HP Cisco MDS 9124 Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide, Release 3.x ( - Page 335

Chapter 12 Configuring Interfaces Fibre Channel Interfaces Send documentation comments to [email protected] N Port Identifier Virtualization N port identifier virtualization (NPIV) provides a means to assign multiple FC IDs to a single N port. This feature allows multiple applications on the N port to use different identifiers and allows access control, zoning, and port security to be implemented at the application level. Figure 12-2 shows an example application using NPIV. Figure 12-2 NPIV Example Application server E-mail Web Print Node LUN 1 N_Port_ID 1 LUN 2 N_Port_ID 2 LUN 3 N_Port_ID 3 N port controller MDS switch F port 154019 You must globally enable NPIV for all VSANs on the MDS switch to allow the NPIV-enabled applications to use multiple N port identifiers. Note All of the N port identifiers are allocated in the same VSAN. About Interface States The interface state depends on the administrative configuration of the interface and the dynamic state of the physical link. Administrative States The administrative state refers to the administrative configuration of the interface as described in Table 12-1. Table 12-1 Administrative States Administrative State Description Up Interface is enabled. Down Interface is disabled. If you administratively disable an interface by shutting down that interface, the physical link layer state change is ignored. Operational States The operational state indicates the current operational state of the interface as described in Table 12-2. OL-16184-01, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide 12-7