Distributed fabric protocol (DFP) switching network architecture

A program product, comprising:

• a machine-readable storage device;
• and
• program code stored within the machine-readable storage device, wherein the program code, when processed by a machine, causes the machine to perform:
• at a master switch of a switching network including an upper tier and a lower tier including a plurality of lower tier switches, the master switch having a plurality of physical master switch ports each coupled to an inter-switch port of a respective one of the plurality of lower tier switches, implementing on each of the plurality of physical master switch ports a plurality of virtual ports each corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of remote physical interfaces (RPIs) at the lower tier switch coupled to that physical master switch port, wherein the plurality of RPIs are data ports that source data traffic to the master switch via the inter-switch port;
• in response to receipt of data traffic from a particular lower tier switch among the plurality of lower tier switches at an ingress port among the plurality of physical master switch ports, queuing the data traffic to the virtual port on the ingress port that corresponds to the RPI on the particular lower tier switch that was the source of the data traffic;
• and
• switching the data traffic from the virtual port on the ingress port to an egress port among the plurality of physical master switch ports and forwarding the data traffic from the egress port.

A physical master switch of a switching network including an upper tier including the master switch and a lower tier including a plurality of lower tier switches, the master switch comprising:

• a plurality of physical master switch ports each coupled to an inter-switch port of a respective one of the plurality of lower tier switches, each of the plurality of physical master switch ports including:
• a plurality of virtual ports each corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of remote physical interfaces (RPIs) at the lower tier switch coupled to that physical master switch port, wherein the plurality of RPIs are data ports that source data traffic to the master switch via the inter-switch port;
• a receive interface that, responsive to receipt of data traffic from a particular lower tier switch among the plurality of lower tier switches, queues the data traffic to the virtual port among the plurality of virtual ports that corresponds to the RPI on the particular lower tier switch that was the source of the data traffic;
• a switch controller that switches data traffic from the virtual port to an egress port among the plurality of physical master switch ports from which the data traffic is forwarded.