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Configuring N Port Virtualization
This chapter contains the following sections:
•
Configuring N Port Virtualization
Information About NPV
NPV Overview
By default, Cisco Nexus devices switches operate in fabric mode. In this mode, the switch provides standard
Fibre Channel switching capability and features.
In fabric mode, each switch that joins a SAN is assigned a domain ID. Each SAN (or VSAN) supports a
maximum of 239 domain IDs, so the SAN has a limit of 239 switches. In a SAN topology with a large number
of edge switches, the SAN may need to grow beyond this limit. NPV alleviates the domain ID limit by sharing
the domain ID of the core switch among multiple edge switches.
In NPV mode, the edge switch relays all traffic from server-side ports to the core switch. The core switch
provides F port functionality (such as login and port security) and all the Fibre Channel switching capabilities.
The edge switch appears as a Fibre Channel host to the core switch and as a regular Fibre Channel switch to
its connected devices.
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Configuring N Port Virtualization, page 51
Cisco Nexus 5500 Series NX-OS SAN Switching Configuration Guide, Release 7.x
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