What Is And How NPV Works SAN Switch

What Is And How NPV Works SAN Switch

In this blog we will discuss what is NPV and how NPV works in SAN switch. NPV sounds similar to NPIV but they are different in terms of their use. Click the link to check what is NPIV and how NPIV works in SAN switch. For all tutorial under SAN switch click here.

What Is NPV In SAN Switch

What is NPV In SAN Switch ? NPV stands for N_Port Virtualization. This is SAN Switch level features. NPV enabled switch act as a proxy switch and bypass all FC services request to its up-link switch. NPV is a Cisco Specific term other vendor calls it as different name. In terms of Brocade its called as Access Gateway Switch.

How NPV Works In SAN Switch

In order to understand how NPV works we should understand what happens when a new switch connects to fabric. In usual case when a SAN switch is connected to a fabric its gets Domain ID and participate in Fabric Services like assigning FCID to initiator.

Now in case of NPV if the SAN switch is NPV enabled then it will not have any Domain ID and does not participate any FC services. Whatever Device connected to NPV enabled switch such as host , switch or UCS or any device gets FC services from its up-link switch.

Use Of NPV SAN Switch Network

There are various ways to use NPV in SAN switch. Below are some examples where we can use NPV. One of the rare use of NPV where fabric requires more then 239 switches or there is a limitation of Domain ID. For each switch in a fabric it requires a domain ID. Now as the fabric grows number of SAN switch also grows and as a result Domain ID also grows. If the number of switches reaches to 239 domain id also reaches to 239. In such scenario if more switches requires then NPV is a solution to add more switches to fabric.

Another practical use of NPV is multi vendor SAN switches in same fabric. If you have a SAN fabric with switches of multiple vendor then NPV is necessary. For example you can connect a Cisco Core switch with brocade SAN switch. Note both switches must be interoperability mode.

You can also use NPV for migrating SAN switches from one vendor to another. We can use NPV as pre deployment stage for SAN switch migration from one vendor switch to another. For more details you can visit the below link.

Below is an YouTube videos which have details explanation of NPV features and its uses. Subscribe the channel for more such videos on SAN switch training.