Fibre channel forwarder device local routing system

An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:

• a plurality of ports;
• a processing system that is coupled to the plurality of ports;
• and
• a memory system that is coupled to the processing system and that includes instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to provide an N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) Proxy Gateway (NPG) engine that is configured to:
• provide, through a first port of the plurality of ports to a Fibre Channel (FC) networking device, a first fabric login (FLOGI) for the first port that includes a local routing instruction that indicates that the NPG engine is enabled for local routing:
• receive, at the first port, a first enode association list,
• wherein the first enode association list is provided by the FC networking device to the first port in response to receiving the first FLOGI with the local routing instruction,
• wherein the first enode association list includes associations of initiator devices and target devices that are loqqed in to the FC networking device through one or more of the plurality of ports, and
• wherein the associations of the initiator devices and the target devices are based on the zones provided by the FC networking device;
• generate a first Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) device association table that includes the associations of initiator devices and target devices provided in the first enode association list;
• receive, at a second ort of the plurality of ports, first traffic that originates from a first initiator device and that is addressed to a first target device;
• determine, using the first FCF device association table that identifies zones provided by the FC networking device, that the first target device is associated with the first initiator device;
• and
• route, in response to determining the first target device is associated with the first initiator device, the first traffic through a third port of the plurality of ports to the first target device without forwarding the first traffic through the first port to the FC networking device.

A method of Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) device local routing, comprising:

• providing, by a first Fibre Channel Forwarder (FCF) device through a first FCF device port on the first FCF device to a Fibre Channel (FC) networking device, a first fabric login (FLOGI) for the first FCF device that includes a local routing instruction that indicates that the first FCF device is enabled for local routing:
• receiving, by the first FCF device at the first FCF device port, a first enode association list,
• wherein the first enode association list is generated by the FC networking device in response to receiving the first FLOGI with the local routing instruction,
• wherein the first enode association list includes associations of initiator devices and target devices that are logged in to the FC networking device through the first FCF device, and
• wherein the associations of the initiator devices and the target devices are based on the zones provided by the FC networking device;
• generating, by the first FCF device, a first FCF device association table that includes the associations of initiator devices and target devices provided in the first enode association list;
• receiving, by the first FCF device, first traffic that originates from a first initiator device that is connected to a second FCF device port on the first FCF device, and that is addressed to a first target device that is connected to a third FCF device port on the first FCF device;
• determining, by the first FCF device and using the first FCF device association table that identifies zones provided by the FC networking device, that the first target device is associated with the first initiator device;
• and
• routing, by the first FCF device in response to determining the first target device is associated with the first initiator device, the first traffic through the third FCF device port to the first target device without forwarding the first traffic through the first FCF device port to the FC networking device.