RE: iFCP fabric attachments

[Joshua Tseng <jtseng@NishanSystems.com>]

Robert,

> 
> I think this is a very interesting proposal, storage gateways are
> possible
> at several different levels, great work.
> 
>  Section 3.3 says: 
>     The gateway builds the store of N_PORT network addresses for
>     external devices in the IP fabric by:
> 
>     a) Intercepting name service requests issued by directly-attached
>        N_PORTs and redirecting them to the iSNS name server or,
> 
>     b) Intercepting incoming N_PORT login requests from external Fibre
>        Channel devices.                             
> 
> Could you explain how this would work in the presence of existing
> Fibre Channel SNS and master switch?
> 
> I noticed on your comparison of FCIP and iFCP that the SAN islands
> contain no Switches or Hubs, N_PORTS are connected directly to iFCP 
> devices. Is is possible under to have iFCP gateways and FC switches?
> 

Yes, it is possible for iFCP gateways to interoperate with FC switches
if the iFCP gateway implements FC-SW-2.  Essentially, all the N_PORTS
on the IP network would have to be represented to the FC fabric through
mechanisms described in FC-SW-2.  Similarly, the iFCP gateway would
learn about FC devices in the FC fabric through the FC name server
mechanisms described in FC-GS-2 and FC-GS-3.  These devices would then
be registered in the iSNS in the IP fabric.

Josh