Synchronizing out-of-sync elements in a distributed fibre channel forwarder

A system for managing a Distributed Fibre Channel Switch, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory containing a program, which when executed by the processor is configured to perform an operation for synchronizing the Distributed Fibre Channel Switch, the operation comprising:
• responsive to determining that a Fibre Channel Data Forwarder (FDF) is out of sync with a controlling Fibre Channel Forwarder (cFCF), entering a recovery mode at the FDF;
• modifying the FDF based on a N_Port_ID Route Distribution (NPRD) received from the cFCF;
• notifying the cFCF of differences between a fabric-provided MAC address (FPMA) supplied by the NPRD with FPMAs known by the FDF;
• transmitting a sync end to the FDF from the cFCF;
• and
• leaving the recovery mode at the FDF and sending an acknowledgement to the cFCF.