Chapter 15. Fibre Channel Over Ethernet - Lenovo ThinkSystem NE2552E Application Manual

Chapter 15. Fibre Channel over Ethernet

© Copyright Lenovo 2018
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is an effort to converge two of the different
physical networks in today's data centers. It allows Fibre Channel traffic (such as
that commonly used in Storage Area Networks, or SANs) to be transported
without loss over 10Gb Ethernet links (typically used for high‐speed Local Area
Networks, or LANs). This provides an evolutionary approach toward network
consolidation, allowing Fibre Channel equipment and tools to be retained, while
leveraging cheap, ubiquitous Ethernet networks for growth.
With server virtualization, servers capable of hosting both Fibre Channel and
Ethernet applications will provide advantages in server efficiency, particularly as
FCoE‐enabled network adapters provide consolidated SAN and LAN traffic
capabilities.
The Lenovo ThinkSystem NE2552E Flex Switch with Lenovo ENOS 8.4 software is
compliant with the INCITS T11.3, FC‐BB‐5 FCoE specification, supporting up to
2048 FCoE connections.
Note: The NE2552E supports up to 2048 FCoE login sessions.
243