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Advanced FCIP Interface Configuration
S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m .
B Port Interoperability Mode
While E ports typically interconnect Fibre Channel switches, some SAN extender devices, such as
Cisco's PA-FC-1G Fibre Channel port adapter and the SN 5428-2 storage router, implement a bridge port
model to connect geographically dispersed fabrics. This model uses B port as described in the T11
Standard FC-BB-2.
Figure 33-6 FCIP B Port and Fibre Channel E Port
FC
B ports bridge Fibre Channel traffic from a local E port to a remote E port without participating in
fabric-related activities such as principal switch election, domain ID assignment, and Fibre Channel
fabric shortest path first (FSPF) routing. For example, Class F traffic entering a SAN extender does not
interact with the B port. The traffic is transparently propagated (bridged) over a WAN interface before
exiting the remote B port. This bridge results in both E ports exchanging Class F information that
ultimately leads to normal ISL behavior such as fabric merging and routing.
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Configuration Guide
33-16
Figure 33-6
depicts a typical SAN extension over an IP network.
Switch A
FC
F
FC
F
F
FC
Switch B
FC
E
F
FC
Switch A
FC
F
F
FC bridge
E
FC
FC
B
access
Switch B
FC
E
F
FC
E port
IP
FCIP link
VE
GE
Virtual ISL
B port
FCIP link
B
B access ISL
E
FC
ISL
Chapter 33
Configuring FCIP
Switch C
GE
VE
FC bridge
B
FC
B
access
Switch C
IP
FC
E
ISL
OL-6973-03, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.x
FC
F
E
FC
FC
F
E
FC
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