The real DESCRIPTION field here is just the auto-generated stub "Cisco UCS fabric:FcoeSanEp:operState managed object property", so it carries no real prose -- but the property name and its CucsFabricPIoEpOperState type tell you what it holds: It holds the actual, currently-observed operational state of this FCoE SAN uplink port, as opposed to what an admin asked for. Because this reflects reality rather than intent, this is the value an admin watches to know whether this FCoE SAN uplink port is really passing traffic -- it can read down even when adminState says enabled, which is the signature of an actual fault such as a bad SFP or a disconnected cable. For instance operState might show "up" during normal operation and flip to "failed" or "link-down" the moment the SAN-side cable on this FCoE SAN uplink port is unplugged.