N_Port ID Virtualization or NPIV is a Fibre Channel facility allowing multiple N _Port IDs to share a single physical N_Port.

This allows multiple Fibre Channel initiators to occupy a single physical port, easing hardware requirements in Sto rage Area Network design, especially where virtual SANs are called for. NPIV is defined by the Technical Committee T11 in the Fibre Channel - Link Services (FCLS) specification. Normally N_Port initialization proceeds like this: N_Port sends FLOGI to address 0xFFFFFE to obtain a valid address N_Port sends PLOGI to address 0xFFFFFC to register this address with the nam e server N_Port sends SCR to address 0xFFFFFD to register for state change notificati ons However with NPIV it may continue like this: N_Port sends FDISC to address 0xFFFFFE to obtain an additional address N_Port sends PLOGI to address 0xFFFFFC to register this additional address w ith the name server N_Port sends SCR to address 0xFFFFFD to register for state change notificati ons. ... (repeat FDISC/PLOGI/SCR for next address) FDISC is abbreviation of "Discover Fabric Service Parameters", which is a mislea ding name in this context. It works just like FLOGI.