FCIP Implementations
Single FC Fabric
IP
FC switch Bridge Bridge FC switch
Single FC Fabric
IP
Multiprotocol switch
Multiprotocol switch
FCIP is implemented using a FCIP gateway that connects a Fibre Channel
switch to an IP network and encapsulates FC frames into IP packets. The
gateway function can be implemented in:
A dedicated FCIP bridge
A multi-protocol switch or router
The FCIP implementation is transparent to the FC nodes. Either way, the FCIP
tunnel creates a single extended SAN fabric with a single FC name space.