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FIP Snooping
This chapter describes about the FIP snooping concepts and configuration procedures.
Supported Modes
Standalone, PMUX, VLT
Topics:
• Fibre Channel over Ethernet
• Ensuring Robustness in a Converged Ethernet Network
• FIP Snooping on Ethernet Bridges
• How FIP Snooping is Implemented
• Configuring FIP Snooping
• Displaying FIP Snooping Information
• FIP Snooping Example
• Debugging FIP Snooping
Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) provides a converged Ethernet network that allows the combination of storage-area
network (SAN) and LAN traffic on a Layer 2 link by encapsulating Fibre Channel data into Ethernet frames.
FCoE works with Ethernet enhancements provided in data center bridging (DCB) to support lossless (no-drop) SAN and LAN
traffic. In addition, DCB provides flexible bandwidth sharing for different traffic types, such as LAN and SAN, according to
802.1p priority classes of service. For more information, refer to the Data Center Bridging (DCB) chapter.
Ensuring Robustness in a Converged Ethernet
Network
Fibre Channel networks used for SAN traffic employ switches that operate as trusted devices. End devices log into the switch
to which they are attached in order to communicate with the other end devices attached to the Fibre Channel network.
Because Fibre Channel links are point-to-point, a Fibre Channel switch controls all storage traffic that an end device sends and
receives over the network. As a result, the switch can enforce zoning configurations, ensure that end devices use their assigned
addresses, and secure the network from unauthorized access and denial-of-service attacks.
To ensure similar Fibre Channel robustness and security with FCoE in an Ethernet cloud network, the Fibre Channel over
Ethernet initialization protocol (FIP) establishes virtual point-to-point links between FCoE end-devices (server ENodes and
target storage devices) and FCoE forwarders (FCFs) over transit FCoE-enabled bridges.
Ethernet bridges commonly provide access control list (ACLs) that can emulate a point-to-point link by providing the traffic
enforcement required to create a Fibre Channel-level of robustness. In addition, FIP serves as a Layer 2 protocol to:
● Operate between FCoE end-devices and FCFs over intermediate Ethernet bridges to prevent unauthorized access to the
network and achieve the required security.
● Allow transit Ethernet bridges to efficiently monitor FIP frames passing between FCoE end-devices and an FCF, and use the
FIP snooping data to dynamically configure ACLs on the bridge to only permit traffic authorized by the FCF.
FIP enables FCoE devices to discover one another, initialize and maintain virtual links over an Ethernet network, and access
storage devices in a storage area network. FIP satisfies the Fibre Channel requirement for point-to-point connections by
creating a unique virtual link for each connection between an FCoE end-device and an FCF via a transit switch.
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