Glossary

- the process of booting from a device that is on the same arbitrated loop as the host adapter. No switch is required.

a Fibre Channel topology where information is routed around the loop from port to port until it arrives at its destination. This is a private loop configuration.

- the second field of the 3-byte address assigned to an attached N_Port in a Fabric configuration. The Area is generally associated with an F/FL port on a switch.

- an interconnection of individual switches used to create larger Fabric configurations.

(Direct Fabric Attachment) - a configuration in which both the host initiator and the target device are attached to the same switch (N_Port to F_Port).

- the first field of the 3-byte address assigned to an attached N_Port in a Fabric configuration. The domain is generally associated with an instance of the switch.

(Fabric Port) - a port within the Fabric used to route frames from N_Port to N_Port. The F­_Port is the access point to a Fibre Channel switch.

- a term used to describe an interconnection of Fibre Channel host ports, device ports and switch ports where frames from a source N_Port are routed through a switch (Fabric) to a destination N_Port based on the frame’s destination address.

- the process of booting from a device that is accessed by a Fibre Channel switch.

- the assigning of addresses to attached N_Ports in the Fabric. The address is determined by the switch and is comprised of three fields: Domain, Area, and Port.

- (Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop) - the ANSI standard that describes how several Fibre Channel ports can share a single communication ring.

(Fibre Channel Fabric Loop Attach) - the ANSI technical report that describes the rules by which NL_Ports and FL_Ports communicate with each other.

- (Fibre Channel Generic Service) - the ANSI standard that describes such services as the directory service that allows a host to identify which storage devices are available and their addresses.

(Fibre Channel Switch Fabric) - the standard that describes how Fibre Channel switches are required to behave.

- an F_Port that is attached to the Fabric in a loop configuration.

(Input/Output Dependent Code) - firmware that implements a simplified driver for an adapter card. It is analogous to card BIOS in a PC. IODC is included in the PDC (Processor Dependent Code).

(Loop Initialization Primitive) used to initiate a procedure on the loop. This initialization state usually causes activity on the loop to suspend briefly. It can be caused by new devices being added or moved on the loop, arbitrated loop address assignment, recovery from loop failure, or resetting a node.

- a node port (or device port) used to route information to or from other nodes or to devices. The N_Port is the access point to a Fibre Channel adapter.

- an N_Port that is attached to the Fabric in a loop configuration.

(Processor Dependent Code) - firmware that hides machine differences and integrates and calls IODC to allow the system to boot. It is analogous to system BIOS in a PC.

- the third field of the 3-byte address assigned to an attached N_Port in a Fabric configuration. The port is generally associated with the Hard Physical Address (HPA) of a Fibre Channel target device.

- an arbitrated loop that has no attached switch port. Private loop devices can only communicate with other devices on the same loop (except in translative mode).

- a topology in which an arbitrated loop is connected to a switch through an FL_Port which allows hosts or devices on the loop to communicate with hosts or devices attached to other FL_Ports.

- a Fabric port in a QuickLoop configuration that routes information from a QuickLoop switch to a target device connected to an NL_Port.

- an emulated private loop configuration that allows private hosts on Fabric-attached loops to access private target devices across the switch. This configuration can consist of multiple private Arbitrated Loops that are interconnected and may be isolated by the switch (this is a feature of the Brocade switches).

Translative Mode with QuickLoop

- a technique by which a switch allows public hosts on a private loop connected to a fabric to communicate with private target devices. In translative mode, these private target devices operate as public devices.

- a logical grouping of Fabric-attached devices that are isolated from other devices and other zones by the switch.