RE: iFCP as an IP Storage Work Item

["Y P Cheng" <ycheng@advansys.com>]

> I think it's important to be clear on one thing. While a product can be
> built from a common encapsulation method, it is NOT iFCP. Such a
> product is basically leveraging a commmon envelope that
> encloses different messages. The sender and receiver reading the contents
> are different entities that speak different languages.
>
> Charles

Totally agree.  The HBA I am talking about does not care for E-Port or
N-Port.

> Sheesh...the Fibre Channel vendors are having a tough enough
> time getting one E_PORT to talk to another E_PORT.  You are claiming
> that you can get an N_PORT to talk to an E_PORT.
>
> Josh

Josh, the fact is that our HBA with 5 RISC engines and 4 MB of code can do
the same thing Nishan and any FCIP vendors can do.  However, having said
that, my gut feeling is that it won't be that difficult to implement this
HBA to speak iFCP and FCIP because it is only a "one-node SAN island"
connecting to Ethernet capable of sending and receiving TCP/IP packets.  It
only needs to know the end-point addresses of the devices it wishes to
connect.  How do we get these addresses is what I expect from this IPS WG.
The application software, not the HBA, will ensure a node with this HBA is
visible to the world.  As a one-node SAN island, all the handshakes with
other iFCP and FCIP boxes are greatly simplified.  It may only need minimum
OSPF or FSPF exchanges.  I am sure as an expert you'll have much better idea
for the required exchanges.  By the way, the HBA also speaks iSCSI so it can
talk to SoIP devices which do not need the iFCP and FCIP boxes.  Again, all
the HBA cares is the end-point addresses.  The HBA knows how to create and
parse FCP frames and iSCSI PDUs in TCP/IP with right context and correct
semantics.  It does not worry about routing the packets or connecting to
E-ports.

> Let's get this straight here.  iFCP encapsulates frames egressing
> N_PORTs.  FCIP encapsulates frames egressing E_PORTs.

The above statement is mute to an HBA.  Please remember the requirements for
HBA are quite different from switch.  Having made my argument, I do
appreciate this IPS WG in willing to consider a common method for an HBA
with a common TCP/IP encapsulation speaking to fibre channel or Ethernet
storage devices.

Y.P. Cheng, Connectcom Solutions.