What is the difference between an optical fiber Nic and an optical fiber trunk card?

When discussing this issue, we need to clarify one question first: we know that in the early SAN storage system, servers
And
The data transmission of a vswitch is performed through optical fiber cables. Because the server transmits SCSI commands to storage devices and cannot use the IP protocol of a common lan network, FC transmission is required.
It is called the FC-SAN, and later appeared with the IP protocol encapsulation of San, can completely take the common lan network, so called the IP-SAN, the most typical is now popular iSCSI.

　
Both of these methods require heavy read packet unpackaging operations on data blocks. Therefore, a high-performance SAN system requires a dedicated Nic to be installed on the server to relieve the processor burden, this type of NIC
You can call it a fuse card. In addition to unpacking, it can also provide an optical fiber interface (if it is iSCSI
Memory card is to provide a common RJ45 Interface) to connect with the corresponding switch; in addition, HbA physical you can put it as a NIC in the PCI or PCI-E slot, so this kind
The standby method is very similar to a network card, and many people confuse it with a common network card or a common optical network card. Of course, some iSCSI
The primary card can be used as an ordinary network card, but the price is very luxurious.

The conventional definition of HbA is to connect the host I/O bus to the computer memory system.
. According to this definition, like the video card is connected to the video bus and memory, the network card is connected to the network bus and memory, the SCSI-FC card is connected to the SCSI or FC bus and memory, it
We should all be referred to as HBA. Memory card with FC-HBA and iSCSI
HbA will have other memory cards in the future, but HbA is usually used in SCSI. Adapter and NIC are used for FC, while Nic is also used for Ethernet and ring.

In fact, Nic is a general term for a type of equipment that is often mentioned. It refers to the network connection line (twisted pair wires, optical fiber cables, coaxial cables, etc.) installed in the host) connect to a network switch (such as an Ethernet switch, FC switch, or iSCSI switch) or other network devices (such as storage devices, servers, and workstations) to form a network hardware device.

So, does the name of the optical fiber Nic refer to the optical fiber port HbA card?

In fact, the optical fiber network card is commonly referred to as the optical fiber channel network card.

Due to different transmission protocols, NICs can be divided into three types: Ethernet NIC, FC Nic, and iSCSI Nic.

•
Ethernet: Learning name Ethernet
Adapter. The transmission protocol is the IP protocol. It is generally connected to an Ethernet switch through an optical fiber cable or twisted pair cable. Interfaces can be divided into optical ports and electrical ports. Optical interfaces are generally transmitted through optical fiber cables,
Generally, the interface module is SFP (transfer rate of 2 Gb/s) and GBIC (1 Gb/s), and the corresponding interfaces are SC, St, and LC. Currently, the common electrical interface type is RJ45, which is used to connect to twisted pair wires.
There are also interfaces to connect to the coaxial cable, but now it is used less.

• Fc nic: it is also called an optical fiber Nic. Its learning name is fiber channel.
HBA. The transmission protocol is an optical fiber channel protocol, which is generally connected to an optical fiber channel switch through an optical fiber cable. Interfaces can be divided into optical ports and electrical ports. Optical interfaces are generally transmitted through optical fiber cables. Interface Module 1
SFP (transfer rate of 2 Gb/s) and GBIC (1 Gb/s), corresponding interfaces are SC and LC. The electrical interface type is generally DB9 needle or hssdc.

• ISCSI network adapter: The iSCSI HbA is used to transmit the iSCSI protocol. The interface type is the same as that of the Ethernet Card.

The "optical fiber network interface" is generally an FC HbA card that is inserted on a server and used for external storage. The Ethernet interfaces of optical interfaces are generally called "Optical Fiber Ethernet interfaces ", it is also inserted on the server, but it is connected to an Ethernet switch with optical ports.

　　Summary
:

In fact, these NICs are quite well differentiated. You can see the following table:

• Memory card: FC-HBA card (commonly known as fiber Nic), iSCSI-memory card (RJ45 Interface)
• Ethernet Card: ethernet card with Optical Fiber interfaces (also known as optical fiber Ethernet Card)

However, these are common sayings and usage environments. We recommend that you do not use the name of the optical fiber network card, but directly said the FC-HBA card, so it will never cause misunderstanding.