Chapter 12. Configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Based on the IEEE T11 FC-BB-5 standard, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is a protocol to transmit Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks. Typically, data centers have a dedicated LAN and Storage Area Network (SAN) that are separated from each other with their own specific configuration. FCoE combines these networks into a single and converged network structure. Benefits of FCoE are, for example, lower hardware and energy costs.
12.1. Using hardware FCoE HBAs in RHEL
In RHEL you can use hardware Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Host Bus Adapter (HBA), which is supported by the following drivers:
-
qedf -
bnx2fc -
fnic
If you use such a HBA, you configure the FCoE settings in the setup of the HBA. For more information, see the documentation of the adapter.
After you configure the HBA, the exported Logical Unit Numbers (LUN) from the Storage Area Network (SAN) are automatically available to RHEL as /dev/sd* devices. You can use these devices similar to local storage devices.
12.2. Setting up a software FCoE device
Use the software FCoE device to access Logical Unit Numbers (LUN) over FCoE, which uses using an Ethernet adapter that partially supports FCoE offload.
RHEL does not support software FCoE devices that require the fcoe.ko kernel module.
After you complete this procedure, the exported LUNs from the Storage Area Network (SAN) are automatically available to RHEL as /dev/sd* devices. You can use these devices in a similar way to local storage devices.
Prerequisites
- You have configured the network switch to support VLAN.
- The SAN uses a VLAN to separate the storage traffic from normal Ethernet traffic.
- You have configured the HBA of the server in its BIOS.
- The HBA is connected to the network and the link is up. For more information, see the documentation of your HBA.
Procedure
Install the
fcoe-utilspackage:# yum install fcoe-utils
Copy the
/etc/fcoe/cfg-ethxtemplate file to/etc/fcoe/cfg-interface_name. For example, if you want to configure theenp1s0interface to use FCoE, enter the following command:# cp /etc/fcoe/cfg-ethx /etc/fcoe/cfg-enp1s0Enable and start the
fcoeservice:# systemctl enable --now fcoe
Discover the FCoE VLAN on interface
enp1s0, create a network device for the discovered VLAN, and start the initiator:# fipvlan -s -c enp1s0 Created VLAN device enp1s0.200 Starting FCoE on interface enp1s0.200 Fibre Channel Forwarders Discovered interface | VLAN | FCF MAC ------------------------------------------ enp1s0 | 200 | 00:53:00:a7:e7:1b
Optional: Display details about the discovered targets, the LUNs, and the devices associated with the LUNs:
# fcoeadm -t Interface: enp1s0.200 Roles: FCP Target Node Name: 0x500a0980824acd15 Port Name: 0x500a0982824acd15 Target ID: 0 MaxFrameSize: 2048 bytes OS Device Name: rport-11:0-1 FC-ID (Port ID): 0xba00a0 State: Online LUN ID Device Name Capacity Block Size Description ------ ----------- ---------- ---------- --------------------- 0 sdb 28.38 GiB 512 NETAPP LUN (rev 820a) ...This example shows that LUN 0 from the SAN has been attached to the host as the
/dev/sdbdevice.
Verification
Display information about all active FCoE interfaces:
# fcoeadm -i Description: BCM57840 NetXtreme II 10 Gigabit Ethernet Revision: 11 Manufacturer: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries Serial Number: 000AG703A9B7 Driver: bnx2x Unknown Number of Ports: 1 Symbolic Name: bnx2fc (QLogic BCM57840) v2.12.13 over enp1s0.200 OS Device Name: host11 Node Name: 0x2000000af70ae935 Port Name: 0x2001000af70ae935 Fabric Name: 0x20c8002a6aa7e701 Speed: 10 Gbit Supported Speed: 1 Gbit, 10 Gbit MaxFrameSize: 2048 bytes FC-ID (Port ID): 0xba02c0 State: Online
Additional resources
-
fcoeadm(8)man page -
/usr/share/doc/fcoe-utils/README - Using Fibre Channel devices
