Dell PowerVault 56F (16P Fibre Channel Switch) - Manual (Page 33)

support.dell.com PowerVault 56F 16-Port Fibre Channel Switch Topologies 2-3
fabric-attached devices communicate, the FL_Port automatically translates between
private and public addresses.
The FL_Port translative mode supports up to 32 fabric-attached devices (one is
reserved for the fabric) appearing on each local loop of private devices, subject to the
limit of 126 devices on a loop (the total of private and fabric-attached devices).
Private devices are registered to the Simple Name Server (SNS), so the
fabric-attached devices can query SNS for their addresses and initiate communication.
NOTE: Loops may contain any combination of public or private loop devices.
 - ! " 
The following fabric topology samples show several different conceptual topology
models. Each installation has a unique topology that is determined by the characteris-
tics of the connected devices and your performance objectives.
 # .
The simplest fabric consists of a single-switch topology as shown in Figure 2-1.

 
 
   ! 
Figure 2-1 shows the switch’s F_Ports and FL_Ports and the corresponding N_Port
and NL_Port connections on the device side. The switch connections are shown as
they would be in a physical installation. Functionally, the switch becomes a fabric with
every device connected to every other device by the fabric.
Data Data
Data
N_Port
N_Port N_Port
N_Port
mainframe
mainframe
F_Port
F_Port
F_Port
F_Port
F_Port
FL_Port
FL_Port
N_Port
NL_Ports
NL_Ports
JBOD
JBOD
fabric