Transcript Fibre Channel

Fibre Channel
Maria G. Luna
Objectives
 Define what is Fibre Channel
 Standards
 Fibre Channel Architecture
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Simple example of a Network Connection
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Fiber Channel Layers
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• Summary FC Layers (Picture)
Fibre Channel Topologies
 Technology Comparison
 Conclusion
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What is Fibre Channel?
 A high-speed transmission technology used as a
peripheral channel or network backbone.
 It is a 100MB/sec, full-duplex, serial, data
communication technology.
 It supports several common transport protocols
like Internet Protocol (IP) and SCSI.
 It operates over copper and fiber optic cables at
distances of up to 10 Kilometers.
 It is supported by many suppliers like Compaq,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Seagate, and Sun
Microsystems.
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Standards for Fibre Channel
 The T11 Committee of NCIT, a U.S. standardsdevelopment organization under the ANSI
(American National Standards Institute) meets 6
times a year to develop Fibre Channel
standards.
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Current standards:
 Some examples of current standards.
 Performance from 266 megabits/second to over
4 gigabits/second.
 Support for distances of up to 10Km.
 High-bandwidth utilization with distance
insensitivity.
 Support for multiple cost/performance levels,
from small systems to super computers.
 Ability to carry multiple existing interface
command sets, including Internet Protocol (IP),
SCSI, IPI, and audio and video.
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Fibre Channel Architecture
 Fibre Channel transfers digital data
between sources and users of
information.
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This digital data represents different
types of information like programs, files,
graphics, videos and sound.
Each having its own structure, protocol,
connectivity, measures of performance
and reliability requirements.
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Network Connection Example
Node Ports
Printer
Node Ports
Computer/
Workstation
Node Ports
Server
Storage
Device
Node Ports
Computer/
Workstation
Fabric Ports
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Network connection (continued):
 Network Connections are established between
the node ports (N_Ports), that are in computers,
servers, storage devices, and printers, and the
fabric ports (F_Ports), that are on the periphery
of the Fibre Channel Fabric.
 The Fibre Channel Architecture specifies in
detail the link Characteristics and protocol used
between the node ports and the fabric ports.
 The Fibre Channel can interconnect more than
16 million node ports in a single address.
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Fibre Channel Layers
 Five layers FC-1, FC-2, FC-3, and FC-4.
 Define the physical media, transmission rates,
encoding scheme, framing protocol, flow control,
common services, and the upper level interfaces.
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FC-0, FC-1, and FC-2 - define how Fibre
Channel ports interact with other ports.
They are refereed to as the Fibre Channel
Physical levels (PC-PH Levels).
FC-3, and FC-4 - define how Fibre Channel ports
interact with applications in host systems.
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FC-0 : Media and Interfaces
 Covers the physical characteristics of the
interface and media, including cables,
connectors, drivers, transmitters, and receivers.
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Examples of media :
• twisted pair
• coaxial
• multi mode/single mode fiber
• fiber light sources
• long wave lasers
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FC-1, and FC-2:
 FC-1: Transmission Protocol
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Defines how FC-0 signals are patterned to carry data
and how port-to-port links are initialized.
 FC-2: Framing and Signaling Protocol
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Defines the rules for signaling and the transfer of data.
Defines various classes of services, some examples:
• Class 1: Is a full-duplex dedicated link between 2
ports. (Highest quality of service because it is the
most effective in transferring large amounts of data
at very high speed.
• Class 2: Multiplexed connection , where 1 port can
carry different exchanges with many other ports.
• Class 3: Multicast and broadcast where there’s no
confirmation of receipt.
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FC-3 and FC-4:
 FC-3: Common Services
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Defines commons services provided by two or
more node ports in a host system. (Ex. Two or
more node ports, sharing a common port address,
which increases the bandwidth available from node
port to fabric ports).
 FC-4: Protocol Mappings
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Formed by series of profiles defining how to map
legacy protocols to Fibre Channel.
Profiles for protocols like IP, SCSI, for disk drives,
and several others are already defined here.
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Fibre Channel Layers
FC-4
FC-3
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Source: www.fibrechannel.com/layers/
Fibre Channel Layers
 The previous picture illustrates the relationship
between the media type and the operating range for
each Fibre Channel, which is defined by the FC-0
layer.
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For example we see that a Multimode Fiber medium has
a transfer rate of 133Mbps-266Mbps.
And Singlemode Fiber medium has a range of
531Mbps-1.06Gbps.
Whereas a copper medium has a transfer rate
2.12Gbps-4.25Gbps.
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Fibre Channel Layers (continued)
 We also observe the relationship between FC-0
and FC-1, where FC-1 defines how the signals
are carried by the FC-0 layer.
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We also observe that the FC-2 layer defines the
framing protocol, and flow control.
We also observe that FC-3 defines the common
services.
And that FC-4 is the layer defining the protocols like
IP.
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Fabric Topologies
 There are three topologies for Fibre Channel
Fabrics:
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Point-to-point
• Where two node ports have the same signaling
rate and class of service.
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Switched
• Where 16 million node ports can be
interconnected.
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Loop (Ring)
• Organizes up to 127 Fibre Channel ports on a ring,
and distributes the routing functions among them.
• It is used more than the switched topology.
• It also costs less than switched topology.
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Technology Comparison
Fibre Channel
Technology
Storage, network,
applicatios
video, clusters
Point-to-point loop
Topologies
hub, swithced
Scability to
2.12 Gbps,
higher data rates
4.24Gbps
Guaranteed
Yes
Delivery
Congestion data
None
loss
Frame size
Variable, 0-2KB
Flow Control
Credit Based
Physical media
Protocols
Supported
Copper and Fiber
Gigabit Ethernet
Network
ATM
Network
video
Point-to-point hub,
switched
switched
Not defined
1.24Gbps
No
No
Yes
Yes
Variable, 0-1.5KB
Rate Based
Fixed, 53B
Rate Based
Copper and
Fiber
Network
video
Copper and Fiber
Network, SCSI,
Network
Video
Table 3.3 Technology comparison
Source: www.fibrechannel.com
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Technology Comparison
 Clearly from this table we can observe that
Fibre Channel is the best technology:
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Because it provides a higher data rate than ATM.
Because it can be employed in more topologies,
when compared to the Ethernet, and ATM.
It is more reliable since the delivery of data is
guaranteed and there’s no loss of data.
It has a bigger frame size of up to 2KB when
comparing it to Ethernet’s 1.5KB, and ATM’s 53B
And also because it supports Network, SCSI,
and video protocols, whereas Ethernet only
supports Network, and ATM only supports
Network and Video Protocols.
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Conclusion
 Once again Fibre Channel is a high speed peripheral
transmission technology used in networks.
 With a transmission rate of 100MB/sec and with a
full-duplex flow of transmission.
 It is defined by five layers which are FC-0, FC-1, FC2, FC-3, and FC-4, and they define the media,
transmission rates, coding/encoding, framing, flow,
and protocols supported.
 And when compared to the Ethernet and ATM
technologies it is the best.
 Experts agree that Fibre Channel is the first
technology with the potential to move the data
communications industry into a low-cost-ofownership, commodity phase.
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References
 ComputerSelect
Lee, Edwin. “An Introduction to Fibre
Channel.” Unix Review’s
Performance Computing (March, 1999).
 Computer Desktop Encyclopedia.
• Fibre Channel (1999).
 Newton's Telecom Dictionary.
• Fibre Channel Association (1999).
 Black, George. “ Fibre Alliance to set new
standards.” ComputerWeekly (February 11,
1999).
 www.fibrechannel.com/layers/.
 www.fibrechannel.com/standards/.
 www.fibrechannel.com/tech_comparison/. Maria G. Luna
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