Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) is a tunneling protocol used to connect FC networks across IP networks, such as a WAN. It uses TCP with the DF bit set. Being that this is IP storage, it is only supported on the MDS platform. The basic configuration is straight forward, but be aware that there are lots of configurable tweaks. In this blog post I’ll be going through the configuration of several FCIP topologies, feel free to follow along. At the end I’ll post a quick template. (more…)
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FC Security for CCIE DC – Fabric Binding
Fabric binding ensures that switches configured in the fabric binding database are permitted to connect to the switch. If a switch tries to join the fabric, and that switch is not in the fabric binding database, access is denied. Fabric binding is configured on a per-VSAN basis. (more…)
FC Security for CCIE DC – FC Port Security
Fibre Channel port security prevents unauthorized Fibre Channel devices and switches from logging into the fabric. This protects the fabric from accidents, malicious intent or attacks such as WWN identity spoofing. It’s configured on a per-VSAN basis. (more…)
Fibre Channel (FC) Basics for CCIE DC
When first looking at the blueprint for the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE Data Center track, one of my biggest fears was storage. My entire career thus far has been based on traditional IP data networks, not storage networks. I’m used to things like MAC addresses and IP addresses, not WWPNs and FCIDs. This is a completely foreign technology to most Network Engineers. You have to think back, at some point we were young and hopeful CCNAs-to-be, we knew nothing, but that didn’t stop us! Intimidation is over-rated, so throw fear aside and know that persistence always wins. (more…)