Specifications

Glossary
955Fabric OS Version 3.1.x/4.1.x Reference Guide
Exchange
The highest level Fibre Channel mechanism used for communication between N_Ports. Composed
of one or more related sequences, and can work in either one or both directions.
Extended Fabric
An HP product that runs on Fabric OS and allows creation of a Fibre Channel fabric interconnected
over distances of up to 100 kilometers.
Extended Fabric is a means of allowing the implementation and management of SANs over
extended distances. This is achieved by adjusting the Buffer-to-Buffer Credits to guaranteed
allocation of buffers to specific ports.
F_Port
Fabric Port. A port that is able to transmit under fabric protocol and interface over links. Can be
used to connect an N_Port to a switch.
See also FL_Port, Fx_Port.
Fabric
A Fibre Channel network containing two or more interconnected switches in addition to hosts and
devices. May also be referred to as a switched fabric.
See also topology, SAN, cascade.
Fabric Access
An HP product that consists of a set of APIs that allow third party applications to interface with
Fabric OS.
Fabric Access allows the application to control the fabric directly for functions such as discovery,
access (zoning), management, performance, and switch control. Consists of a host-based library
that interfaces the application to switches in the fabric over an out-of-band TCP/IP connection or
in-band using an IP-capable Host Bus Adapter (HBA).
Fabric Assist
An HP feature that enables private and public hosts to access public targets anywhere on the fabric,
provided they are in the same Fabric Assist zone. This feature is available only when both
QuickLoop and Zoning are installed on the switch.
Fabric Assist is a means of allowing private hosts to communicate with public targets across a
switched fabric. Fabric Assist also allows private hosts to communicate with private targets that are
not resident on the same switch across a switched fabric.
See also QuickLoop.