Fibre Channel Essentials

Fibre Channel is an ANSI standard-based protocol for the movement of data between servers and storage devices. FC is defined by port addresses and names and each device port connected to a switch port creating a FC Fabric. FC represents the first three layers of the OSI reference model and has a defined frame format and interface with upper layer protocols and drivers. The most common payload for FC frame is SCSI.

Fibre Channel defines a strict flow control process using buffer credits. VSANs, Zones, and Sub-zones are also defined to create data architecture and secure environment. The entire process is controlled by sophisticated fabric switches from Cisco, Brocade, McData and others. These services include domain services, name services, management services, and routing. This white paper will teach you the basics of Fibre Channel.