Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide (OL-16597-01, July 2009)

FIP Ethernet Frame Format
FIP is encapsulated in an Ethernet packet with a dedicated EtherType, 0x8914. The packet has a 4-bit version
field. Along with the source and destination MAC addresses, the FIP packet also contains a FIP operation
code and a FIP operation subcode. The following table describes the FIP operation codes.
Table 55: FIP Operation Codes
FIP OperationFIP SubcodeFIP Operation Code
Discovery Solicitation0x010x0001
Discovery Advertisement0x02
Virtual Link Instantiation Request0x010x0002
Virtual Link Instantiation Reply0x02
FIP Keep Alive0x010x0003
FIP Clear Virtual Links0x02
FIP VLAN Request0x010x0004
FIP VLAN Notification0x02
Pre-FIP Virtual Link Instantiation
Pre-FIP virtual link instantiation consists of two phases; link discovery using the Data Center Bridging
Exchange protocol (DCBX), which is followed by Fabric Login.
The Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch is backward compatible with Gen-1 CNAs that operate in pre-FIP mode.
Pre-FIP is also known as the Cisco, Intel, Nuova Data Center Bridging Exchange (CIN-DCBX) protocol.Note
Information About DCBX
Data Center Bridging Exchange Protocol
The Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) protocol is an extension of the Link Layer Discovery Protocol
(LLDP). DCBX end points exchange request and acknowledgment messages. For flexibility, parameters are
coded in a type-length-value (TLV) format.
The Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch supports two versions of DCBX:
• CEE-DCBX—The Converged Enhanced Ethernet DCBX is supported on all T11-compliant Gen-2
CNAs
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide
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Information About FCoE
FIP Ethernet Frame Format