in buffer  17 A, and one or more pointers, as needed, to the data-frame or sub-frames in WFA memory  15 A. At a time  84  interface  14 A then transmits the Ethernet/IP data-frame or sub-frames to interface  14 B.  
         [0071]    Preferably, at times  86  interface  14 B receives the frames sent by interface  14 A, and returns an acknowledgment for each frame received to interface  14 A, which thereupon clears buffer  17 A and WFA memory  15 A. Alternatively, one or more acknowledgments, not necessarily in a one-one correspondence for the frames sent, are returned after time  84 . For example, one acknowledgment may be utilized to acknowledge a plurality of sub-frames. If interface  14 A has not received an acknowledgment for one or more specific frames by a predetermined time interval  88 , the interface utilizes the pointers stored in WFA  15 A and the respective frame copies in buffer  17 A to resend the one or more unacknowledged frames at a time  92 . The process of waiting for an acknowledgment and repeating the resending of unacknowledged frames continues for a predetermined number, preferably four, of resends for each unacknowledged frame.  
         [0072]    Interface  14 B compares counter fields  80  of received frames to check if a resent frame has already been received (as may happen if the frame has been received by interface  14 B but the acknowledgment has not been received by interface  14 A). The resent frame is ignored if it has already been received, and is accepted by interface  14 B if it has not been previously received.  
         [0073]    Interface  14 B converts the Ethernet/IP data-frame or sub-frames, using counter field  80  in the latter case to correctly order the sub-frames, to an FC data-frame corresponding to the FC data-frame transmitted by client  13 . Interface  14 B then transmits the FC data-frame to client  25  at a time  94 .  
         [0074]    In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, interface  14 A acting together with its CPU  16 A is implemented to be able to select a particular route for transmission of data from FC island  12  to a client in another FC island. For example, interface  14 A may select one or more specific routers  19  in WAN  18  to enable more secure transmission, and/or to enable speedier transmission, and/or to enable use of a larger frame or sub-frame size. The selection is implemented by incorporating routing information to the selected routers in Ethernet header  71  and/or data-transparent header  72 , by methods known in the art.  
         [0075]    It will be appreciated that the preferred embodiments described above are cited by way of example, and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art.
Apparatus for transferring data between first and second networks, each operating according to a Fibre Channel (FC) protocol, via a central network which operates according to a different protocol. The apparatus consists of a first interface between the first network and the central network, and a second interface between the second network and the central network. Each interface has a memory containing a look-up table, and each interface is adapted to receive an FC data-frame from a client on its FC network. The data-frame is converted, using the table, to a data-frame compatible with the central network. The first interface receives an FC data-frame and converts the data-frame to one compatible with the central network. The converted data-frame is transmitted via the central network to the second interface, wherein the FC data-frame is recovered and transmitted within the second FC network.