"Go" end to end FCoE get breakthrough still need to wait for switch support

End to end FCoE get breakthrough still need to wait for switch support

VMware has certified an End-to-end FCOE connectivity solution for Cisco and NetApp, but this does not mean that new markets are emerging because core switches still do not support transmission of FCOE information. Only the overhead switch (top-of-rack-switches) (tors) can transmit FCoE information.
FCoE refers to Ethernet Fibre Channel, which inserts fibre Channel information into an Ethernet packet, allowing the server-san storage device's Fibre channel requests and data to be transmitted over an Ethernet connection without a dedicated fibre channel structure.
Because FCoE packets must be separated from most other Ethernet packets via a switch and sent to multiple storage arrays, End-to-end FCoE connectivity solutions are powerless. How Cisco and NetApp are addressing the problem.
The connectivity component is a CNA server that provides the functionality of a standard Ethernet network interface card, as well as the FCoE functionality provided by a host bus adapter that connects the server to the Fibre Channel connector.
The CNA connects with Cisco Nexus 5000TORS via a too-net connector, and then still connects to the NetApp FAs storage array via ethernet using the FCoE target function, using QLogic silicon as its front-end. NetApp has previously announced the introduction of a simplified end-to-end fcoe solution that can link the CNA of brocade and QLogic directly to its FAS array.
At the time it said it would sign an OEM agreement with Boko, the original manufacturer of Brocade 8000TORS and the 10-24 FCoE Blade compatible with the Brocade DCX main chain switch or dcx-4s switch. However, the Fibre Channel array connection used was physical Fibre channel rather than Ethernet. According to Brocade, the Multi-hop FCoE function depends on the Layer 2-way IETF standard trill. The author thinks that Trill can increase the cabling of Ethernet.
Cisco announced the launch of Fabricpath in June, which adds trill to its data center operating system Nx-os, providing layer 3 routing advantages for the Layer 2 switched network. It also announces the introduction of a Nexus 7000 F-Series I/O module that supports 1GigE and 10GigE connections. It is said to support data center bridging (DCB) and trill standards, and support for FCoE will be achieved in the near future through a software upgrade. Therefore Nexus 7000 will be able to support Multi-hop FCoE after the software upgrade, but it is not yet supported.
The third part of Cisco's announced FCoE plan is the Fabricpath switching system (FSS), a hardware and software integrated system that can be based on Nx-os Fabricpath features and Nexus hardware similar to Fabricpath 7000, Use Fabricpath to establish a large number of adjustable fields.
However, the End-to-end FCoE scheme that is included in VMware certification is Nexus 5000 tors rather than Nexus 7000 core switches. Nexus 5000 supports DCB, but does not support trill.
DCB includes priority flow control, enhanced transport options, and DCB exchange protocols. Because of DCB support, Nexus 5000 can be connected to storage targets by FCoE. But Cisco does not mention Fabricpath in the Nexus 5000 product introduction, so VMware's limited end-to-end FCOE certification is only an appetizer, we also need to wait for the structure of the switch heap multi-hop FCoE support.

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