This chapter describes Fibre Channel N-Port Virtualization (FC NPV) and explains how to aggregate Fibre Channel traffic from locally connected host ports to a core switch. It provides hardware requirements, traffic management guidelines, and step-by-step procedures for configuring and deploying FC interfaces, SAN port channels, and traffic maps.
This chapter contains the following sections:
Fibre Channel connectivity in N-Port Virtualization mode
Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity in N-Port Virtualization (NPV) mode is a method for aggregating FC traffic from locally connected host ports into a node proxy (NP port) uplink to a core switch.
Managing Fibre Channel NPV traffic
Provides guidance on managing FC NPV traffic when automatic traffic engineering does not meet specific network requirements. It helps administrators determine when to override default uplink traffic distribution.
SAN A/B separation
Provides high availability for storage area network connectivity by ensuring that fabric components remain operational during a failure. This separation is implemented through physical or logical isolation of VSANs across the fabric.
SAN port channels
Describes SAN port channels as logical interfaces that aggregate Fibre Channel interfaces to improve bandwidth utilization and availability. These interfaces facilitate optimal connectivity between Cisco ACI switches and Fibre Channel core switches.
Fibre Channel NPV requirements and limitations
Describes the configuration guidelines and operational limitations for Fibre Channel N-Port Virtualization (NPV). These requirements ensure proper connectivity and performance when deploying NPV on supported switches.
Fibre Channel NPV supported hardware
Identifies the hardware platforms and transceivers compatible with Fibre Channel N-Port Virtualization. This information assists in verifying infrastructure requirements for FC NPV deployments.
Fibre Channel NPV interoperability
Describes the third-party products tested for interoperability with the Fibre Channel N-port virtualization feature of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller ( APIC ). This information assists in verifying hardware and software compatibility for network deployments.
Configure a native Fibre Channel port profile using the GUI
Configures a set of native Fibre Channel F ports for connecting to Fibre Channel hosts using the Configure an Interface, PC, and vPC wizard.
Configure a native FC port channel profile using the GUI
Configures a native Fibre Channel port channel profile for an uplink connection to a Fibre Channel core switch using the GUI.
Deploy Fibre Channel ports
Activates Fibre Channel server host ports and uplink ports within the application profile configuration. This procedure ensures proper connectivity and domain association for Fibre Channel traffic.
Configure a traffic map for a Fibre Channel port
Configures a pinning profile to associate a server port with specific uplink ports or port channels for Fibre Channel traffic. This mapping ensures that server login requests are directed to designated uplink paths.
Configure Fibre Channel interfaces using the CLI
Configures Fibre Channel interfaces on an NPV-enabled leaf switch by converting Ethernet ports to Fibre Channel ports and defining interface parameters. This process enables F ports or NP ports to support specific connectivity requirements.
Configure Fibre Channel NPV policies using the CLI
Configures Fibre Channel NPV policies on leaf switches using the CLI to manage port groups, fabric policies, and interface profiles. This process ensures proper connectivity and policy inheritance for Fibre Channel traffic.
Configure an NPV traffic map using the CLI
Maps traffic from a FC/FCoE server interface to a FC/FCoE external interface configured in NP mode.
Configure FC connectivity using the REST API
Configures FC-enabled interfaces and EPGs accessing those interfaces using the FC protocol with the REST API.
Describes the third-party products tested for interoperability with the Fibre Channel N-port virtualization feature of Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller ( APIC ). This information assists in verifying hardware and software compatibility for network deployments.