The Cisco UCS 6400 Series Fabric Interconnects are a core part of the Cisco Unified Computing System, providing both network connectivity and management capabilities for the system. The Cisco UCS 6400 Series offer line-rate, low-latency, lossless Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and Fiber Channel functions.
From a networking perspective, the Cisco UCS 6400 Series use a cut-through architecture supporting deterministic, low-latency, line-rate Gigabit Ethernet ports. It supports Cisco low-latency Gigabit Ethernet unified network fabric capabilities, which increases the reliability, efficiency, and scalability of Ethernet networks. The Fabric Interconnect supports multiple traffic classes over a lossless Ethernet fabric from the server through the Fabric Interconnect. Significant TCO savings come from an FCoE-optimized server design in which Network Interface Cards (NICs), Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), cables, and switches can be consolidated.