3PAR AIX Implementation Guide (320-200187, June 2011)

3.4
Installing the IBM Fibre Channel HBA
3PAR AIX 5.3, 6.1, and 7.1 Implementation Guide
3PAR Confidential
3.2.3 Displaying the IBM HBA WWNs
To display the FC HBA WWNs, issue lscfg -vps -l fcs0 | grep -i <network> on the
AIX CLI:
where 10000000C94E6031 is the HBA WWN.
3.2.4 Detecting Auto Topology
IBM FC HBAs auto-detect the topology during a host reboot.
3.2.5 Setting host HBA Parameters DynamicTracking and FastFail
3PAR strongly advises that both of the parameters DynamicTracking and FastFail are enabled
on each of the IBM FC HBAs connected to the InServ Storage Server.
Use the FastFail setting only when the connection type is direct connect. Use both FastFail and
Dynamic Tracking when the connection type is Fabric.
When dynamic tracking of FC devices is enabled, the FC adapter driver can detect when the
Fiber Channel N_Port ID of a device changes and re-route traffic destined for that device to the
new address while the devices are still online.
The following events can cause an N_Port ID to change:
■ Moving a cable between a switch and storage device from one switch port to another.
■ Connecting two separate switches via an Inter-Switch Link (ISL).
■ Rebooting a switch.
Setting the IBM FC HBA parameter of FastFail speeds up recovery time in the event of a path
failure.
To set up Dynamic Tracking and FastFail on an IBM FC HBA, complete the following steps, using
the SMIT devices menu:
# lscfg -vps -l fcs0 | grep -i “network”
Network Address.............10000000C94E6031
NOTE: The AIX host will require a reboot to enable the changes once made.