NPort ID Virtualization (NPIV)

Introduction

N_Port_ID Virtualization (NPIV) is a method for virtualizing a FibreChannel Port.
With NPIV, one physical FibreChannel port can obtain many N_Port_IDs.

Why is this useful?  The reason most people mention is to map one virtual N_Port_ID
to one guest operating system in a virtual environment. So, your Xen DOMU or Logical Domain DOMA can have its own N_Port_ID, just as if it were a physical
HBA.
With this N_Port_ID and the related port and node world wide name (PWWN/NWWN), storage administrators can use existing zoning and LUN masking techniques they've used in the past.

Update

Core NPIV functionality delivered into build 92.  This allows users to create and delete NPIV ports using the new fcadm command. They show up as regular FibreChannel ports.

Additional functionality to support xVM delived into build 97.  This allows NPIV ports to be associated with specific DOMUs, and disk devices on those ports can be automatically mounted to the DOMU. 

Background Reading

Solution Technology's Introduction

Storage Magazine

SNIA Storage Developer's Conference Video

SNIA Storage Developer's Conference
Slides

FAST 08
Poster

Solaris Design Documents

Documents will be uploaded as developed

• The FCA interface is the interface between the FCA driver, and the fp and fctl drivers in the Leadville stack. This document describes changes in the interface.
• The one pager is a high level document used in Sun processes. Here is the NPIV one pager.
• PSARC Case materials.  PSARC Inception review was November 14, 2007. This includes the functional specification with proposed interface changes.
• Configuring NPIV.  This is an excerpt from the Solaris Express SAN Configuration and Multipathing Guide.