NPIV or N_Port ID Virtualization is a Fibre Channel feature whereby multiple Fibre Channel node port (N_Port) IDs can share a single physical N_Port. This allows multiple Fibre Channel initiators to occupy a single physical port, easing hardware requirements in

Storage Area Network A storage area network (SAN) or storage network is a computer network which provides access to consolidated, block-level data storage. SANs are primarily used to access data storage devices, such as disk arrays and tape libraries from ser ...

(SAN) design, especially where virtual SANs are called for. This allows each virtual server to see its own storage and no other virtual server's storage. NPIV is defined by the

Technical Committee T11 The InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS), (pronounced "insights"), is an ANSI-accredited standards development organization composed of Information technology developers. It was formerly known as the X3 and NCITS. ...

in the Fibre Channel - Link Services (FC-LS) specification.

N_Port initialization with and without NPIV

Normally N_Port initialization proceeds like this: * N_Port sends FLOGI to address 0xFFFFFE to obtain a valid address * N_Port sends PLOGI to address 0xFFFFFC to register this address with the name server * N_Port sends SCR to address 0xFFFFFD to register for state change notifications However, with NPIV it may continue like this: * N_Port sends FDISC to address 0xFFFFFE to obtain an additional address * N_Port sends PLOGI to address 0xFFFFFC to register this additional address with the name server * N_Port sends SCR to address 0xFFFFFD to register for state change notifications. * ... (repeat FDISC/PLOGI/SCR for next address) FDISC is an abbreviation for Fabric Discovery, or "Discover Fabric Service Parameters", which is a misleading name in this context. It works just like FLOGI. N_Port is used to connect equipment ports to the fibre channel fabric (optical network) Source: https://www.hpe.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA4-4545ENW.pdf

Notes

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Sources

* tp://ftp.t11.org/t11/pro/fc/ls/06-393v6.pdf Fibre Channel - Link Services* tp://ftp.t11.org/t11/member/fc/da/02-340v1.pdf NPIV Functionality Protocol
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Fibre Channel