servers over the NPIV proxy gateway to FC switches in the fabric. An FCoE map virtualizes the upstream
SAN fabric as an FCF to downstream CNA ports on FCoE-enabled servers as follows:
• As soon as an FC N port comes online (no shutdown command), the NPG starts sending FIP
multicast advertisements, which contain the fabric name derived from the 64-bit worldwide name
(WWN) of the principal SAN switch. (The principal switch in a fabric is the FC switch with the lowest
domain ID.)
• When you apply the FCoE map to a server-facing Ethernet port in ENode mode, ACLs are
automatically configured to allow only FCoE traffic from servers that perform a successful FLOGI on
the FC switch. All other traffic on the VLAN is denied.
You can specify one or more upstream N ports in an FCoE map. The FCoE map also contains the VLAN
ID of the dedicated VLAN used to transmit FCoE traffic between the SAN fabric and servers.
NPIV Proxy Gateway: Protocol Services
An MXL 10/40GbE Switch and M I/O Aggregator with the FC Flex IO module NPG provides the following
protocol services:
• Fibre Channel service to create N ports and log in to an upstream FC switch.
• FCoE service to perform:
• Virtualization of FC N ports on an NPG so that they appear as FCoE FCFs to downstream servers.
• NPIV service to perform the association and aggregation of FCoE servers to upstream F ports on core
switches (through N ports on the NPG). Conversion of server FLOGIs and FDISCs, which are received
over MXL 10/40GbE Switch and M I/O Aggregator with the FC Flex IO module ENode ports, are
converted into FDISCs addressed to the upstream F ports on core switches.
NPIV Proxy Gateway Functionality
An MXL 10/40GbE Switch and M I/O Aggregator with the FC Flex IO module NPG provides the following
functionality in a storage area network:
• FIP Snooping bridge that provides security for FCoE traffic using ACLs (see FCoE Transit chapter).
• FCoE gateway that provides FCoE-to-FC bridging. N-port virtualization using FCoE maps exposes
upstream F ports as FCF ports to downstream server-facing ENode ports on the NPG (see FCoE
Maps).
NPIV Proxy Gateway: Terms and Definitions
The following table describes the terms used in an NPG configuration on the MXL 10/40GbE Switch and
M I/O Aggregator with the FC Flex IO module.
Table 83. MXL 10/40GbE Switch and M I/O Aggregator with the FC Flex IO module NPIV Proxy Gateway:
Terms and Definitions
Term Description
FC port Fibre Channel port on an MXL 10/40GbE Switch and M I/O Aggregator
with the FC Flex IO module FC module that operates in autosensing, 2, 4,
FC Flex IO Modules 1079