HP P4459A, Installation & Operation Manual

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Glossary
61
Network
A collection of interconnected components and the protocols and physical methods
those components use to communicate. Network components consist of network
elements (infrastructure components) and network attachments (devices which use
the network to communicate). A Storage Area Network is a network whose
elements consist of computing devices, storage devices, and storage subsystems.
The predominant SAN protocol used is currently Fibre Channel.
NL_Port
Node Loop Port. It has the capability to communicate over both FC-AL hubs and
through F_Ports.
Node
A node is a device that has at least one N_Port or NL_Port to provide access to a
Fibre Channel SAN.
N_Port
Node Port. It only has the capability to communicate through an F_Port. It is a port
on a computer, disk drive, etc., through which the device does its Fibre Channel
communication as a direct fabric-attached port for use with point-to-point or fabric
topology. It is identified by a Worldwide Name.
N_Port ID
The Fibre Channel Address that a node sends in the S_ID of each frame it sources,
and the Fibre Channel Address that a node responds to in the D_ID of each frame
it receives. If a Fibre Channel node receives a frame which contains a D_ID not
equal to its N_Port ID, it is considered a delivery error and the frame is discarded.
See Table Table 8: for its structure.
Table 8: N_Port ID
OFC
Open Fibre Control is a defunct FC-0 signalling protocol used to provide eye safety
for optics which are not intrinsically eye safe based on their optical power. All
interoperable Fibre Channel ports use non-OFC optics.
Byte 2
Bits 23-16
Byte 1
Bits 15-8
Byte 0
Bits 7-0
Domain Area Loop (AL_PA)