FIP Snooping | 187
10
FIP Snooping
FIP snooping is supported on the MXL 10/40GbE Switch.
This chapter describes the FIP snooping concepts and configuration procedures: 
• Fibre Channel over Ethernet
• Ensuring Robustness in a Converged Ethernet Network
• FIP Snooping on Ethernet Bridges
• FIP Snooping in a Switch Stack
• Configuring FIP Snooping
• Displaying FIP Snooping Information
• FIP Snooping Configuration Example
Fibre Channel over Ethernet 
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) provides a converged Ethernet network that allows the combination 
of storage-area network (SAN) and LAN traffic on a Layer 2 link by encapsulating Fibre Channel data into 
Ethernet frames. 
FCoE works with the Ethernet enhancements provided in data center bridging (DCB) to support lossless 
(no-drop) SAN and LAN traffic. In addition, DCB provides flexible bandwidth sharing for different traffic 
types, such as LAN and SAN, according to 802.1p priority classes of service. For more information, refer 
to the Data Center Bridging (DCB) chapter.
Ensuring Robustness in a Converged Ethernet Network 
Fibre Channel networks used for SAN traffic employ switches that operate as trusted devices. End devices 
log into the switch to which they are attached in order to communicate with other end devices attached to 
the Fibre Channel network. Because Fibre Channel links are point-to-point, a Fibre Channel switch 
controls all storage traffic that an end device sends and receives over the network. As a result, the switch 
can enforce zoning configurations, ensure that end devices use their assigned addresses, and secure the 
network from unauthorized access and denial-of-service attacks.