300-320 · Question #198
Which two protocol characteristics should be most considered when designing a single unified fabric for the Data Center? (Choose two.)
The correct answer is A. FCIP or FCoE allow for easier integration by using the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) and Fibre C. FCIP and iSCSI has higher overhead than FCoE owing to TCP/IP. When designing a unified fabric, understanding protocol overhead and FC integration compatibility are the two most critical design factors to evaluate.
Question
Which two protocol characteristics should be most considered when designing a single unified fabric for the Data Center? (Choose two.)
Options
- AFCIP or FCoE allow for easier integration by using the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) and Fibre
- BiSCSI uses a special EtherType and an additional header containing additional control information
- CFCIP and iSCSI has higher overhead than FCoE owing to TCP/IP
- DFCoE was initially developed to be used as a switch-to-switch protocol, while FCIP is primarily
- EFCoE requires gateway functionality to integrate into an existing Fibre Channel network
How the community answered
(33 responses)- A82% (27)
- B3% (1)
- D3% (1)
- E12% (4)
Why each option
When designing a unified fabric, understanding protocol overhead and FC integration compatibility are the two most critical design factors to evaluate.
FCIP and FCoE both encapsulate native Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) frames, making integration with existing FC storage infrastructure straightforward without requiring protocol conversion at the storage layer.
iSCSI does not use a special EtherType; it runs over standard TCP/IP on port 3260 - it is FCoE that uses the special EtherType 0x8906.
FCIP and iSCSI both run over TCP/IP, which adds significant header overhead compared to FCoE, which runs directly over Ethernet - this overhead difference directly impacts bandwidth efficiency and latency in a unified fabric design.
FCoE is designed as an end-to-end server-to-switch and switch-to-switch protocol, not primarily switch-to-switch; FCIP is the protocol specifically designed to carry FC traffic over IP WANs between switches.
While FCoE-to-FC gateways (FCF) exist, this is an integration detail rather than a primary characteristic to weigh when choosing protocols for a unified fabric design.
Concept tested: Data Center unified fabric protocol overhead and FC integration
Source: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/storage-networking/mds-9000-series-multilayer-switches/white_paper_c11-459263.html
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