Standard Fibre Channel Port Speeds
Short answer
ACD The standard configurable data transmission rates for FC ports include 4Gb, 8Gb, and 16Gb; 11Gb is not a standard FC speed.
Question
Key Takeaways
Tests knowledge of Fibre Channel speed standards (powers of 2); distractor '11Gb' mimics Ethernet speeds but is invalid for FC.
Identify the standard data transmission rates configurable on FC SAN switches. Correct answers are 4Gb, 8Gb, and 16Gb, excluding non-standard rates like 11Gb.
Common mistake: Selecting 11Gb due to confusion with Ethernet speeds or misremembering standard increments; missing one of the standard FC speeds like 4Gb or 8Gb.
Expert Analysis
The question asks for the configurable data transmission rates of Fibre Channel (FC) ports on an FC switch within an FC SAN environment, assuming the physical cable and SFP transceivers support the speed. The standardised evolution of Fibre Channel speeds is defined by ANSI INCITS standards.
The common native line rates for Fibre Channel are:
- 1 Gb/s (often referred to as 1G FC)
- 2 Gb/s (2G FC)
- 4 Gb/s (4G FC) - Option C
- 8 Gb/s (8G FC) - Option A
- 16 Gb/s (16G FC) - Option D
- 32 Gb/s (32G FC)
- 64 Gb/s (64G FC)
- 128 Gb/s (128G FC)
Option B (11Gb) is not a standard Fibre Channel speed. While Ethernet has variants like 10GbE, Fibre Channel speeds follow powers of two (mostly). Therefore, 11Gb is incorrect.
Options A (8Gb), C (4Gb), and D (16Gb) are all standard, widely deployed Fibre Channel speeds that can be configured on compatible hardware. The prompt specifies "given that your cable and SFP supports it," which implies we should select all valid standard speeds listed, regardless of backward compatibility issues in a specific mixed scenario, because the question asks what can be configured if the media supports it.
Thus, the correct options are A, C, and D.
Exam Strategy
Memorise the progression of Fibre Channel speeds: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 Gb/s. When asked about configurable speeds, eliminate any option that is not a power of 2 (except for the newer 10/25/40/100 GbE equivalents in hybrid contexts, but pure FC is strictly powers of 2). Always check if the question allows multiple selections for all valid standards present in the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 11Gb a valid Fibre Channel speed?
What are the most common FC SAN speeds?
Discussion 2 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 2
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Dhedy_Sasax 👍 1Answer should be ACD a public discussion thread on this question
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10c5cfe 👍 14 gbit is also supported answer is acd
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