
Figure 1–1: Point-to-Point Topology
N_Port
N_Port
Transmit
Receive
Node 1
Node 2
Transmit
Receive
ZK-1534U-AI
1.2.2 Fabric Topology
The fabric topology provides more connectivity than point-to-point topology.
The fabric topology allows up to 2
24
ports to be connected.
The fabric examines the destination address in the frame header and routes
the frame to the destination node.
A fabric may consist of a single switch, or several interconnected
switches. Each switch contains two or more fabric ports (F_Port) that are
interconnected by the fabric switching function, which routes the frame from
one F_Port to another F_Port within the fabric. Communication between
two switches is routed between two expansion ports (E_Port).
When an N_Port is connected to a fabric F_Port, the fabric is responsible for
the assignment of the Fibre Channel address to the N_Port that is attached
to the fabric. The fabric is also responsible for selecting the route that the
frame will take, within the fabric, to be delivered to the destination.
When the fabric consists of multiple switches, the fabric may determine an
alternate route to ensure that a frame gets delivered to its destination.
Figure 1–2 shows an example of fabric topology.
1–4 Fibre Channel Overview