Fibre Channel Protocol
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Fibre Channel Protocol(FCP) is theSCSIinterface protocol utilising an underlyingFibre Channelconnection. The Fibre Channel standards define a high-speed data transfer mechanism that can be used to connectworkstations,mainframes,supercomputers,storage devicesanddisplays.FCP addresses the need for very fast transfers of large volumes of information and could relieve system manufacturers from the burden of supporting a variety of channels and networks, as it provides one standard for networking, storage and data transfer. Some Fibre Channel characteristics are:
- Performance from 266megabits/second to 16gigabits/second
- Support both optical and copper media, with distances up to 10 km.
- Small connectors (sfp+are most common)
- High-bandwidth utilisation with distance insensitivity
- Support for multiple cost/performance levels, from small systems to supercomputers
- Ability to carry multiple existing interface command sets, includingInternet Protocol (IP),SCSI,IPI, HIPPI-FP, and audio/video.
Fibre Channel consists of the following layers:
- FC-0 -- The interface to the physical media
- FC-1 -- The encoding and decoding of data and out-of-band physical link control information for transmission over the physical media
- FC-2 -- The transfer of frames, sequences and exchanges comprising protocol information units.
- FC-3 -- Common services required for advanced features such asstriping,hunt groupandmulticast.
- FC-4 -- Application interfaces that can execute over Fibre Channel such as the Fibre Channel Protocol forSCSI(FCS).
Unlike a layerednetwork architecture,a Fibre Channel network is largely specified by functional elements and the interfaces between them. These consist, in part, of the following:
- N_PORTs—The end points for traffic.
- FC Devices—The devices to which the N_PORTs provide access.
- Fabric Ports—The interfaces within a network that provide attachment for an N_PORT.
- The network infrastructure for carrying frame traffic between N_PORTs.
- Within a switched or mixed fabric, a set of auxiliary servers, including a name server for device discovery and network address resolution.
Fibre Channel networktopologiesconsist of the following:
- Arbitrated Loop—A series of N_PORTs connected together indaisy-chainfashion.
- Switched Fabric—A network consisting of switching elements.
- Mixed Fabric—A network consisting of switches and "fabric-attached" loops. A loop-attached N_PORT (NL_PORT) is connected to the loop through an L_PORT and accesses the fabric by way of an FL_PORT.