Overview
ISO/IEC 14165-246:2019 - "Information technology - Fibre channel - Part 246: Backbone - 6 (FC-BB-6)" defines backbone mappings that enable Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity across diverse backbone networks. The standard specifies four distinct FC-BB-6 models: FC-BB_IP (Fibre Channel over TCP/IP backbone), Transparent FC-BB (two variants: FC-BB_GFPT for SONET/SDH/OTN/PDH using GFPT adaptation, and FC-BB_PW for MPLS using PW adaptation), and FC-BB_E (Fibre Channel over Ethernet). It establishes reference models, protocol mapping, encapsulation, management and operational requirements to support interoperable FC backbone implementations.
Key topics and requirements
- Backbone mappings and reference models: Detailed VE_Port, VN_Port and B_Access functional models and reference architectures for each mapping (FC-BB_IP, FC-BB_GFPT, FC-BB_PW, FC-BB_E).
- Encapsulation and message mapping: Procedures for mapping FC frames into TCP/IP (FCIP) encapsulation, and equivalent mechanisms for MPLS, SONET/SDH/OTN/PDH and Ethernet transport.
- Protocol procedures and state machines: Connection management, link setup/disconnection, login exchanges and initialization state machine behavior for transparent mappings.
- Platform management and discovery: Control and Service Module (CSM) and Platform Management Module (PMM) concepts for operational management and discovery across the backbone.
- Operational requirements: Support for Fibre Channel classes, payload transparency, in-order delivery, flow control, and defined latency, timeout and QoS considerations.
- Error handling and reliability: Procedures for error detection, recovery, handling corrupted frames/segments and limits on retransmission/outstanding frames.
- Security and interoperability: Guidance for extending FC-SP-2 security and authentication across backbone mappings; SW_ILS codes and normative references to related IETF/ITU-T/IEEE documents.
Practical applications
- Extending Fibre Channel SANs across metropolitan, regional or wide-area networks using existing backbone infrastructures (IP, MPLS, Ethernet, SONET/SDH/OTN/PDH).
- Data center interconnect (DCI) for replication, backup, disaster recovery and multi-site storage availability.
- Enabling vendor interoperability for switches, gateways, SAN extension appliances and software-defined fabrics that carry native FC traffic over non-FC backbones.
- Designing resilient, low-latency storage networks with explicit QoS and flow-control considerations for storage workloads.
Who should use this standard
- Network architects and storage engineers designing SAN extension and DCI solutions.
- Equipment vendors (switches, FCIP gateways, MPLS PW providers, Ethernet bridging devices) implementing conformant FC-BB-6 mappings.
- System integrators and operators validating interoperability, reliability and performance of FC over backbone deployments.
- Standards and compliance teams aligning products with the ISO/IEC 14165 series.
Related standards
- Part of the ISO/IEC 14165 Fibre Channel series. References and extensions include FCIP-related documents and FC-SP family specifications (e.g., FC-SP-2) as noted in the normative references of the standard.
Keywords: Fibre Channel, FC-BB-6, FC-BB_IP, FC-BB_GFPT, FC-BB_PW, FC-BB_E, backbone, FCIP, SAN extension, data center interconnect, QoS, encapsulation, flow control.