Fiber Channel Over Ethernet Vs Fiber Channel

As a standards based protocol that allows fibre channel frames to be carried over ethernet links fcoe obviates the need to run separate lan and san networks.

Fiber channel over ethernet vs fiber channel. Fibre channel vs ethernet sfp. Fcoe utilizes 10 gigabit gb ethernet networks and fully adheres with fc protocol requirements. A classic data center design features a dedicated ethernet lan and a separate dedicated fibre channel fc san. Fcoe makes it possible to move fibre channel traffic across existing high speed ethernet infrastructure and converges storage and ip protocols onto a single cable transport and interface.

This allows fibre channel to use 10 gigabit ethernet networks or higher speeds while preserving the fibre channel protocol. Fiber channel over ethernet also exists but is not popular. 10g fiber channel sfp is used in 10g fibre channel yet 10g ethernet sfp is utilized in 10g ethernet networks. Fcoe fibre channel over ethernet is a storage protocol that enable fibre channel communications to run directly over ethernet.

Now it has evolved up to 128 gbps with 8 16 and 32 gbps versions still available. Without denying ethernet is the dominating network for every data center and server room. With fcoe it is possible to run a single converged network. The maximum data rate of the fibre channel switch in the very beginning is 1 gbps.

Sticking to fibre channel jumping ship for ethernet or picking fcoe solution all depend on your needs. An alternative form of fibre channel called fibre channel over ethernet fcoe was invented to lower the cost of fc solutions by eliminating the need to purchase hba host bus adapter. What is the difference between fibre channel fc and fibre channel over ethernet fcoe. Fiber channel over ethernet fcoe is a protocol that encapsulates fiber channel fc frames over ethernet networks.

Fcoe relies on storage area network san mapping without ethernet forwarding dependence for robust and reliable san performance. The sfp module and its enhanced version. The sfp connected to fibre channel can be regarded as fibre channel sfp while regarded as ethernet sfp or gigabit sfp when connected to gigabit ethernet. 2017 prediction of ethernet and fibre channel.

Fibre channel vs ethernet switch. The specification was part of the international committee for information technology standards t11 fc bb 5 standard published in 2009. When it comes to fibre channel vs ethernet it is inevitably concerned with the small form factor pluggable sfp module. Fiber channel fc is a serial data transfer protocol and standard for high speed enterprise grade storage networking.