<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
(	O
FC	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
high-speed	O
data	O
transfer	O
protocol	O
providing	O
in-order	O
,	O
lossless	O
delivery	O
of	O
raw	O
block	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
is	O
primarily	O
used	O
to	O
connect	O
computer	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
to	O
servers	B-Application
in	O
storage	O
area	O
networks	O
(	O
SAN	O
)	O
in	O
commercial	O
data	B-Operating_System
centers	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
networks	O
form	O
a	O
switched	B-Architecture
fabric	I-Architecture
because	O
the	O
switches	O
in	O
a	O
network	O
operate	O
in	O
unison	O
as	O
one	O
big	O
switch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
typically	O
runs	O
on	O
optical	B-Architecture
fiber	I-Architecture
cables	O
within	O
and	O
between	O
data	B-Operating_System
centers	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
can	O
also	O
run	O
on	O
copper	O
cabling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
industry	O
now	O
notates	O
this	O
as	O
Gigabit	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
(	O
GFC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
various	O
upper-level	O
protocols	O
for	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
,	O
including	O
two	O
for	O
block	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
Protocol	O
(	O
FCP	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
protocol	O
that	O
transports	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
commands	O
over	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FICON	B-Architecture
is	O
a	O
protocol	O
that	O
transports	O
ESCON	B-Device
commands	O
,	O
used	O
by	O
IBM	B-Device
mainframe	I-Device
computers	O
,	O
over	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
transport	O
data	O
from	O
storage	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
use	O
solid-state	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
storage	B-General_Concept
medium	I-General_Concept
by	O
transporting	O
NVMe	B-Application
protocol	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
technology	O
was	O
originally	O
devised	O
,	O
it	O
ran	O
over	O
optical	B-Architecture
fiber	I-Architecture
cables	O
only	O
and	O
,	O
as	O
such	O
,	O
was	O
called	O
"	O
Fiber	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
is	O
standardized	O
in	O
the	O
T11	O
Technical	O
Committee	O
of	O
the	O
International	O
Committee	O
for	O
Information	O
Technology	O
Standards	O
(	O
INCITS	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
American	O
National	O
Standards	O
Institute	O
(	O
ANSI	O
)	O
-accredited	O
standards	O
committee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
started	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
with	O
ANSI	O
standard	O
approval	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
to	O
merge	O
the	O
benefits	O
of	O
multiple	O
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
implementations	O
including	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
,	O
HIPPI	B-Architecture
and	O
ESCON	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
was	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
serial	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
to	O
overcome	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
and	O
HIPPI	B-Architecture
physical-layer	B-Application
parallel-signal	O
copper	O
wire	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
interfaces	O
face	O
the	O
challenge	O
of	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
things	O
,	O
maintaining	O
signal	O
timing	O
coherence	O
across	O
all	O
the	O
data-signal	O
wires	O
(	O
8	O
,	O
16	O
and	O
finally	O
32	O
for	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
,	O
50	O
for	O
HIPPI	B-Architecture
)	O
so	O
that	O
a	O
receiver	O
can	O
determine	O
when	O
all	O
the	O
electrical	O
signal	O
values	O
are	O
"	O
good	O
"	O
(	O
stable	O
and	O
valid	O
for	O
simultaneous	O
reception	O
sampling	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
See	O
Parallel	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
FC	O
was	O
developed	O
with	O
leading-edge	O
multi-mode	B-Device
optical	I-Device
fiber	I-Device
technologies	O
that	O
overcame	O
the	O
speed	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
ESCON	B-Device
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
appealing	O
to	O
the	O
large	O
base	O
of	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
disk	B-General_Concept
drives	I-General_Concept
and	O
leveraging	O
mainframe	O
technologies	O
,	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
developed	O
economies	O
of	O
scale	O
for	O
advanced	O
technologies	O
and	O
deployments	O
became	O
economical	O
and	O
widespread	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
was	O
the	O
first	O
serial	O
storage	O
transport	O
to	O
achieve	O
gigabit	O
speeds	O
where	O
it	O
saw	O
wide	O
adoption	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
success	O
grew	O
with	O
each	O
successive	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
has	O
doubled	O
in	O
speed	O
every	O
few	O
years	O
since	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
has	O
seen	O
active	O
development	O
since	O
its	O
inception	O
,	O
with	O
numerous	O
speed	O
improvements	O
on	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
underlying	O
transport	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
table	O
shows	O
the	O
progression	O
of	O
native	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
speeds	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
a	O
modern	O
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
,	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
also	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
any	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
upper	O
layer	O
"	O
protocols	O
,	O
including	O
ATM	O
,	O
IP	B-Protocol
(	O
IPFC	B-Protocol
)	O
and	O
FICON	B-Architecture
,	O
with	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
(	O
FCP	O
)	O
being	O
the	O
predominant	O
usage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
major	O
characteristics	O
of	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
networks	O
are	O
in-order	O
delivery	O
and	O
lossless	O
delivery	O
of	O
raw	O
block	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
major	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
topologies	O
,	O
describing	O
how	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
are	O
connected	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
port	O
in	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
terminology	O
is	O
any	O
entity	O
that	O
actively	O
communicates	O
over	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
not	O
necessarily	O
a	O
hardware	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
port	O
is	O
usually	O
implemented	O
in	O
a	O
device	O
such	O
as	O
disk	O
storage	O
,	O
a	O
Host	B-Architecture
Bus	I-Architecture
Adapter	I-Architecture
(	O
HBA	B-Architecture
)	O
network	O
connection	O
on	O
a	O
server	O
or	O
a	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
switch	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
loop	I-Architecture
(	O
see	O
FC-AL-2	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
design	O
,	O
all	O
devices	O
are	O
in	O
a	O
loop	O
or	O
ring	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
networking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
hubs	O
exist	O
to	O
connect	O
multiple	O
devices	O
together	O
and	O
may	O
bypass	O
failed	O
ports	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
minimal	O
loop	O
containing	O
only	O
two	O
ports	B-Protocol
,	O
while	O
appearing	O
to	O
be	O
similar	O
to	O
point-to-point	O
,	O
differs	O
considerably	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
one	O
pair	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
can	O
communicate	O
concurrently	O
on	O
a	O
loop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maximum	O
speed	O
of	O
8GFC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
has	O
been	O
rarely	O
used	O
after	O
2010	O
and	O
its	O
support	O
is	O
being	O
discontinued	O
for	O
new	O
gen	O
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Switched	B-Architecture
Fabric	I-Architecture
(	O
see	O
FC-SW-6	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
design	O
,	O
all	O
devices	O
are	O
connected	O
to	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
switches	I-Architecture
,	O
similar	O
conceptually	O
to	O
modern	O
Ethernet	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advantages	O
of	O
this	O
topology	O
over	O
point-to-point	O
or	O
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Fabric	O
can	O
scale	O
to	O
tens	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
switches	O
manage	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
Fabric	O
,	O
providing	O
optimized	O
paths	O
via	O
Fabric	B-Architecture
Shortest	I-Architecture
Path	I-Architecture
First	I-Architecture
(	O
FSPF	B-Architecture
)	O
data	O
routing	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
traffic	O
between	O
two	O
ports	B-Protocol
flows	O
through	O
the	O
switches	O
and	O
not	O
through	O
any	O
other	O
ports	B-Protocol
like	O
in	O
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Failure	O
of	O
a	O
port	O
is	O
isolated	O
to	O
a	O
link	O
and	O
should	O
not	O
affect	O
operation	O
of	O
other	O
ports	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiple	O
pairs	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
may	O
communicate	O
simultaneously	O
in	O
a	O
Fabric	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
does	O
not	O
follow	O
the	O
OSI	O
model	O
layering	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
split	O
into	O
five	O
layers	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
FC-4	O
–	O
Protocol-mapping	O
layer	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
upper	O
level	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
NVM	B-Application
Express	I-Application
(	O
NVMe	B-Application
)	O
,	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
,	O
IP	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
FICON	B-Architecture
are	O
encapsulated	O
into	O
Information	O
Units	O
(	O
IUs	O
)	O
for	O
delivery	O
to	O
FC-2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Current	O
FC-4s	O
include	O
FCP-4	O
,	O
FC-SB-5	O
,	O
and	O
FC-NVMe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FC-3	O
–	O
Common	O
services	O
layer	O
,	O
a	O
thin	O
layer	O
that	O
could	O
eventually	O
implement	O
functions	O
like	O
encryption	O
or	O
RAID	B-Architecture
redundancy	O
algorithms	O
;	O
multiport	O
connections	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
FC-2	O
–	O
Signaling	O
Protocol	O
,	O
defined	O
by	O
the	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
Framing	O
and	O
Signaling	O
4	O
(	O
FC-FS-5	O
)	O
standard	O
,	O
consists	O
of	O
the	O
low	O
level	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
protocols	I-Architecture
;	O
port	O
to	O
port	O
connections	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
FC-1	O
–	O
Transmission	O
Protocol	O
,	O
which	O
implements	O
line	B-Protocol
coding	I-Protocol
of	O
signals	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
FC-0	O
–	O
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
,	O
includes	O
cabling	O
,	O
connectors	B-Architecture
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layers	O
FC-0	O
are	O
defined	O
in	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
Physical	O
Interfaces	O
(	O
FC-PI-6	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
physical	B-Application
layers	I-Application
of	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
products	O
are	O
available	O
at	O
1	O
,	O
2	O
,	O
4	O
,	O
8	O
,	O
10	O
,	O
16	O
and	O
32	O
and	O
128	O
Gbit/s	O
;	O
these	O
protocol	O
flavors	O
are	O
called	O
accordingly	O
1GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
2GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
4GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
8GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
10GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
16GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
32GFC	B-Architecture
or	O
128GFC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
32GFC	B-Architecture
standard	O
was	O
approved	O
by	O
the	O
INCITS	O
T11	O
committee	O
in	O
2013	O
,	O
and	O
those	O
products	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
2GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
4GFC	B-Architecture
,	O
8GFC	B-Architecture
designs	O
all	O
use	O
8b/10b	B-Protocol
encoding	I-Protocol
,	O
while	O
the	O
10GFC	B-Architecture
and	O
16GFC	B-Architecture
standard	O
uses	O
64b/66b	O
encoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
10GFC	B-Architecture
standards	O
,	O
16GFC	B-Architecture
provides	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
with	O
4GFC	B-Architecture
and	O
8GFC	B-Architecture
since	O
it	O
provides	O
exactly	O
twice	O
the	O
throughput	O
of	O
8GFC	B-Architecture
or	O
four	O
times	O
that	O
of	O
4GFC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
ports	B-Protocol
come	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
logical	O
configurations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
types	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
N_Port	O
(	O
Node	O
port	O
)	O
An	O
N_Port	O
is	O
typically	O
an	O
HBA	B-Architecture
port	O
that	O
connects	O
to	O
a	O
switch	O
's	O
F_Port	O
or	O
another	O
N_Port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
Loop	O
protocols	O
create	O
multiple	O
types	O
of	O
Loop	O
Ports	B-Protocol
:	O
</s>
<s>
L_Port	O
(	O
Loop	O
port	O
)	O
FC_Port	O
that	O
contains	O
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
functions	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
topology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FL_Port	O
(	O
Fabric	O
Loop	O
port	O
)	O
L_Port	O
that	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
perform	O
the	O
function	O
of	O
an	O
F_Port	O
,	O
attached	O
via	O
a	O
link	O
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
NL_Ports	O
in	O
an	O
Arbitrated	B-Architecture
Loop	I-Architecture
topology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nx_Port	O
end	O
point	O
for	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
frame	I-Architecture
communication	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
distinct	O
address	O
identifier	O
and	O
Name_Identifier	O
,	O
providing	O
an	O
independent	O
set	O
of	O
FC-2V	O
functions	O
to	O
higher	O
levels	O
,	O
and	O
having	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
an	O
Originator	O
,	O
a	O
Responder	O
,	O
or	O
both	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ports	B-Protocol
have	O
virtual	O
components	O
and	O
physical	O
components	O
and	O
are	O
described	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
types	O
of	O
ports	B-Protocol
are	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
:	O
</s>
<s>
TE_Port	O
(	O
Trunking	O
E_Port	O
)	O
A	O
trunking	O
expansion	O
port	O
that	O
expands	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
E	O
ports	B-Protocol
to	O
support	O
VSAN	O
trunking	O
,	O
Transport	O
quality	O
of	O
service	O
(	O
QoS	O
)	O
parameters	O
,	O
and	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
trace	O
(	O
fctrace	O
)	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VA_Port	O
(	O
Virtual	O
A_Port	O
)	O
instance	O
of	O
the	O
FC-2V	O
sublevel	O
of	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
that	O
connects	O
to	O
another	O
VA_Port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VEX_Port	O
VEX_Ports	O
are	O
no	O
different	O
from	O
EX_Ports	O
,	O
except	O
underlying	O
transport	O
is	O
IP	B-Protocol
rather	O
than	O
FC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
serial	O
connections	O
that	O
use	O
fiber	B-Architecture
optics	I-Architecture
to	O
copper	O
between	O
corresponding	O
pluggable	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
modules	O
may	O
have	O
a	O
single	O
lane	O
,	O
dual	O
lanes	O
or	O
quad	O
lanes	O
that	O
correspond	O
to	O
the	O
SFP	O
,	O
SFP-DD	O
and	O
QSFP	B-Protocol
form	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
has	O
not	O
used	O
8	O
or	O
16	O
lane	O
modules	O
(	O
like	O
CFP8	O
,	O
QSFP-DD	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
COBO	O
)	O
used	O
in	O
400GbE	O
and	O
has	O
no	O
plans	O
to	O
use	O
these	O
expensive	O
and	O
complex	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
small	B-Protocol
form-factor	I-Protocol
pluggable	I-Protocol
transceiver	I-Protocol
(	O
SFP	O
)	O
module	O
and	O
its	O
enhanced	O
version	O
SFP+	B-Protocol
,	O
SFP28	B-Protocol
and	O
SFP56	B-Protocol
are	O
common	O
form	O
factors	O
for	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
ports	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
SFP	B-Protocol
modules	I-Protocol
support	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
distances	O
via	O
multi-mode	O
and	O
single-mode	B-Device
optical	I-Device
fiber	I-Device
as	O
shown	O
in	O
the	O
table	O
below	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SFP	B-Protocol
module	I-Protocol
uses	O
duplex	O
fiber	O
cabling	O
that	O
has	O
LC	B-Device
connectors	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SFP-DD	O
module	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
high	O
density	O
applications	O
that	O
need	O
to	O
double	O
the	O
throughput	O
of	O
an	O
SFP	B-Protocol
Port	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SFP-DD	O
is	O
defined	O
by	O
the	O
SFP-DD	O
MSA	O
and	O
enables	O
breakout	O
to	O
two	O
SFP	B-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
picture	O
,	O
two	O
rows	O
of	O
electrical	O
contacts	O
enable	O
the	O
doubling	O
of	O
the	O
throughput	O
of	O
the	O
module	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
fashion	O
as	O
the	O
QSFP-DD	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
quad	B-Protocol
small	I-Protocol
form-factor	I-Protocol
pluggable	I-Protocol
(	O
QSFP	B-Protocol
)	O
module	O
began	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
switch	O
inter-connectivity	O
and	O
was	O
later	O
adopted	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
4-lane	O
implementations	O
of	O
Gen	O
6	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
supporting	O
128GFC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
QSFP	B-Protocol
uses	O
either	O
the	O
LC	B-Device
connector	O
for	O
128GFC-CWDM4	O
or	O
an	O
MPO	O
connector	O
for	O
128GFC-SW4	O
or	O
128GFC-PSM4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MPO	O
cabling	O
uses	O
8	O
-	O
or	O
12-fiber	O
cabling	O
infrastructure	O
that	O
connects	O
to	O
another	O
128GFC	B-Architecture
port	O
or	O
may	O
be	O
broken	O
out	O
into	O
four	O
duplex	O
LC	B-Device
connections	O
to	O
32GFC	B-Architecture
SFP+	B-Protocol
ports	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
switches	I-Architecture
use	O
either	O
SFP	O
or	O
QSFP	B-Protocol
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FC-PH	B-Architecture
=	O
X3T11	B-Architecture
Project	O
755D	O
;	O
FC-PH-2	O
=	O
X3T11	B-Architecture
Project	O
901D	O
;	O
FC-PI-4	O
=	O
INCITS	O
Project	O
1647-D	O
;	O
FC-PI-5	O
=	O
INCITS	O
Project	O
2118D	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
devices	O
support	O
SFP+	B-Protocol
transceiver	I-Protocol
,	O
mainly	O
with	O
LC	B-Device
(	O
Lucent	O
Connector	O
)	O
fiber	B-Device
connector	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
1GFC	B-Architecture
devices	O
used	O
GBIC	B-Protocol
transceiver	O
,	O
mainly	O
with	O
SC	B-Device
(	O
Subscriber	O
Connector	O
)	O
fiber	B-Device
connector	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
goal	O
of	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
is	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
storage	O
area	O
network	O
(	O
SAN	O
)	O
to	O
connect	O
servers	B-Application
to	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SAN	O
is	O
a	O
dedicated	O
network	O
that	O
enables	O
multiple	O
servers	B-Application
to	O
access	O
data	O
from	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
storage	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
uses	O
the	O
SAN	O
to	O
backup	O
to	O
secondary	O
storage	O
devices	O
including	O
disk	B-General_Concept
arrays	I-General_Concept
,	O
tape	B-Device
libraries	I-Device
,	O
and	O
other	O
backup	O
while	O
the	O
storage	O
is	O
still	O
accessible	O
to	O
the	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Servers	B-Application
may	O
access	O
storage	O
from	O
multiple	O
storage	O
devices	O
over	O
the	O
network	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
switches	I-Architecture
can	O
be	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
often	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
operating	O
in	O
its	O
"	O
native	O
mode	O
"	O
and	O
allows	O
the	O
vendor	O
to	O
add	O
proprietary	O
features	O
which	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
compliant	O
with	O
the	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
open	O
fabric	O
"	O
mode	O
as	O
each	O
vendor	O
's	O
switch	O
may	O
have	O
to	O
disable	O
its	O
proprietary	O
features	O
to	O
comply	O
with	O
the	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
HBAs	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
CNAs	O
,	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
all	O
major	O
open	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
computer	O
architectures	O
,	O
and	O
buses	O
,	O
including	O
PCI	B-Protocol
and	O
SBus	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
HBA	B-Architecture
has	O
a	O
unique	O
World	O
Wide	O
Name	O
(	O
WWN	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
MAC	O
address	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
uses	O
an	O
Organizationally	O
Unique	O
Identifier	O
(	O
OUI	O
)	O
assigned	O
by	O
the	O
IEEE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
WWNs	O
are	O
longer	O
(	O
8	O
bytes	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
WWNs	O
on	O
an	O
HBA	B-Architecture
;	O
a	O
World	B-Architecture
Wide	I-Architecture
Node	I-Architecture
Name	I-Architecture
(	O
WWNN	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
shared	O
by	O
some	O
or	O
all	O
ports	B-Protocol
of	O
a	O
device	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
World	B-Architecture
Wide	I-Architecture
Port	I-Architecture
Name	I-Architecture
(	O
WWPN	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
necessarily	O
unique	O
to	O
each	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
