Datasheet

IBM Flex System Fabric CN4093 10Gb Converged Scalable Switch 10
Virtualization

Virtual NICs (vNICs)

Ethernet, iSCSI, or FCoE traffic is supported on vNICs

802.1Qbg Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) is an emerging IEEE standard for allowing networks to

become virtual machine (VM)-aware.
Virtual Ethernet Bridging (VEB) and Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA) are mechanisms

for switching between VMs on the same hypervisor.
Edge Control Protocol (ECP) is a transport protocol that operates between two peers over an

IEEE 802 LAN providing reliable, in-order delivery of upper layer protocol data units.
Virtual Station Interface (VSI) Discovery and Configuration Protocol (VDP) allows centralized

configuration of network policies that will persist with the VM, independent of its location.
EVB Type-Length-Value (TLV) is used to discover and configure VEPA, ECP, and VDP.

VMready

Converged Enhanced Ethernet

Priority-Based Flow Control (PFC) (IEEE 802.1Qbb) extends 802.3x standard flow control to allow

the switch to pause traffic based on the 802.1p priority value in each packet’s VLAN tag.
Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) (IEEE 802.1Qaz) provides a method for allocating link

bandwidth based on the 802.1p priority value in each packet’s VLAN tag.
Data Center Bridging Capability Exchange Protocol (DCBX) (IEEE 802.1AB) allows neighboring

network devices to exchange information about their capabilities.
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

FC-BB5 FCoE specification compliant

Native FC Forwarder switch operations

End-to-end FCoE support (initiator to target)

FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) support

Fibre Channel

Omni Ports support 4/8 Gb FC when FC SFPs+ are installed in these ports

Full Fabric mode for end-to-end FCoE or NPV Gateway mode for external FC SAN attachments

(support for IBM B-type, Brocade, and Cisco MDS external SANs)
Fabric services in Full Fabric mode:

Name Server

Registered State Change Notification (RSCN)

Login services

Zoning
