Fc Protocol; Basic Concepts - HP 6125XLG Configuration Manual

Figure 1 FC SAN networking
(1) Point-to-point connection
Server
NOTE:
• An FC SAN refers to a network comprising FC switches and nodes.
A fabric refers to a transmission network comprising FC switches.
•

FC protocol

The servers, FC switches, and disk devices in an FC SAN must all support FC.

Basic concepts

WWN
The world wide name (WWN) is a 64-bit address that identifies a fabric or an entity (such as an FC
switch, node, or port) in an FC SAN. The upper-layer protocol of FC uses WWNs for communication.
Each entity has a factory-assigned globally unique WWN.
FC address
The FC protocol accesses communication entities in a SAN through FC addresses. An FC address is also
known as an "FC_ID."
Figure 2 shows the structure of an FC address. The FC address is 24 bits long and is divided into these
8-bit fields: Domain_ID, Area_ID, and Port_ID.
A domain represents an FC switch and all N_Ports connected to the switch. A Domain_ID, which is
•
in the range of 1 to 239, uniquely identifies an FC switch.
One or more N_Ports on the same node can be assigned to an area, which is identified by an
•
Area_ID.
The Port_ID field identifies an N_Port.
•
Server
Disk
(2) Switched fabric
FC switch
Fabric
2
Disk