InterviewQuestions

Q1. What is IPV4 and IPV6 address and how to configure them?

A1.

Q2. What is the difference between FCoE and FCIP?

A2.

FCIP protocol works by transmitting FC frames over TCP/IP, which can route FCIP FC frames over existing Ethernet switches and routers.

FCoE standard also uses existing Ethernet switches and routers, but runs "without" TCP/IP at the Ethernet layer so it's not rout-able.

Addressing corporate needs for metropolitan and local Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity over one common Ethernet network can mean lower energy usage and costs, and that's why many enterprise managers are looking at FC over IP (FCIP) and FC over Ethernet (FCoE) for their storage-to-network connectivity. These complementary Ethernet protocols let companies start down the road of consolidating on one network platform as opposed to maintaining separate FC and Ethernet networks.

But FCIP and FCoE require users to upgrade or replace some equipment, as well as address internal management issues.

The standardized FCIP protocol works by transmitting FC frames over TCP/IP, which can route FCIP FC frames locally or remotely over existing Ethernet switches and routers. The emerging FCoE standard also uses existing Ethernet switches and routers, but runs without TCP/IP at the Ethernet layer so it's not rout-able. That means it requires administrators to create point-to-point configurations, or zones.

A 10GbE infrastructure provides some distinctive benefits over FC. For instance, companies may no longer need to use both FC HBA and Ethernet NICs for storage and network connectivity; they can use 10GbE NICs for their storage and networking needs.

"FCoE is an evolutionary protocol helping to establish a shared Ethernet fabric for storage networks that can be interconnected with the FCIP protocol,".

Companies looking to transition to FCIP and FCoE will need to upgrade or replace existing Ethernet switches and NICs. Mike Krause, fellow engineer at Hewlett-Packard, says Ethernet switches and NICs will need to support 10Gb while Ethernet switches will need to understand how FC frames are transmitted over the network so they can create zones and do storage provisioning.

FCoE is the encapsulation of Fibre Channel into Ethernet. the intent of it is that traditionally you would have a LAN and a SAN and the two would essentially be two independent silos of network infrastructure to cable, manage and deploy. FCoE enables "unifying" those into a single "converged" network.

FCoE is entirely reliable. its reliable as it uses a number of enhancements to Ethernet - IEEE 802.1Qbb (PFC), IEEE 802.1Qaz (ETS), IEEE 802.1AB (DCBX extensions to LLDP) to provide the 'no drop' characteristics equivalent to FC. these are all collectively bucketed up under something called DCB - Data Center Bridging - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Center_Bridging

one would use FCoE across all stages - host to network, network-to-network and network-to-storage.

FCIP is transporting FC frames over IP (well - specifically over TCP).

it is intended to allow one to connect FC networks across an IP clould, normally for DR / syncronization purposes. FCIP uses TCP as the transport in order to get the no-drop and in-order guarantees. its point-to-point operating as E_Port to E_Port in FC parlance (switch to switch).

FCIP only ever used switch-to-switch

Q3. What is the difference between TCP/IP and Ethernet

A3. Ethernet = the hardware (cat5 cable,RJ45 ports,LAN cards,router etc.) bringing the internet to you.

TCP/IP is the protocol that allows your computer to talk through that cable.

Ethernet is the hardware (the category 5e cable, the RJ45 ports, the LAN cards, routers, switches, wiring, all that stuff). TCP/IP is the generic Internet Protocol, it's become pretty much a standard. It is the software method of encoding data to send over the Internet, over Ethernet local networks, and now over WiFi as well.

Ethernet doesn't HAVE to use TCP/IP, you can use other protocols on an Ethernet network, but almost everything these days uses TCP/IP as it allows your Ethernet local network to work seamlessly with the Internet.

Q4. What is iSCSI, FCIP, FCoE, TCP/IP ?

External Links:

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1. Ethernet V/s TCP/IP

http://www.control.com/thread/1026250078

2. FCoE v/s FCIP

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/magazineContent/Making-the-case-for-FCIP-and-FCoE

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Storage/Misc/Q_26783016.html