Apparatus and methods to aggregate fcoe (fibre channel over ethernet) filter rules of a single interface in a single or few rules on a first-hop fcoe networking element

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus can include a filter module configured to receive multiple Media Access Control (MAC) addresses associated with multiple virtual ports instantiated at a first network device. Each virtual port from the multiple virtual ports can be associated with a MAC address from the multiple MAC addresses. The filter module can be configured to define a filter to be applied to a data frame sent between the first network device and a network switch, the filter being based at least in part on a MAC address prefix included in each MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses. The MAC address prefix can include an identifier uniquely associated with a second network device at which the filter module operates.

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a filter module configured to receive a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses associated with a plurality of virtual ports instantiated at a first network device, each virtual port from the plurality of virtual ports being associated with a MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses, the filter module configured to define a filter to be applied to a data frame sent between the first network device and a network switch, the filter being based at least in part on a MAC address prefix included in each MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses, the MAC address prefix to include an identifier uniquely associated with a second network device at which the filter module operates.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the identifier includes a 24-bit organizationally unique identifier (OUI) associated with the second network device. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the filter allows transmission of the data frame to the network switch when a portion of a source address included in the data frame matches the MAC address prefix. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the MAC address prefix has a length greater than 24 bits. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the filter module includes a command-line interface for configuration of the identifier by a user. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the MAC address prefix is based at least in part on a Fibre Channel ID (FCID) prefix associated with each virtual port from the plurality of virtual ports. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus, comprising:
 an initialization module configured to define a plurality of Fibre Channel IDs (FCIDs) and a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, each FCID from the plurality of FCIDs and each MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses uniquely associated with a virtual N-port from a plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at a network device, each MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses being defined based at least in part on (1) a gateway ID associated with the apparatus and (2) an FCID from the plurality of FCIDs uniquely associated with that MAC address;   a filter module configured to define a filter to be applied to a data frame sent from any virtual N-port from the plurality of virtual N-ports, the filter being based at least in part on a common MAC address portion included in each MAC address from the plurality of MAC addresses; and   a switching module configured to be operatively coupled to the network device, the switching module configured to send the data frame to the network switch based at least in part on the filter.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the common MAC address portion has a length of fewer than 48 bits. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the common MAC address portion is based at least in part on a common FCID portion included in each FCID from the plurality of FCIDs, the common FCID portion having a length of less than 24 bits, the length being based at least in part on a total number of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network device. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the filter allows transmission of the data frame to the network switch when a portion of a source address included in the data frame matches the common MAC address portion. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the network device is a first network device, the filter is a first filter, the data frame is a first data frame, the plurality of FCIDs is a first plurality of FCIDs, the plurality of MAC addresses is a first plurality of MAC addresses, the plurality of virtual N-ports is a first plurality of virtual N-ports,
 the initialization module is further configured to define a second plurality of FCIDs and a second plurality of MAC addresses, each FCID from the second plurality of FCIDs and each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses uniquely associated with a virtual N-port from a second plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at a second network device, each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses being defined based at least in part on (1) the gateway ID and (2) an FCID from the second plurality of FCIDs uniquely associated with that MAC address,   the filter module is further configured to define a second filter to be applied to a second data frame sent from any virtual N-port from the second plurality of virtual N-ports, the second filter being based at least in part on a second common MAC address portion included in each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses, and   the switching module configured to be operatively coupled to the second network device, the switching module configured to send the second data frame to the network switch based at least in part on the second filter.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of FCIDs is a first plurality of FCIDs, the plurality of MAC addresses is a first plurality of MAC addresses, the plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network devices is a first plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network device, the plurality of FCIDs is a first plurality of FCIDs, the filter is a first filter, the data frame is a first data frame,
 the initialization module is further configured to define a second plurality of FCIDs and a second plurality of MAC addresses, each FCID from the second plurality of FCIDs and each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses uniquely associated with a virtual N-port from a second plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network device, each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses being defined based at least in part on (1) the OUI and (2) an FCID from the second plurality of FCIDs uniquely associated with that MAC address,   the filter module is further configured to define a second filter to be applied to a second data frame sent from any virtual N-port from a second plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network device, the second filter being based at least in part on a second common MAC address portion included in each MAC address from the second plurality of MAC addresses, the second common MAC address portion being different from the first common MAC address portion, and   the switching module configured to send the second data frame to the network switch based at least in part on the second filter.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the common MAC address portion includes a common FCID portion included in each FCID from the plurality of FCIDs. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the data frame includes a first FCID from the plurality of FCIDs uniquely associated with a virtual N-port from the plurality of virtual N-ports, and
 the switching module is configured to send the data frame to the network switch such that the network switch sends the data frame to a virtual F-port based at least in part on the first FCID.   
     
     
         15 . An apparatus implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device, comprising:
 a module configured to detect one or more Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) frames transmitted between a network device and an FCoE switch, the module configured to receive a Fibre Channel fabric login frame from the network switch;   a switching policy module configured to define a switching policy to be applied to a data frame sent between any of a plurality of virtual N-ports instantiated at the network device and the FCoE switch, the switching policy being based at least in part on a Media Access Control (MAC) address prefix included in the Fibre Channel fabric login frame, the MAC address prefix being based at least in part on a common MAC address portion included in each of a plurality of MAC addresses associated with the plurality of virtual N-ports; and   a switching module operatively coupled to the network device and the FCoE switch, the switching module configured to send the data frame to the FCoE switch based at least in part on the switching policy.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the Fibre Channel fabric login frame is a Fabric Login (FLOGI) frame that includes a length of the MAC address prefix, the length of the MAC address prefix being greater than 24 bits. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the common MAC address portion is based at least in part on an Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) and a common Fibre Channel ID (FCID) portion included in each of a plurality of FCIDs corresponding to the plurality of virtual N-ports. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the switching policy prescribes transmission of the data frame to the network switch when a portion of a source address included in the data frame matches the MAC address prefix. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the switching policy module is further configured to delete the switching policy in response to a logout of a final virtual N-port from the plurality of virtual N-ports. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the common MAC address portion is based at least a common Fibre Channel ID (FCID) portion included in each of a plurality of FCIDs corresponding to the plurality of virtual N-ports, the common FCID portion including at least one of a common domain identifier and a common area identifier.