US Patent 7472231 Storage area network data cache

A cache connected to the virtualization engine in the center of a storage area network. The invention caches data in a virtual cache, without requiring translation to the physical location. The cache is done as the data crosses the network through the virtualization engine, eliminating the need to do the further translation and forwarding over the network to the actual storage controller in the event the data is in the cache. In addition, the invention eliminates the need for multiple caches at each physical storage controller.