Administrator Guide

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NPIV Proxy Gateway
The N-port identier virtualization (NPIV) Proxy Gateway (NPG) feature provides FCoE-FC bridging capability on the Aggregator,
allowing server CNAs to communicate with SAN fabrics over the Aggregator.
Supported Modes
PMUX
NPIV Proxy Gateway Conguration
The Aggregator switches function as a top-of-rack edge switch that supports Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) trac — Fibre
Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) for storage, Interprocess Communication (IPC) for servers, and Ethernet local area network (LAN)
(IP cloud) for data — as well as FC links to one or more storage area network (SAN) fabrics.
The NPG provides FCoE-FC bridging capability on the Aggregator.
This chapter describes how to congure and use an NPIV proxy gateway on the Aggregator in a SAN.
NPIV Proxy Gateway Operations and Capabilities
Benets of an NPIV Proxy Gateway
The Aggregator functions as a top-of-rack edge switch that supports CEE trac — FCoE for storage, IPC for servers, and Ethernet
LAN (IP cloud) for data — as well as FC links to one or more SAN fabrics.
Using an NPG helps resolve the following problems in a storage area network:
• Fibre Channel storage networks typically consist of servers connected to edge switches, which are connected to SAN core
switches. As the SAN grows, it is necessary to add more ports and SAN switches. This results in an increase in the required
domain IDs, which may surpass the upper limit of 239 domain IDs supported in the SAN network. An NPG avoids the need for
additional domain IDs because it is deployed outside the SAN and uses the domain IDs of core switches in its FCoE links.
• With the introduction of 10GbE links, FCoE is being implemented for server connections to optimize performance. However, a
SAN traditionally uses Fibre Channel to transmit storage trac. FCoE servers require an ecient and scalable bridging feature to
access FC storage arrays, which an NPG provides.
NPIV Proxy Gateway Operation
Consider a sample scenario of NPG operation. An FX2 server chassis congured as an NPG does not join a SAN fabric, but functions
as an FCoE-FC bridge that forwards storage trac between servers and core SAN switches. The core switches forward SAN trac
to and from FC storage arrays.
An FX2 chassis FC port is congured 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 identier 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 the FX2 chassis Ten-Gigabit Ethernet ports and log in to an
upstream FC core switch through the N port. Server fabric login (FLOGI) requests are converted into fabric discovery (FDISC)
requests before being forwarded to the FC core switch.
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NPIV Proxy Gateway