Auto Mode; N Port Identifier Virtualization; About Interface States; Administrative States - Cisco AP776A - Nexus Converged Network Switch 5020 Configuration Manual

Chapter 13 Configuring Interfaces
S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m

Auto Mode

Interfaces configured in auto mode can operate in one of the following modes: F port, FL port, E port,
TE port, or TF port. The port mode is determined during interface initialization. For example, if the
interface is connected to a node (host or disk), it operates in F port or FL port mode depending on the N
port or NL port mode. If the interface is attached to a third-party switch, it operates in E port mode. If
the interface is attached to another switch in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family, it may become operational in
TE port mode (see
TL ports and SD ports are not determined during initialization and are administratively configured.
Fibre Channel interfaces on Storage Services Modules (SSMs) cannot be configured in auto mode.
Note

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.
example application using NPIV.
Figure 13-2
Application
server
You must globally enable NPIV for all VSANs on the MDS switch to allow the NPIV-enabled
applications to use multiple N port identifiers.
All of the N port identifiers are allocated in the same VSAN.
Note

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
OL-18084-01, Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 4.x
Chapter 16, "Configuring
NPIV Example
LUN 1
E-mail
N_Port_ID 1
LUN 2
Web
N_Port_ID 2
LUN 3
Print
N_Port_ID 3
Node
controller
13-1.
Trunking").
MDS switch
F port
N port
Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide
Fibre Channel Interfaces
Figure 13-2 shows an
13-7