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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 FX2 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 (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.
NPIV Proxy Gateway: Protocol Services
The Aggregator with the NPG provides the following protocol services:
● Fibre Channel service to create N ports and log in to an upstream FC switch.
●
FCoE service to perform:
○ Virtualization of FC N ports on an NPG so that they appear as FCoE FCFs to downstream servers.
○ NPIV service to perform the association and aggregation of FCoE servers to upstream F ports on core switches (through
N ports on the NPG). Conversion of server FLOGIs and FDISCs, which are received over the Aggregator with the ENode
ports, are converted into FDISCs addressed to the upstream F ports on core switches.
NPIV Proxy Gateway Functionality
The Aggregator with the NPG provides the following functionality in a storage area network:
● FIP Snooping bridge that provides security for FCoE traffic using ACLs.
● FCoE gateway that provides FCoE-to-FC bridging. N-port virtualization using FCoE maps exposes upstream F ports as FCF
ports to downstream server-facing ENode ports on the NPG.
NPIV Proxy Gateway: Terms and Definitions
The following table describes the terms used in an NPG configuration on the Aggregator.
Table 105. Aggregator with the NPIV Proxy Gateway: Terms and Definitions
Term Description
FC port Fibre Channel port on the Aggregator that operates in autosensing, 2, 4, or 8-Gigabit
mode. On an NPIV proxy gateway, an FC port can be used as a downlink for a server
connection and an uplink for a fabric connection.
F port Port mode of an FC port connected to an end node (N) port on an Aggregator with the
NPIV proxy gateway.
N port Port mode of an Aggregator with the FC port that connects to an F port on an FC
switch in a SAN fabric. On an Aggregator with the NPIV proxy gateway, an N port also
functions as a proxy for multiple server CNA-port connections.
ENode port Port mode of a server-facing Aggregator with the Ethernet port that provides access to
FCF functionality on a fabric.
824 NPIV Proxy Gateway