What Does Ethernet Fabric Mean?

Techopedia Explains Ethernet Fabric

  • Does not require layer-three routing services for scaling

  • Does not make use of Spanning Tree Protocol or its types for avoiding loops

  • Includes self-forming inter-switch links (ISL) in between switches

  • Makes use of all accessible ISLs that have the shortest path

  • Can self-heal so that if a link becomes unavailable, the traffic on other ISLs continues

  • Flatter: Eradicates the requirement for Spanning Tree Protocol, yet is still interoperable with already available Ethernet networks

  • Flexible: Can be easily integrated in any topology in order to efficiently satisfy the requirements associated with any kind of workload

  • Resilient: Uses several least-cost paths to attain significant functionality and higher stability

  • Elastic: Automatically scales up and down depending on the requirements