RE: iFCP as an IP Storage Work Item

[Joshua Tseng <jtseng@NishanSystems.com>]

Yes, you are correct.  A disruption in the IP network at an
inopportune moment can lead to the FC fabric deciding the tunneled
ISL is no good, leaving it isolated indefinitely.  Human intervention
will be necessary (unless the FCIP gateway does it) to reconfigure
the fabric (and trigger the reallocation of DOMAIN_ID's) so that
connectivity across the tunnel can be restored.

BTW, this isn't a small issue either, as disruptions in the
IP network are a common and expected event.

Thanks,
Josh

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Hirata [mailto:Ken.Hirata@Vixel.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 10:49 AM
> To: Joshua Tseng; ips@ece.cmu.edu
> Cc: Y P Cheng
> Subject: Re: iFCP as an IP Storage Work Item
> 
> 
> Just a nit, see embedded comment.  Ken
> 
> Joshua Tseng wrote:
> 
> > Furthermore, as Wayland pointed out earlier, a single large 
> FC fabric
> > stretched over multiple WAN links by FCIP is vulnerable to temporary
> > disruptions in the IP network which may trigger reconfigurations in
> > the FC fabric, such as reallocations of DOMAIN_ID's.
> 
> Reallocations of Domain IDs will not occur without administrative
> intervention if the switches in the Fibre Channel Fabric comply with
> the Methodologies for Interconnects (FC-MI) specification.
> 
> >  iFCP addresses
> > this issue by assigning N_PORT ID's locally, eliminating 
> the dependence
> > on a central addressing authority and the need for any 
> "Class F" traffic.
> > The stability and scalability of a large storage network is 
> thus improved.
> >
> > Josh
> 
> --
> Kenneth Hirata
> Vixel Corporation
> Irvine, CA 92618
> Phone: (949) 450-6100
> Email: khirata@vixel.com
> 
>