IP storage switches provide the essential interconnect between the IP network infrastructure and Fibre Channel end devices or fabric switches. When iSCSI hosts make requests for reads or writes of storage data, those requests are switched or routed through the IP network with the destination IP address of an IP storage switch. The switch performs wire-speed conversion of the iSCSI request into its Fibre Channel equivalent and passes it to the Fibre Channel target storage device. The complementary conversion is performed as the Fibre Channel target responds to the iSCSI host. Since the IP storage switch is mediating both sides of the storage conversation at wire speed, the conversion process is transparent to both iSCSI hosts and Fibre Channel targets.

iFCP works by wrapping Fibre Channel data in IP packets and mapping IP addresses to individual Fibre Channel devices. Each Fibre Channel device has its own identity in the IP network so it can individually send storage traffic to, and receive storage traffic from, other nodes in the IP network. By terminating the Fibre Channel signaling at the iFCP gateway and carrying the storage traffic over IP networks, iFCP breaks the distance barrier of traditional Fibre Channel networks, which can extend only 6.2 miles.