Fibre Channel Routing Overview - Brocade Communications Systems Brocade BladeSystem 4/24 User Manual

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Fibre Channel routing overview

Fibre Channel routing overview
Fibre Channel routing provides connectivity to devices in different fabrics without merging the
fabrics. Using Fibre Channel routing, you can share tape drives across multiple fabrics without the
administrative overhead, such as change management and network management, and scalability
issues that might result from merging the fabrics.
Fibre Channel routing allows you to create logical storage area networks (LSANs) that can span
fabrics. These LSANs allow Fibre Channel zones to cross physical SAN boundaries without merging
the fabrics and while maintaining the access controls of zones.
Refer to the Fabric OS Administrator's Guide for detailed information about Fibre Channel routing.
The following terminology is used in this chapter:
FC router
Interfabric link (IFL)
Edge fabric
Backbone fabric
LSAN
metaSAN
Figure 205
backbone consists of one 4 Gbps Router, Extension Switch connecting hosts in Edge fabrics 1 and
3 with storage in Edge fabric 2 and the backbone fabric. LSANs provide device sharing between the
following pairs of fabrics:
•
•
•
488
A switch running the FC-FC Routing Service.
The link between an E_Port and an EX_Port, or a VE_Port and a VEX_Port.
A standard Fibre Channel fabric with targets and initiators connected
through an FC router to another Fibre Channel fabric.
The fabric to which the FC router belongs. An FC router connects two or
more edge fabrics; a backbone fabric connects FC routers. A backbone
fabric consists of at least one FC router and possibly a number of
Fabric OS-based Fibre Channel switches. Initiators and targets in the edge
fabric can communicate with devices in the backbone fabric through the FC
router.
A logical SAN that connects hosts in one fabric with storage devices in
another fabric.
The collection of all SANs interconnected with FC routers.
on page 489 shows a metaSAN with a backbone fabric and three edge fabrics. The
The backbone fabric and Edge fabric 1
Edge fabric 1 and Edge fabric 2
Edge fabric 2 and Edge fabric 3
DCFM Enterprise User Manual
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