When FCIP connectivity is provided by a multi-protocol storage switch, the bridging function is implemented in the switch instead of in a separate device, and B_Ports are not necessary. In this case, the LEP is the Gigabit Ethernet port that resides in the multi-protocol switch.
In this implementation, each LEP is associated to one or more Virtual E_Ports (VE_Ports), forming one or more Virtual ISLs. VE_Ports communicate over a Virtual ISL using standard FC SW_ILS frames, just like E_Ports communicate over a FCIP bridge configuration.