Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) is a
routing protocol used in
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel (FC) is a high-speed data transfer protocol providing in-order, lossless delivery of raw block data. Fibre Channel is primarily used to connect computer data storage to servers in storage area networks (SAN) in commercial data cen ...
computer networks. It calculates the best path between
network switches, establishes routes across the fabric and calculates alternate routes in event of a failure or
network topology change. FSPF can guarantee in-sequence delivery of
frames, even if the routing topology has changed during a failure, by enforcing a 'hold down' time before a new path is activated.
FSPF was created by
Brocade Communications Systems in collaboration with
Gadzoox
Gadzoox Networks, Inc. produced hardware and software for the entry-level storage area network market. In 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble, the company was valued at $2 billion; however, after filing bankruptcy in 2002, its assets were a ...
, McDATA, Ancor Communications (now
QLogic), and
Vixel
Emulex Corporation is a provider of computer network connectivity, monitoring and management hardware and software. The company's I/O connectivity offerings, including its line of Ethernet and Fibre Channel-based connectivity products, are or ...
; it was submitted as an
American National Standards Institute
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...
standard.
[ It was introduced in 2000. The protocol is similar in conception to the Open Shortest Path First used in IP networks.]
References
Fibre Channel
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