Some new technology is being defined for FCoE in the new T11 FC-BB-6 AdHoc Working Group. This important new technology is being defined to permit a more direct connection (through Lossless Ethernet Switches) between the FCoE adapters (End Node to End Node).
There will still be a requirement for FC Services, such as the Login, log-off, Name Server, and Zoning, etc. but the ULP messages (e.g. SCSI) will be able to travel from End Node to End Node without having to pass through a Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) or any other kind of a FC Switch. It might even be possible for existing FCFs to be used for the above mentioned FC services. A single FCF (plus a backup) might be able to support a very large configuration of Hosts and Storage Devices since the data will not be flowing through the FCF.
This new FCoE capability will permit new players into the Data Center Fabric, since the major consideration will be their ability to handle the Lossless Ethernet (10Gig) Switching. There will, of course, be some additional requirements (such as dynamic inspection and ACL building) but it will be primarily about the Lossless Ethernet Switch.)
It is also possible that there may be additional features that the new FCoE Converged Network Adapter (CNA) will need to implement in order to permit this type of operation, but this will probably NOT be a show stopper.
Stay tuned here as the various proposal come together to define this exciting new (perhaps game changing) technology.
