Fcoe Requirements - Lenovo RackSwitch G8264 Application Manual

FCoE Requirements

© Copyright Lenovo 2016
For the FCoE portion of the network, the FCF is connected to the FCoE‐enabled
G8264, which is connected to a server (running Fibre Channel applications)
through an FCoE‐enabled Converged Network Adapter (CNA) known in Fibre
Channel as Ethernet Nodes (ENodes).
Note: The figure also shows a non‐FCoE LAN server connected to the G8264 using
a CNA. This allows the LAN server to take advantage of some CEE features that
are useful even outside of an FCoE environment.
To block undesired or unvalidated traffic on FCoE links that exists outside the
regular Fibre Channel topology, Ethernet ports used in FCoE are configured with
Access Control Lists (ACLs) that are narrowly tailored to permit expected FCoE
traffic to and from confirmed FCFs and ENodes, and deny all other FCoE or FIP
traffic. This ensures that all FCoE traffic to an from the ENode passes through the
FCF.
Because manual ACL configuration is an administratively complex task, the G8264
can automatically and dynamically configure the ACLs required for use with FCoE.
Using FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) snooping (see "FCoE Initialization
Protocol Snooping" on page
exchanged between the FCF and ENodes to determine information about
connected FCoE devices. This information is used to automatically determine the
appropriate ACLs required to block certain types of undesired or unvalidated
FCoE traffic.
Automatic FCoE‐related ACLs are independent from ACLs used for typical
Ethernet purposes.
The following are required for implementing FCoE using the Lenovo RackSwitch
G8264 (G8264) with ENOS 8.4 software:
 The G8264 must be connected to the Fibre Channel network using the switch's
built‐in Fibre Channel features (see Chapter
FCF such as another G8264 or a Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch.
For each G8264 port participating in FCoE, the connected server must use the

supported FCoE CNA. The QLogic CNA is currently the first CNA supported
for this purpose. Also supported is the Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter, which
includes vNIC support (with some additional topology rules).
CEE must be turned on (see "Turning CEE On or Off" on page

on, the DCBX, PFC, and ETS features are enabled and configured with default
FCoE settings. These features may be reconfigured, but must remain enabled for
FCoE to function.
FIP snooping must be turned on (see "FCoE Initialization Protocol Snooping" on

page 371). When FIP snooping is turned on, the feature is enabled on all ports by
default. The administrator can disable FIP snooping on individual ports that do
not require FCoE, but FIP snooping must remain enabled on all FCoE ports for
FCoE to function.
371), the G8264 examines the FIP frames normally
21, "Fibre Channel") or an external
368). When CEE is
Chapter 21: FCoE and CEE
367