Controlling switch mechanism for detecting fibre channel over ethernet data forwarder failure

    公开(公告)号:GB2520597A

    公开(公告)日:2015-05-27

    申请号:GB201416702

    申请日:2014-09-22

    Applicant: IBM

    Abstract: In a distributed switch (180, fig. 1) configured to forward Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) frames across various bridge elements (120 comprising modules 200, fig. 2) of a network (100), switching element failures are detected via periodic Initialization Protocol discovery advertisement messages 302-306 including a fabric name field which are transmitted between a controlling Fibre Channel Forwarder (cFCF, 204 fig. 2) and one of several FCoE data forwarders (FDFs, 202-1-4). If the cFCF reads a reserved value (eg. zero or null) in the fabric name field (Fabric_Name, Table 1, eg. a World Wide Name), the FDF is determined 310 to have failed out of the switch fabric and the virtual links between the cFCF and that FDF are deinstantiated. This allows failures to be detected even when the switch is restored so quickly that there is no obvious absence of keep alive messages 312.

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