
Evolving SAN, GbE/10GbE, and Metro Ethernet Technologies ◾ 301
In an FC fabric, each switch element has a unique Domain ID assigned by the principal
switch. e value of the Domain ID ranges from 1 to 239 (0xEF). Each switch element, in turn,
administers a block of addresses divided into area and port IDs. An N_PORT connected to a
F_PORT receives a unique fabric address consisting of the switch’s Domain ID concatenated with
switch-assigned area and port IDs.
A loop-attached NL_PORT obtains the Port ID component of its address during the loop
initialization process described in [FCA199901]. e area and domain IDs are supplied by the
fabric when ...