White Papers

FC Flex IO Modules
This part provides a generic, broad-level description of the operations, capabilities, and configuration commands of the Fiber
Channel (FC) Flex IO module.
FC Flex IO Module mentioned in this guide refers to FCF Port Combo Card.
Topics:
• FC Flex IO Modules
• Data Center Bridging (DCB) for FC Flex IO Modules
• NPIV Proxy Gateway for FC Flex IO Modules
FC Flex IO Modules
This part provides a generic, broad-level description of the operations, capabilities, and configuration commands of the Fiber
Channel (FC) Flex IO module.
Data Center Bridging (DCB) for FC Flex IO Modules
Data center bridging (DCB) refers to a set of IEEE Ethernet enhancements that provide data centers with a single, converged
network to support multiple traffic types, including local area network (LAN), server, and storage traffic.
The Fibre Channel (FC) Flex IO module is supported on switch. The switch installed with the FC Flex IO module functions as a
top-of-rack edge switch that supports converged enhanced ethernet (CEE) traffic — Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) for
storage, inter-process communication (IPC) for servers, and Ethernet local area network (LAN) (IP cloud) for data — and FC
links to one or more storage area network (SAN) fabrics.
The dcb-input and dcb-output configuration commands are deprecated, starting with Dell Networking OS Release 9.3(0.0)
on the Dell switches. Use the dcp-map command to create a DCB map to configure priority flow control (PFC) and enhanced
transmission selection (ETS) on Ethernet ports that support converged Ethernet traffic.
The Dell Networking Operating System (OS) commands for the DCB features include 802.1Qbb priority-based flow control
(PFC), 802.1Qaz enhanced transmission selection (ETS), and the data center bridging exchange (DCBX) protocol.
NPIV Proxy Gateway for FC Flex IO Modules
The N-port identifier virtualization (NPIV) Proxy Gateway (NPG) feature provides FCoE-FC bridging capability on the system
with the FC Flex IO module switch, allowing server CNAs to communicate with SAN fabrics over the FN IOM with the FC Flex
IO module.
To configure the FN IOM with the FC Flex IO module to operate as an NPIV proxy gateway, use the following commands:
description (for FCoE maps)
In an FCoE map, add a text description of the FCoE and FC parameters used to transmit storage traffic over a Switch with the
FC Flex IO module NPIV proxy gateway in a converged fabric.
Syntax
description text
Parameters
text Enter a maximum of 32 characters.
Defaults None
68
FC Flex IO Modules 1233