path control (PC)

The term path control( PC) is used in SNA architecture, ATM networks, messaging networks and storage networks. Path control is about optimal route determination, its control and management.

In storage networks, path control is a method of addressing storage networks according to specific needs by changing the management of communication paths. In normal networks, if errors occur in the routing path, then the path is rebuilt. It is different with storage networks, because these networks should work error-free and errors in the paths can lead to a crash. It is also a question of the shortest possible recovery times, which should be in the millisecond range and are therefore much lower than those of local networks. For storage networks, Dynamic Multi-Pathing( DMP) is an automatic path control that performs rerouting in the redundantly set up connection paths within fractions of a second.

In addition to static path control, there is also Dynamic Path Control( DPC), which immediately updates changes in the route and reacts to bandwidth requirements by allocating the required bandwidth to the corresponding path. There is also Dynamic Multi-Pathing (DMP), an automatically controlled process for path control in storage networks.