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Figure 97. NPIV Proxy Gateway Example
An S5000 FC port is configured as an N (node) port that logs in to an F (fabric) port on the upstream FC core switch and
creates a channel for N-port identifier virtualization. NPIV allows multiple N-port fabric logins at the same time on a single,
physical Fibre Channel link.
Converged Network Adapter (CNA) ports on servers connect to S5000 Ten-Gigabit Ethernet ports and log in to an upstream
FC core switch through the S5000 N port. Server fabric login (FLOGI) requests are converted into fabric discovery (FDISC)
requests before the S5000 forwards them to the FC core switch.
Servers use CNA ports to connect over FCoE to an Ethernet port in ENode mode on the NPIV proxy gateway. FCoE transit
with FIP snooping is automatically enabled and configured on the S5000 gateway to prevent unauthorized access and data
transmission to the SAN network (see FCoE Transit). Server CNAs use FIP to discover an S5000 FCoE switch operating as an
FCoE forwarder (FCF).
The NPIV proxy gateway aggregates multiple locally connected server CNA ports into one or more upstream N port links,
conserving the number of ports required on an upstream FC core switch while providing an FCoE-to-FC bridging functionality.
The upstream N ports on an S5000 can connect to the same or multiple fabrics.
Using an FCoE map applied to downstream (server-facing) Ethernet ports and upstream (fabric-facing) FC ports, you can
configure the association between a SAN fabric and the FCoE VLAN that connects servers over the NPIV proxy gateway to FC
switches in the fabric. An FCoE map virtualizes the upstream SAN fabric as an FCF to downstream CNA ports on FCoE-enabled
servers as follows:
As soon as an FC N port comes online (the no shutdown command), the NPG starts sending FIP multicast
advertisements, which contain the fabric name derived from the 64-bit worldwide name (WWN) of the principal SAN switch.
(The principal switch in a fabric is the FC switch with the lowest domain ID.)
When you apply the FCoE map to a server-facing Ethernet port in ENode mode, ACLs are automatically configured to allow
only FCoE traffic from servers that perform a successful FLOGI on the FC switch. All other traffic on the VLAN is denied.
You can specify one or more upstream N ports in an FCoE map. The FCoE map also contains the VLAN ID of the dedicated
VLAN used to transmit FCoE traffic between the SAN fabric and servers.
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