Fibre Channel Basics

PC Institute
What is Fibre Channel?
Fibre Channel is a high speed communications method
for attaching devices to a server (host) or groups of hosts.
Very high speed -1Gb/sec-2Gb/sec
Used mainly to connect to storage devices
- Can support non-Fibre Channel devices through gateways
Also supports IP over fibre
Uses light to carry signals
Highly reliable connections
Very little signal interference
Fibre Channel Structure
Layered approach to data communications
Physical layer
Encode/Decode
Framing protocol/
Flow control
Common services
Protocol mapping layer
Application
FC-4
FC-3
FC-2
FC-1
FC-0
Physical Fibre Channel Characteristics
FC Type Max Dist Optic
Cable
Mode
SW: short-wave
Fibre Channel
1Gb 500m
2Gb 300m
50 micron
Multimode
1Gb 300m (175m)
2Gb 150m (175m)
62.5 micron
LW: long-wave
Fibre Channel
10 km (6 miles) 9 micron Single mode
50 or 62.5
microns
Short wavelength, multimode. Waves
interfere with each other; short
wavelengths cause more signal loss.
Long wavelength, single mode. No
interference with other signals; less
signal loss.
9 microns
Fibre Channel Terms
Node
A node is the source or destination for information being
transported.
Port
A port is a hardware entity within a node that performs data
communications over the channel.
Link
A link is a connection between two Fibre Channel ports
consisting of a transmit and receive fibre.
Fabric
The fabric is the means by which the Fibre Channel connects
devices.
Fibre Channel Addressing
Fibre Channel fabric uses a 24-bit address.
Allows for up to 16 million ports in a single configuration.
Addresses are assigned dynamically at login and do not
require any settings of switches or jumpers.
When logging onto a switched fabric, the address is assigned
by the fabric.
When connection is point to point, one of the two will assign
the other its address.

Arbitrated loop uses a different addressing scheme.
127 addresses on loop.
When in an arbitrated loop, the loop address is assigned
during the loop initialization process (LIP).
The acronym for arbitrated loop physical address is AL_PA.
Point-to-point Fibre Channel
Point-to-point Fibre Channel is a direct connection
between two devices.
Requires compatible port transmitters and receivers
Simple to implement
Dedicated bandwidth
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device P
o
r
t

Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL)
Multiple devices are daisy-chained together
Ports are normally connected through a hub
Arbitration scheme determines which device controls the
loop
Offers full-duplex communications
- Performance impacted by number of devices
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Port
P
o
r
t

P o r t
P
o
r
t

FC-AL Close-up With Devices
Repeaters
at Each Hub Port
Server
Cascade
Link
Empty
Port
Retiming
Circuitry
at Each Node
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fibre Channel Switched Fabric
Flow of information is controlled by routers or switches
instead of hubs
Scalable, robust design
Cost effective only in multi-node environment
Point-to-point connection between two devices
Multiple pairs of devices can communicate simultaneously
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Port
P o r t P o r t
Port
Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Channel Co-existence with Other Technologies
Non-Fibre Channel devices cannot connect directly to
Fibre Channel.
Requires a gateway device
- Provides physical cabling conversion
- Provides protocol conversion
Fibre Channel
Device
Gateway

Fibre Channel
Device
Fibre Channel
Device
Port
P
o
r
t

P o r t
P
o
r
t

Non-Fibre Channel Device
(e.g. SCSI and SSA)
When to Deploy Fibre Channel
ServeRAID
ServeRAID
Windows
2000
Linux
Novell
Netware
UNIX