Brocade Access Gateway Administrator's Guide - Supporting Fabric OS v5.2.1 (53-1000430-01)

Access Gateway Administrator’s Guide 1-3
Publication Number: 53-1000430-01
Access Gateway port types
1
Comparing FC port configurations
Brocade Access Gateway multiplexes host connections to the fabric. It presents an F_Port to the host
and an N_Port to an edge fabric switch. Using N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV), Brocade Access
Gateway allows multiple FC initiators to access the SAN on the same physical port. This reduces the
hardware requirements and management overhead of hosts to the SAN connections.
A fabric switch presents F_Ports (or FL_Ports) to the host and storage devices and presents E_Ports,
TE_Ports, or EX_Ports to other switches in the fabric. A fabric switch consumes SAN resources, such
as domain IDs, and participates in fabric management and zoning distribution. A fabric switch requires
more physical ports than Brocade Access Gateway to connect the same number of hosts.
Figure 1-2 compares the types of ports used by the Access Gateway to those used by a typical fabric
switch.
Figure 1-2 Port usage comparison
Table 1-1 Compares port configuration between Access Gateway with a typical fabric switch.
Table 1-1 Port Configurations
Port Type Access Gateway Fabric switch
F_Port Yes Connects hosts to Brocade
Access Gateway.
Yes Connects devices, such as hosts,
HBAs, and storage to the fabric.
N_Port Yes Connects Access Gateway to a
fabric switch.
NA N_Ports are not supported.
E_Port
NA ISL is not supported.
1
1. The switch is logically transparent to the fabric, therefore it does not participate in the SAN as a fabric switch.
Yes Connects the switch to other switches
to form a fabric.
N_Port F_Port
N_Port
F_Port
N_Port F_Port
Hosts
Access Gateway
Edge Switch
Fabric
enabled
NPIV
N_Port
F_Port
E_Port
E_Port
N_Port
F_Port
Hosts
Edge Switch
Fabric Switch
E_Port
E_Port
Fabric
Access Gateway Ports
Fabric Switch Ports