HP StorageWorks B-Series Remote Replication Solution Best Practices Guide (5697-6731, June 2007)

NOTE:

Theedgefabric#3isnotpresentedtoedgefabric#1because,intheexample,noLSANzonesfor

that fabric exist.

For this example, if a FabricShow comm and is executed on any FC switch in edge fabric # 1, it lists

all physical FC switches in edge fabric #1 and three other logical switches: one logical switch for the

backbone fabric and one for each edge fabric that has devices routed to edge fabric #1. The names of

the logical switches in the FabricShow output are FCR_FD_# for the backbone fabric and FCR_XD_#

for each of the remote edge fabrics, where # represents the domain identiﬁer assigned to the log ical

switch. This also applies to the backbone fabric and any remote edge fabric that have devices routed to

edge fabric #1.

Any devices routed to edge fabric #1 appear connected to the logical switch that represents that fabric

andhasaPortIdentiﬁ er (PID) based on the domain identiﬁer of that logical switch.

NOTE:

Only devices properly conﬁgured in LSAN zones will be presented to edge fabric #1.

Meta SAN design considerations

• The SAN extension technology to be used to connect the fabrics

• Whether an existing fabric or a new dedicated fabric will be used for the backbone fabric

Fibre cha

nneloverInternetProtocol(FCIP)

Two additional port terms need deﬁning when Fibre Channel over Internet P rotocol (FCIP) is used

between M P Routers.

• VE_Port

−A Virtual E_Port is an IP/Ethernet interface on an MP Router con ﬁgured as an E_Port. It

is equivalent to a FC E_Port, except the protocol on the link is FCIP.

• VEX_Port−A Virtual EX_Port is an IP/Ethernet interface on an MP Router conﬁgured as an EX_Port

and is eq

uivalent to a M P Router EX_Port, except the protocol on the link is FCIP.

Figure 4 Simplest Meta SAN with FCIP

The EX_Port or VEX_Por t for FCIP is the boundary point between the backbone fabric and an edge

fabric and, in theory, is pa rt of the edge fabric. This does not have much impact on selecting the

backbone fabric when using Native Fibre Channel or WDM technologies for the SAN extension

medium; however, with FCIP this adds another consideration to the design of a Meta SAN.

In Figure 4, the edge fabric includes all the FC switches in the edge fabric a nd the IFL/FCIP link up

to the VEX_Port. Because the VEX_Port is par t of the edge fabric, the IP network also becomes part

of the edge fabric. Since the IP network is probably the most unstable component in the fabric, the

fabric(s)thatcontaintheIPnetworkwillseemoredisruptionsthanafabricwithoutanIPnetwork.

Solution setup overview