Page 783 - (ISC)² CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide

Converged Protocols

Converged protocols are the merging of specialty or proprietary
protocols with standard protocols, such as those from the TCP/IP
suite. The primary benefit of converged protocols is the ability to use

existing TCP/IP supporting network infrastructure to host special or
proprietary services without the need for unique deployments of
alternate networking hardware. This can result in significant cost
savings. However, not all converged protocols provide the same level
of throughput or reliability as their proprietary implementations.

Some common examples of converged protocols are described here:
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Fibre Channel is a form of

network data-storage solution (storage area network [SAN] or
network-attached storage [NAS]) that allows for high-speed file
transfers upward of 128 Gbps. It was designed to be operated over
fiber-optic cables; support for copper cables was added later to offer
less-expensive options. Fibre Channel typically requires its own

dedicated infrastructure (separate cables). However, Fibre Channel
over Ethernet (FCoE) can be used to support it over the existing
network infrastructure. FCoE is used to encapsulate Fibre Channel
communications over Ethernet networks. It typically requires 10 Gbps
Ethernet in order to support the Fibre Channel protocol. With this
technology, Fibre Channel operates as a Network layer or OSI layer 3
protocol, replacing IP as the payload of a standard Ethernet network.

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) MPLS (Multiprotocol
Label Switching) is a high-throughput high-performance network
technology that directs data across a network based on short path
labels rather than longer network addresses. This technique saves
significant time over traditional IP-based routing processes, which can
be quite complex. Furthermore, MPLS is designed to handle a wide
range of protocols through encapsulation. Thus, the network is not

limited to TCP/IP and compatible protocols. This enables the use of
many other networking technologies, including T1/E1, ATM, Frame
Relay, SONET, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).

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