Fibre Channel Primer

Chapter 7: Fibre Channel Services

Management Server

Fibre Channel has adopted the industry-accepted Simple

Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Management Information

Base (MIB) data is associated with each Fibre Channel node, hub,

and fabric. SNMP is used to monitor/modify the MIB data. SNMP

may use IP over FC-PH as its transport mechanism (the conventional

use of SNMP). A generic solution is provided in which SNMP

natively uses FC-CT over FC-PH without the requirement of IP. This

allows consolidated management of Fibre Channel networks

consisting of both computing equipment and peripheral devices.

Time Server

The time server manages the timers used within the Fibre

Channel system, time synchronization of all the switch elements, and

time stamping of messages.

Alias Server

The alias server is used to establish hunt groups and multicast

groups. For example, multiple server connections to a Fibre Channel

fabric with a single address could be a hunt group. The Fibre Channel

switch finds the first free switch port when linking other servers or

clients with the server. This is similar to finding the “first available

agent” when you place a telephone call. The result is improved server

utilization and better response to clients.

The alias server manages the registration and de-registration of

aliases. Routing of the frames is the responsibility of the fabric.

A multicast group is a group of N_Ports that receive frames

transmitted by an N_Port belonging to the same group. The frame

from a source N_Port is replicated to all the other member N_Ports

of the multicast group using Class 3 service. Each multicast group

has its own alias identification (MG_ID). A single N_Port can register

with more than one multicast group at any time. An N_Port may also

A hunt group is a group of N_Ports under a single controlling

entity. Each hunt group is associated with an alias identification

(HG_ID). A hunt group provides a single alias address for all members