Configuring Fibre Channel Routing Services And Protocols; About Fspf - Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual

Configuring Fibre Channel Routing Services and
Protocols
Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF) is the standard path selection protocol used by Fibre Channel fabrics. The
FSPF feature is enabled by default on all Fibre Channel switches. Except in configurations that require special
consideration, you do not need to configure any FSPF services. FSPF automatically calculates the best path
between any two switches in a fabric. Specifically, FSPF is used to:
• Dynamically compute routes throughout a fabric by establishing the shortest and quickest path between
• Select an alternative path in the event of the failure of a given path. FSPF supports multiple paths and
This chapter provides details on Fibre Channel routing services and protocols. It includes the following
sections:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

About FSPF

FSPF is the protocol currently standardized by the T11 committee for routing in Fibre Channel networks. The
FSPF protocol has the following characteristics and features:
• Supports multipath routing.
• Bases path status on a link state protocol.
• Routes hop by hop, based only on the domain ID.
• Runs only on E ports or TE ports and provides a loop free topology.
• Runs on a per VSAN basis. Connectivity in a given VSAN in a fabric is guaranteed only for the switches
any two switches.
automatically computes an alternative path around a failed link. It provides a preferred route when two
equal paths are available.
About FSPF, on page 185
FSPF Global Configuration, on page 188
FSPF Interface Configuration, on page 190
FSPF Routes, on page 194
In-Order Delivery, on page 196
Flow Statistics Configuration, on page 200
Default Settings, on page 204
configured in that VSAN.
C H A P T E R
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
7
185