FL_Port
A fabric port that contains the loop functionality is
called an FL_Port.
Link
The physical connection between an N_Port and
another N_Port or between an N_Port and an
F_Port. A link consists of two fibres – one to
transmit information and one to receive information.
The transmit fibre on one node is the receive fibre on
the node at the other end of the link. A link may be
optical fibre, coaxial cable, or shielded twisted pair.
E_Port
An expansion port on a switch that connects two
switches in the fabric.
1.2 Fibre Channel Topologies
Fibre Channel supports three different interconnect topologies:
•
Point-to-point (Section 1.2.1)
•
Fabric (Section 1.2.2)
•
Arbitrated loop (Section 1.2.3)
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Note
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You can interconnect an arbitrated loop with fabric, creating
a hybrid configuration. The fabric must have ports with loop
functionality (FL_Ports) to attach an arbitrated loop to the fabric.
Tru64 UNIX does not support hybrid configurations and they are
not discussed in this document.
The following sections discuss these topologies.
1.2.1 Point-to-Point Topology
The point-to-point topology is the simplest of the Fibre Channel topologies.
In a point-to-point topology, one N_Port is connected to another N_Port by a
single link.
Frames require no routing; all frames transmitted by one N_Port are
received by the other N_Port, and in the same order in which they were sent.
Figure 1–1 shows an example of point-to-point topology.
Fibre Channel Overview 1–3
