Internet Fibre Channel Protocol
Encyclopedia
Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP) is a gateway
-to-gateway network protocol standard, officially ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force
, which provides Fibre Channel
fabric functionality to fibre channel devices over an IP
network. Currently the most common comes in 1 Gbit/s, 2 Gbit/s, 4 Gbit/s, 8 Gbit/s, 10 Gbit/s variants.
infrastructure is replaced by IP components and technology. Congestion control, error detection and recovery are provided through the use of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol
). The primary objective of iFCP is to allow existing fibre channel devices to be networked and interconnected over an IP based network at wire speed
s.
The method of address translation
defined and the protocol
permit fibre channel storage device
s and host adapter
s to be attached to an IP-based fabric using transparent gateways.
The iFCP protocol layer's main function is to transport Fibre Channel frame
images between Fibre Channel ports
attached both locally and remotely. iFCP encapsulates and routes the fibre channel frames that make up each Fibre Channel information unit via a predetermined TCP connection for transport across the IP network when transporting frames to a remote Fibre Channel port.
Gateway (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, the term gateway has the following meaning:*In a communications network, a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses different protocols....
-to-gateway network protocol standard, officially ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...
, which provides Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
fabric functionality to fibre channel devices over an IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
network. Currently the most common comes in 1 Gbit/s, 2 Gbit/s, 4 Gbit/s, 8 Gbit/s, 10 Gbit/s variants.
Technical overview
The iFCP protocol enables the implementation of fibre channel functionality over an IP network, within which the fibre channel switching and routingRouting
Routing is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network , electronic data networks , and transportation networks...
infrastructure is replaced by IP components and technology. Congestion control, error detection and recovery are provided through the use of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol
Transmission Control Protocol
The Transmission Control Protocol is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. TCP is one of the two original components of the suite, complementing the Internet Protocol , and therefore the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP...
). The primary objective of iFCP is to allow existing fibre channel devices to be networked and interconnected over an IP based network at wire speed
Wire speed
Wire speed or wirespeed is a non-formal language term referring to the hypothetical peak physical layer net bitrate of a cable combined with a certain digital communication device/interface/port...
s.
The method of address translation
Address Resolution Protocol
Address Resolution Protocol is a telecommunications protocol used for resolution of network layer addresses into link layer addresses, a critical function in multiple-access networks. ARP was defined by RFC 826 in 1982. It is Internet Standard STD 37...
defined and the protocol
Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...
permit fibre channel storage device
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
s and host adapter
Host adapter
In computer hardware, a host controller, host adapter, or host bus adapter connects a host system to other network and storage devices...
s to be attached to an IP-based fabric using transparent gateways.
The iFCP protocol layer's main function is to transport Fibre Channel frame
Data frame
In computer networking and telecommunication, a frame is a digital data transmission unit or data packet that includes frame synchronization, i.e. a sequence of bits or symbols making it possible for the receiver to detect the beginning and end of the packet in the stream of symbols or bits...
images between Fibre Channel ports
Computer port (hardware)
In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer and other computers or peripheral devices. Physically, a port is a specialized outlet on a piece of equipment to which a plug or cable connects...
attached both locally and remotely. iFCP encapsulates and routes the fibre channel frames that make up each Fibre Channel information unit via a predetermined TCP connection for transport across the IP network when transporting frames to a remote Fibre Channel port.
See also
- Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
- Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP)
- Internet SCSIISCSIIn computing, iSCSI , is an abbreviation of Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol -based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. By carrying SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to facilitate data transfers over intranets and to manage...
(iSCSI)
Other Links
- iFCP Information Page at the SNIA IP Storage Forum.
- iFCP Subgroup at the SNIA IP Storage Forum.
- Protocol Summary by javin.com.