ISO/IEC 14165-331:2007

Information technology - Fibre channel - Part 331: Virtual interface (FC-VI)

Fibre Channel is a high speed serial interface using either optical or electrical connections (i.e., the physical layer) at data rates currently up to 2 Gbits/s with a growth path to 10 Gbits/s, and provides a general data transport vehicle for Upper Level Protocols (ULPs) such as Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI) and Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) command sets, the High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) data framing, IP (Internet Protocol), ANSI/IEEE 802.2, and others. The topologies supported by Fibre Channel include point-to-point, switched fabric, and arbitrated loop. This part of ISO/IEC 14165 defines an upper-layer protocol within the domain of Fibre Channel, that is designed to permit efficient peer-to-peer or client-server messaging between nodes, and to comply with the Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture. Vendors that wish to implement devices that connect to FC-VI may follow the requirements of this and other normatively referenced standards to manufacture an FC-VI compliant device.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 15-Jul-2007
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 35.200 - Interface and interconnection equipment
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 - Interconnection of information technology equipment
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 16-Jul-2007
• Completion Date: 30-Aug-2004

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 14165-331
First edition
2007-07
Information technology –
Fibre channel –
Part 331: Virtual interface (FC-VI)
Reference number
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester.
If you have any questions about ISO/IEC copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this
publication, please contact the address below or your local IEC member National Committee for further information.
IEC Central Office
3, rue de Varembé
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Email: [e-mail]
Web: www.iec.ch
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.
ƒ Catalogue of IEC publications: www.iec.ch/searchpub
The IEC on-line Catalogue enables you to search by a variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical committee,…).
It also gives information on projects, withdrawn and replaced publications.
ƒ IEC Just Published: www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub
Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published details twice a month all new publications released. Available
on-line and also by email.
ƒ Customer Service Centre: www.iec.ch/webstore/custserv
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need further assistance, please visit the Customer Service
Centre FAQ or contact us:
Email: [e-mail]
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 14165-331
First edition
2007-07
Information technology –
Fibre channel –
Part 331: Virtual interface (FC-VI)
PRICE CODE
X
For price, see current catalogue

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 3 –
CONTENTS
FOREWORD .10
Introduction.11
1 Scope .12
2 Normative references .12
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations .12
3.1 FC-VI terms and definitions .12
3.2 VI Definitions .14
3.3 Abbreviations . 15
3.4 Editorial conventions .15
4 Structure and concepts .17
4.1 Fibre channel structure and concepts .17
4.2 FC-VI structure and concepts .17
5 FC-VI protocol overview . 21
5.1 FC-VI information units .21
5.2 FC-VI message transfer operation .21
5.2.1 FC-VI message transfer .21
5.2.2 FC-VI send message transfer operation .22
5.2.3 FC-VI RDMA write message transfer operation .24
5.2.4 FC-VI RDMA read message transfer operation .26
5.2.5 IU reception at an FC-VI edpoint . 27
5.3 FC-VI connection setup operation .29
5.3.1 FC-VI client-server and peer-peer connection setup .29
5.3.2 FC-VI client-server connection setup . 29
5.3.3 FC-VI Peer-to-Peer Connection Establishment .31
5.3.4 FC_VI concurrent peer-to-peer connection setup .33
5.3.5 FC-VI Disconnect Operation . 35
5.4 Exchange ID reuse .36
5.5 Sequence ID reuse .37
5.6 Frame synonym detection .37
5.7 VI message length .38
5.8 FC-FS header usage for FC-VI .39
5.8.1 FC-FS header usage .39
5.8.2 CS_CTL field .39
5.8.3 TYPE field .39
5.8.4 F_CTL field . 39
5.8.5 DF_CTL field .39
5.8.6 SEQ_CNT field .39
5.8.7 Parameter field .40
5.9 FC-VI device_header .40
5.9.1 FC-VI device_header description . 40
5.9.2 FCVI_HANDLE field . 40
5.9.3 FCVI_OPCODE field .41
5.9.4 FCVI_FLAGS field .41
5.9.4.1 FCVI_FLAGS field description .41
5.9.4.2 FCVI_FLAGS for message request IUs.41
5.9.4.3 FCVI_FLAGS for message response IUs .42
5.9.4.4 FCVI_FLAGS for connect request IUs.42
5.9.4.5 FCVI_FLAGS for connect response IUs . 43

– 4 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
5.9.4.6 FCVI_FLAGS for disconnect IUs .44
5.9.5 Reserved fields .45
5.9.6 FCVI_MSG_ID field .45
5.9.7 FCVI_PARAMETER field .46
5.9.7.1 FCVI_PARAMETER field format.46
5.9.7.2 Connect response reason codes .48
5.9.7.2.1 Connect response non-error reason codes.48
5.9.7.2.2 Connect response error reason codes.48
5.9.7.3 Message response / disconnect reason codes.48
5.9.7.3.1 Descriptor error reason codes.48
5.9.7.3.2 Remote FC-VI port non-descriptor errors.49
5.9.7.3.3 Reserved for future expansion.50
5.9.7.3.4 Vendor unique reason codes .50
5.9.8 FCVI_RMT_VA field .50
5.9.9 FCVI_RMT_VA_HANDLE field .50
5.9.10 FCVI_TOT_LEN field / FCVI_CONNECTION_ID field .50
6 FC-VI Information Unit (IU) formats .51
6.1 FC-VI IU overview .51
6.2 FCVI_SEND_RQST IU .51
6.2.1 FCVI_SEND_RQST IU description .51
6.2.2 FCVI_SEND_RQST Device_Header information .51
6.3 FCVI_SEND_RESP IU .51
6.3.1 FCVI_SEND_RESP IU description .51
6.3.2 FCVI_SEND_RESP Device_Header information .52
6.4 FCVI_WRITE_RQST IU .52
6.4.1 FCVI_WRITE_RQST IU overview .52
6.4.2 FCVI_WRITE_RQST IU Device_Header information .52
6.5 FCVI_WRITE_RESP IU .53
6.5.1 FCVI_WRITE_RESP IU description .53
6.5.2 FCVI_WRITE_RESP IU Device_Header information .53
6.6 FCVI_READ_RQST IU .53
6.6.1 FCVI_READ_RQST IU description .53
6.6.2 FCVI_READ_RQST IU Device_Header information .53
6.7 FCVI_READ_RESP IU .54
6.7.1 FCVI_READ_RESP IU description .54
6.7.2 FCVI_READ_RESP IU Device_Header information .54
6.8 FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU .55
6.8.1 FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU description .55
6.8.2 FCVI_CONNECT_RQST Device_Header information .55
6.8.3 FCVI_CONNECT_RQST Payload Information .55
6.9 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 IU .57
6.9.1 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 IU description .57
6.9.2 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 Device_Header information .57
6.9.3 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 Payload Information .58
6.10 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 IU .59
6.10.1 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 IU description .59
6.10.2 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 Device_Header information .59
6.11 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 IU .59
6.11.1 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 IU description .59
6.11.2 FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 Device_Header information .59
6.12 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RQST IU .60
6.12.1 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RQST IU description .60

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 5 –
6.12.2 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RQST Device_Header information .60
6.13 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RESP IU .61
6.13.1 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RESP IU description . 61
6.13.2 FCVI_DISCONNECT_RESP Device_Header information .61
7 FC-VI Addressing and naming .62
7.1 FC-VI Addressing and naming overview .62
7.2 FCVI_NET_ADDRESS format . 62
7.3 FCVI_ATTRIBUTES format .63
7.4 FC-VI address resolution .65
7.5 FARP ELS .66
7.6 Name server queries .67
7.7 Validation of host address to N_Port Identifier mappings .67
7.7.1 Address mapping overview .67
7.7.2 Point-to-point topology .67
7.7.3 Private loop topology .67
7.7.4 Public loop topology . 68
7.7.5 Fabric topology .68
8 FC-VI Error detection and recovery .69
8.1 FC-VI error detection and recovery overview .69
8.2 FC-VI endpoint states .69
8.3 FCVI_ULP_TIMEOUT definition .69
8.4 Message transfer error detection and recovery rules .70
8.4.1 Message error detection . 70
8.4.2 Message transfer error recovery .70
8.5 Connection setup error detection and recovery rules .71
8.5.1 Connection setup error handling overview .71
8.5.2 Connection setup error detection .71
8.5.3 Connection setup error recovery .71
8.5.4 Connection setup originator retry rules .72
8.6 Disconnect operation error detection and recovery rules .72
8.6.1 Disconnect operation error handling overview .72
8.6.2 Disconnect operation error detection . 72
8.6.3 Disconnect operation error recovery rules .73
Annex A (normative) Concurrent matching peer requests example.74
A.1 Overview.74
A.2 Case 1 .75
A.3 Case 2 .75
A.4 Case 3 .76
A.5 Case 4 .76
A.6 Case 5 .77
A.7 Case 6 .78
Annex B (informative) FC-VI message transfer error handling examples . 79
B.1 Overview.79
B.2 Message transfer error handling operation.79
B.2.1 Message transfer error handling operation overview .79
B.2.2 Message transfer error definitions .79
B.2.3 Error Detection and Recovery Rule Processing .80
B.2.4 Message responder and message originator error recovery actions .80
B.2.5 Message responder error detection actions .81
B.2.6 Message originator Class 2 error detection actions .83
B.2.6.1 Message originator Class 2 error detection overview.83

– 6 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
B.2.6.2 Message response timeout at message originator.84
B.3 Message transfer error detection and recovery examples.84
B.3.1 Error examples overview .84
B.3.2 Mrcv > Mexp error example .85
B.3.2.1 Mrcv > Mexp example description .85
B.3.2.2 Mrcv > Mexp: In-order fabric and unreliable .85
B.3.2.3 Mrcv > Mexp: In-order fabric and reliable delivery.85
B.3.2.4 Mrcv > Mexp: Out-of-order fabric.86
B.3.3 Mrcv = Mexp error example .86
B.3.3.1 Mrcv = Mexp example description .86
B.3.3.2 Mrcv = Mexp: In-order fabric and unreliable .87
B.3.3.3 Mrcv = Mexp: Out-of-order fabric.87
Annex C (informative) Connection setup error handling examples Overview .89
C.1 Connection setup error handling definitions .89
C.2 Connect request originator and connect request responder rules.89
C.3 Connect request originator rules .89
C.4 Connect request responder rules .91
C.4.1 Connect request responder retry rules .92
C.5 Error detection and recovery examples for connection setup .93
C.5.1 Overview .93
C.5.2 FC-VI connection setup timers .94
C.5.3 VipConnectRequest completion .95
C.5.4 VipConnectAccept completion .95
C.5.5 Enabling message transmission and reception .95
C.5.6 Client timeout of VipConnectRequest .96
C.5.7 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU .96
C.5.7.1 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU example.96
C.5.7.2 Retried connection setup.97
C.5.8 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 IU .98
C.5.9 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 IU .99
C.5.9.1 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 IU example.99
C.5.9.2 Server timing out connection setup .100
C.5.10 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 IU .101
C.5.10.1 Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 IU example.101
Annex D (informative) Disconnect operation error handling examples .102
D.1 Disconnect operation example description.102
D.2 FC-VI disconnect operation example .103
Annex E (informative) Message streaming for reliable reception .105
Annex F (informative) Enabling Message transmission in the FC-VI NIC .106
Documents for VI Architecture (see Clause 2 for further explanation)
Virtual Interface Architecture Specification, V1.0 (VI-ARCH) .111
Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture Developer’s Guide, V1.0 (VI-DG) .195
Virtual Interface (VI ) Architecture Developer’s Guide Error Table Supplement, V1.0 .291
IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture, RFC 2373, July 1998 (RFC2373) .321

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 7 –
Table 1 – FC-VI Information unit summary.21
Table 2 – Peer B actions based on connect responses from peer A .36
Table 3 – 16-byte FC-VI device_header.40
Table 4 – 32-byte FC-VI device_header.40
Table 5 – FCVI_FLAGS Bit definitions for message request IUs.41
Table 6 – FCVI_FLAGS Bit definitions for message response IUs .42
Table 7 – FCVI_FLAGS Bit definitions for connect request IUs .42
Table 8 – FC-VI connection mode definition .43
Table 9 – FCVI_FLAGS Bit definitions for connect response IUs .43
Table 10 – FCVI_FLAGS Bit definitions for disconnect IUs .44
Table 11 – FCVI_PARAMETER field for connect response and disconnect IUs .46
Table 12 – Reason code for CONN_STS.47
Table 13 – FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU payload format .56
Table 14 – FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 IU Payload Format.58
Table 15 – FCVI_NET_ADDRESS Format .63
Table 16 – FCVI_ATTRIBUTES format.63
Table 17 – Format of FCVI_ATTR_FLAGS in FCVI_ATTRIBUTES .64
Table 18 – FCVI_QOS format .64
Table A.1 – Peer B actions based on connect responses from peer A .74

– 8 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
Figure 1 – FC-VI addressing objects.20
Figure 2 – FC-VI send for Unreliable Delivery or Reliable Delivery.23
Figure 3 – FC-VI send for Reliable Reception.24
Figure 4 – FC-VI RDMA write for Unreliable Delivery or Reliable Delivery .25
Figure 5 – FC-VI RDMA write for Reliable Reception .26
Figure 6 – FC-VI RDMA read for Reliable Reception and Reliable Delivery.27
Figure 7 – Concurrent Receive Streams at a FC-VI Endpoint.28
Figure 8 – FC-VI client-server connection setup .30
Figure 9 – Peer-to-peer connection setup.32
Figure 10 – Peer-to-peer connection setup, concurrent matching peer requests .34
Figure 11 – FC-VI disconnect operation.36
Figure 12 – FC-FS header for send operation.38
Figure A.1 – Case 1.75
Figure A.2 – Case 2.75
Figure A.3 – Case 3.76
Figure A.4 – Case 4.77
Figure A.5 – Case 5.77
Figure A.6 – Case 6.78
Figure B.1 – Mrcv > Mexp .85
Figure B.2 – Mrcv = Mexp .87
Figure C.1 – Client-server connection setup .93
Figure C.2 – Client timeout of VipConnectRequest.96
Figure C.3 – Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RQST IU .97
Figure C.4 – Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP1 IU. 98
Figure C.5 – Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP2 .99
Figure C.6 – Lost FCVI_CONNECT_RESP3 IU. 101
Figure D.1 – FC-VI disconnect operation .103

– 9 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY –
FIBRE CHANNEL –
Part 331: Virtual interface (FC-VI)

FOREWORD
1) ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) form the
specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in
the development of International Standards. Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any ISO and
IEC member body interested in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International
governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising with ISO and IEC also participate in this preparation.
2) In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
Draft International Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting.
Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
3) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC and ISO on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an
international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation
from all interested IEC and ISO member bodies.
4) IEC, ISO and ISO/IEC publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted
by IEC and ISO member bodies in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the
technical content of IEC, ISO and ISO/IEC publications is accurate, IEC or ISO cannot be held responsible for
the way in which they are used or for any misinterpretation by any end user.
5) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC and ISO member bodies undertake to apply IEC, ISO and
ISO/IEC publications transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications.
Any divergence between any ISO/IEC publication and the corresponding national or regional publication
should be clearly indicated in the latter.
6) ISO and IEC provide no marking procedure to indicate their approval and cannot be rendered responsible for
any equipment declared to be in conformity with an ISO/IEC publication.
7) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
8) No liability shall attach to IEC or ISO or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts
and members of their technical committees and IEC or ISO member bodies for any personal injury, property
damage or other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees)
and expenses arising out of the publication of, use of, or reliance upon, this ISO/IEC publication or any other IEC,
ISO or ISO/IEC publications.
9) Attention is drawn to the normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
10) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this International Standard may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard ISO/IEC 14165-331 was prepared by subcommittee 25:
Interconnection of information technology equipment, of ISO/IEC joint technical committee 1:
Information technology.
The list of all currently available parts of ISO/IEC 14165 series, under the general title
Information technology – Fibre channel, can be found on the IEC web site.

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 10 –
This International Standard has been approved by vote of the member bodies, and the voting
results may be obtained from the address given on the second title page.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 11 –
INTRODUCTION
This International Standard defines an upper-layer protocol within the domain of Fibre Channel, that is de-
signed to permit efficient peer-to-peer or client-server messaging between nodes, and to comply with the
Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture. Vendors that wish to implement devices that connect to FC-VI may fol-
low the requirements of this and other normatively referenced standards to manufacture an FC-VI compli-
ant device.
– 12 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY –
FIBRE CHANNEL –
Part 331: Virtual interface (FC-VI)
1 Scope
This part of ISO/IEC 14165 defines the Fibre Channel mapping protocol for the Virtual Interface (VI) Archi-
tecture (FC-VI). FC-VI defines the Fibre Channel Information Units in accordance with the VI Architecture
model. FC-VI additionally defines how Fibre Channel services are used to perform the services required
by the VI Architecture model of its network transport.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated ref-
erences, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced docu-
ments (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 14165-122, Information technology – Fibre channel – Arbitrated Loop-2 (FC-AL-2)
ISO/IEC 14165-251, Information technology – Fibre channel – Framing and Signalling Interface
(FC-FS) (To be published)
ISO/IEC 14165-414, Information technology – Fibre channel – Generic services-4 (FC-GS-4)
The following references for VI Architecture are the product of Intel, Microsoft and Compaq. The VI Archi-
tecture 1.0 specification is completely defined in these three documents. For the convenience of the read-
er they are added as supplementary documents.
Virtual Interface Architecture Specification, V1.0 (VI-ARCH)
Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture Developer’s Guide, V1.0 (VI-DG)
Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture Developer’s Guide Error Table Supplement, V1.0
IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture, RFC 2373, July 1998 (RFC2373)
(can be downloaded from the Internet)
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 FC-VI terms and definitions
3.1.1 completing a descriptor
a VI Provider completes a Descriptor by updating the status field and setting the Done bit

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 13 –
3.1.2 FC-VI connection
a VI Connection that is established and maintained between two FC-VI Ports
3.1.3 FC-VI connection point
the context used to listen for FC-VI Connection requests and responses within an FC-VI Port. It is bound to
an IP address and a Discriminator
3.1.4 FC-VI connection setup
an FC-VI operation that consists of a Sequence of FC-VI Connection IUs that establish an FC-VI
Connection
3.1.5 FC-VI disconnect
an FC-VI operation that consists of a Sequence of FC-VI Connection IUs that removes an FC-VI
Connection or aborts a FC-VI Connection Setup
3.1.6 FC-VI endpoint
the context for a VI within an FC-VI Port. Each end of an FC-VI Connection is an FC-VI Endpoint
3.1.7 FC-VI message transfer
an FC-VI operation that consists of one or more FC-VI Message IUs to transfer a VI Message between FC-
VI Ports
3.1.8 FC-VI port: a Fibre Channel Port that is capable of FC-VI operation and complies with this
standard.
3.1.9 FC-VI provider
the hardware and software services that implement the transport dependent functions of a VI Provider over
a Fibre Channel transport conforming to this standard
3.1.10 fully qualified message ID (FQMID)
the tuple of {FCVI_HANDLE, FCVI_MSG_ID, Exchange Context (F_CTL:23)} that uniquely identifies and
routes each received FC-VI IU to the correct FC-VI Endpoint context within a FC-VI Port
3.1.11 host name
a symbolic name associated with a VI capable Node. The Host Name is represented as an ASCII
character string to the VI Application
3.1.12 in-order fabric
a Fibre Channel configuration where the order of frame arrival at a receiving Port is identical to the
transmission order at the originating Port. An Arbitrated Loop is one example of an In-Order Fabric
3.1.13 local
entity (Endpoint, Connectionpoint, Provider, etc.) at this end of a FC-VI Connection
3.1.14 out-of-order fabric
a Fibre Channel configuration where the order of frame arrival at a receiving Port may be different than the
transmission order at the originating Port
3.1.15 remote
entity (Endpoint, Connectionpoint, Provider, etc.) at the other end of a FC-VI Connection

– 14 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
3.1.16 VI connection
connection between two VI Endpoints
3.1.17 VI endpoint
a pair of work queues and associated context visible to a VI Application. Also known as a VI
3.1.18 VI message
VI Application data that is transferred between FC-VI Ports over a previously established FC-VI
Connection.
3.2 VI Definitions
The following VI Terms used in this standard are defined in the VI Architecture Specification and the VI Ar-
chitecture Developer’s Guide, provided as supplementary documents.
Client-Server
Control Segment
Descriptor
Discriminator
Peer
Peer-to-Peer
RDMA
RDMA Read
RDMA Write
Reliability Level
Reliable Delivery
Reliable Reception
Send
Unreliable Delivery
VI
VI Address
VI Application
VI Handle
VI NIC
14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 15 –
VI Provider
3.3 Abbreviations
D_ID Destination_Identifier
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
ELS Extended Link Service
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
FC Fibre Channel
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
FC-FS The architecture specified by the Fibre Channel standard
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
FC-PH The architecture specified by the Fibre Channel standard
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
FCP Fibre Channel Protocol for SCSI
[ISO/IEC 14776-222]
FC-4 Fibre Channel Layer 4 mapping layer
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
IU Information Unit
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
S_ID Source_Identifier
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
ULP Upper Layer Protocol
[ISO/IEC 14165-251]
3.4 Editorial conventions
Definitions, conventions, abbreviations, acronyms and symbols applicable to this standard are provided,
unless they are identical to that described in any referenced standard, in which case they are included by
reference. Some definitions from the glossary or body of other standards are included here for easy refer-
ence.
In this Standard, a number of conditions, mechanisms, sequences, parameters, events, states, or similar
terms are printed with the following conventions:
– the first letter of each word in uppercase and the rest lowercase (e.g., Exchange, Class, etc.).
Such terms and words have special meaning and are defined in other standards. All terms and words not
conforming to the convention noted above have the normal technical English meanings.
Numbered items in this Standard do not represent any priority. Any priority is explicitly indicated.
In case of any conflict between text, figure, table and state diagram, the state diagram, then table, then fig-
ure, and finally, text takes precedence. Exceptions to this convention are indicated in the appropriate sub-
clauses.
– 16 – 14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E)
The term “shall” is used to indicate a mandatory rule. If such a rule is not followed, the results are unpre-
dictable unless indicated otherwise.
The fields or control bits which are not applicable shall be set to zero.
If a field or a control bit in a frame is specified as not meaningful, the entity which receives the frame shall
not check that field or control bit.
Hexadecimal notation
Hexadecimal notation is used to represent fields. For example, a four-byte FCVI_HANDLE field containing
a binary value of 00000000 11111111 10011000 11111010 is shown in hexadecimal format as
‘00FF98FAh’.
Binary notation
Binary notation is used to represent fields. For example, a one-byte Match Address Code Point in a
FARP-REQ containing a binary value of 0000 0010 is shown in binary format as ‘00000010b’.
Not Equal
The symbol “!=” means “not equal”.

14165-331 © ISO/IEC:2007(E) – 17 –
4 Structure and concepts
4.1 Fibre channel structure and concepts
Fibre Channel (FC) is logically a point-to-point serial data channel. FC architecture has been designed so
that it may be implemented with high performance hardware that requires little real-time software manage-
ment. The Fibre Channel Physical (FC-FS) transport described in ISO/IEC 14165-251 performs those
functions required to transfer data from one N_Port to another. The FC-PH transport may be treated as a
very powerful delivery service with information grouping and multiple defined classe
...