Reference Guide

Fibre Channel Interface | 453

Fibre Channel Interface

The S5000 functions as a Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) switch that supports both LAN and Storage

Area Network (SAN) traffic using the Fibre Channel protocol. To access a SAN fabric, you must use a

Fibre Channel (FC) module installed in the S5000.

S5000 FC ports operate at 2G, 4G, and 8G speed. By default, FC ports have autosensing speed enabled to

use or negotiate port speed with a peer SAN switch. The S5000 switch supports two FC switch modes:

NPIV proxy gateway (NPG) and Fabric Services. When the Fibre Channel is enabled, the default FC

switch mode is NPG. The S5000 switch supports FC links to one or more SAN fabrics using the NPG

feature. The FC switch mode of fabric services can be configured on the switch to provide FC-ID, name

service, and zoning. For more information, see Fabric Services.

Configuring Fibre Channel Interfaces

To configure FC interfaces on the S5000 switch, follow these general steps:

1. Enable Fibre Channel capability on the switch.

2. Configure Fibre Channel interfaces.

3. Verify global Fibre Channel configuration on the switch and on individual interfaces.

Enabling Fibre Channel Capability

To enable fibre channel capability on the S5000:

Note: An S5000 configured as an NPIV proxy gateway does not join a SAN fabric, but functions as an

FCoE-FC bridge that forwards storage traffic between server CNAs and core SAN switches. You can

connect SAN FC switches directly to S5000 FC ports. You cannot connect an FC server or SAN storage

device to an S5000 FC port. For more information, see NPIV Proxy Gateway.

Command Syntax Command Mode Purpose

feature fc

CONFIGURATION

Enable fibre channel capability on the S5000.