# Fabric Shortest Path First

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fabric_Shortest_Path_First
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fabric_Shortest_Path_First.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabric_Shortest_Path_First
> Source revision: 1324133961
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Fabric Shortest Path First** (**FSPF**) is a [routing protocol](/source/Routing_protocol) used in [Fibre Channel](/source/Fibre_Channel) [computer networks](/source/Computer_network). It calculates the best path between [network switches](/source/Network_switch), establishes routes across the fabric and calculates alternate routes in event of a failure or [network topology](/source/Network_topology) change. FSPF can guarantee in-sequence delivery of [frames](/source/Frame_(networking)), even if the routing topology has changed during a failure, by enforcing a 'hold down' time before a new path is activated.

FSPF was created by [Brocade Communications Systems](/source/Brocade_Communications_Systems) in collaboration with [Gadzoox](/source/Gadzoox), McDATA, Ancor Communications (now [QLogic](/source/QLogic)), and [Vixel](/source/Vixel); it was submitted as an [American National Standards Institute](/source/American_National_Standards_Institute) standard.[1] It was introduced in 2000. The protocol is similar in conception to the [Open Shortest Path First](/source/Open_Shortest_Path_First) used in IP networks.[1] FSPF has been adopted as the industry standard for routing between Fibre Channel switches within a fabric.

A [management information base](/source/Management_information_base) for FSPF was published as RFC 4626.

## References

1. Connor, Deni (June 26, 2000). ["Storage interoperability standards emerging"](https://books.google.com/books?id=XhsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10). *[International Data Group](/source/International_Data_Group)*. [ISSN 0887-7661](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0887-7661)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fabric Shortest Path First](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabric_Shortest_Path_First) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabric_Shortest_Path_First?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.