FCoE Configuration
The FCoE protocol is currently supported on the following Cisco switches:
- Cisco MDS 9700 Series multilayer directors
- Cisco MDS 9500 Series multilayer directors
- Cisco MDS 9250i multilayer switches
- Cisco Nexus 7700 Series switches
- Cisco Nexus 7700 Series switches
- Cisco Nexus 2000 FEXs
- Cisco UCS
The “References” section provides the links to the data sheets of the Cisco switches and linecards that support the FCoE protocol.
The Cisco Nexus 5000, Cisco Nexus 5500, and the Cisco Nexus 6000 Series switches supported the FCoE. These models are end of sale and soon will no longer be supported. The Cisco Nexus 6000 switches also have end of life status. For these reasons, they are not covered in this section.
The sample configuration of the FCoE communication in this chapter refers to a Cisco Nexus 7000/7700 switch with an F-linecard.
The FCoE is a licensed feature in the Cisco NX-OS. The needed license is described in the Cisco NX-OS licensing guide. In the “References” section is the link to the guide on the Cisco website.
The Nexus 7000/7700 switches do not have native Fibre Channel ports. They support FCoE only through Ethernet ports. This means they cannot bridge between an FCoE Ethernet infrastructure and a native Fibre Channel Switch fabric.
The storage VDC is a virtual Fibre Channel switch inside the Cisco Nexus 7000/7700 switches. It is the FCF that will own the VFC ports and will communicate with the FCoE LEP. Only one storage VDC can exist on a switch. All of the subsequent FCoE configuration and processing will happen in the storage VDC or will be linked to it.
The Ethernet interfaces used for the FCoE communication come in one of two types, depending on how they are utilized by the storage VDC: dedicated or shared. The dedicated Ethernet ports will be used only to carry the VLANs for the FCoE communication, while the shared interfaces will be shared between the storage VDC and a data VDC. This means that both data VLANs and the FCoE VLANs will be carried through these interfaces.