The first day of this intensive seminar focuses on the operation of the Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop. What is it? How does it work? Where will it be used? If you've ever tried reading the various standards, you've probably found that they're frequently more confusing than helpful. Sure, standards tell you what you can and can't do, but what about understanding the how's and why's behind the standard? This seminar takes you through all of the loop protocols and operations to give you a sound understanding of basic loop operations. You'll look at actual traces to help you understand how Loop Initialization, Arbitration, Fairness and the Opening and Closing of Loop Circuits work. When you get back to work, you'll find yourself taking the reference manuals that you receive with you to the lab to help you solve that tough problem.

 

What is Arbitrated Loop?
Background
Arbitrated Loop Applications
Configurations
Loop vs. Other Fibre Channel Topologies
Loop Port Types

Arbitrated Loop Concepts
Loop Initialization
Arbitration and Fairness
Opening a Loop Circuit
Closing a Loop Circuit
Transferring a loop circuit
Loop Addressing
Arbitrated Loop physical
address (AL_PA)
Addressing limitations
AL_PA assignment

New FC-AL Ordered Sets
Arbitrate (ARB)
Open a loop circuit (OPN)
Close a loop circuit (CLS)
Dynamic half-duplex (DHD)
Loop Initialization (LIP)
Loop port enable (LPE)
Loop port bypass (LPB)

Loop Port State Machine
Purpose of the LPSM
LPSM operation

Loop Initialization Process
Purpose of Initialization
Initialization flow
Select Initialization Master
Address assignment
Reclaim current AL_PA
Claim a new AL_PA
Loop port position map

Arbitration and Fairness
Fill word substitution
How Arbitration works
The fairness protocol
Prioritizing loop devices
Optimizing Arbitration
Arbitration protocol overhead

Opening a Loop Circuit
Full-duplex open (OPNyx)
Half-duplex open (OPNyy)
Replicate mode
Broadcast (OPNfr)
Multicast (OPNyr)

Flow Control
Buffer-to-buffer (BB) credit
Alternate BB_Credit model
Use of zero BB_Credit
Dynamic credit signaling
Zero credit overhead

Closing a Loop Circuit
The closing protocol
Enhancing performance with transfer

High Availability Loops
Strategies for robustness
Port bypass circuit
Dual loop approaches
Arbitrated Loop hubs
Unmanaged hubs
Managed hubs

 

The second day of this intensive seminar takes you through the basic operations and functions of the Fibre Channel Switched Fabric topology. From introduction and concepts through addressing and initialization to fabric services, it’s all here. Whether you are designing a product to attach to a switched fabric topology, designing an installation using Fibre Channel switches, or even designing the switches themselves, there is something for you in this seminar.

Introduction and Concepts
Fibre Channel Topologies
Zoning Virtual Private Storage Networks
Fibre Channel Bridges

Switched Fabric Concepts
Fabric elements
Class-of-Service Behavior
Frame Routing
Frame Delivery Order
Fibre Channel Port Types

Fibre Channel Addresses
Node Port Address Assignment
Address Space Partitioning
Destination-Based Routing
Address Space Usage

Node Port Initialization
Determination of Port Operating Mode
Fabric Login (FLOGI)
State Change Registration
Port Discovery
N_Port Login

Fibre Channel Services
Fibre Channel Common Transport Protocol (FC-CT)
FC-CT Authentication

Directory Server

The Name Server
Name Server Database
Name Server Registration
Name Server Queries

Switched Fabric Internals
Switch Internal Link Services
Inter-switch Links (ISLs)
ISL Initialization
Determination of Port Operating Mode
Exchanging Link Parameters

Fabric Configuration
Build and Reconfigure Fabric
Principal Switch Selection
Domain_ID Assignment
Merging Fabrics

Routing Protocols
Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF)
Hello Message
Link State Records
Link State Updates
Link State Acknowledgements

ISL Flow Control
R_RDY Flow Control

Distributed Services Model
Distributed Name Server
Distributed Fabric Configuration Server
Distributed State Change Notification

High-Availability Fabrics
Redundant Links
Redundant Switches
Alternate Path Routing
Who Should Attend: This seminar is intended for those who require a detailed understanding of the Fibre Channel topologies. The audience includes product architects, development team hardware, firmware, software, and test engineers, product planners, managers, or others involved in planning, implementation, analysis, or testing of Fibre Channel products.
Prerequisites: Attendees should have a sound working knowledge of Fibre Channel or have previously completed the "Comprehensive Fibre Channel" seminar.
Course Length:

2 days