HP StorageWorks Fabric Interoperability: Merging Fabrics Based on M-series and B-series Fibre Channel Switches Application Notes Abstract These application notes provide the techniques and best practices for planning and implementing a merge of one fabric consisting of M-series switches with firmware 09.07.02 or later and another SAN fabric consisting of B-series switches with firmware 6.1.0a or later.
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Changes since the last version Changes since the December 2008 version of this document include: • • • • • • Added support information for the HP StorageWorks DC04 SAN Director Added information about Port Authentication Added Frame Redirection section Updated router-based interoperability support information Updated M-EOS support information Reformatted McDATA legacy and Brocade switch information Implementing an interoperable fabric with Brocade Fabric OS 6.1.0a or later Fabric OS 6.
You do not need to perform a reboot. Each Fabric OS switch automatically reboots when you change modes. Fabric OS 6.1.0a and later supports changing between interoperability modes using the following interopmode command options: • Interopmode 2 for McDATA Fabric mode, which supports M-series switches with firmware 9.7.2 and later running in Homogeneous or McDATA Fabric mode • Interopmode 3 for McDATA Open Fabric mode, which supports M-series switches with firmware 9.7.
M-series-aware features Table 1 describes the features that are available fabric-wide in an M-series environment. Table 1 M-series-aware features Feature Comments Switch ASIC FC frame header uses the SID and DID according to the domain offset setting. B-series management interface (such as EFCM, DCFM, and WebTools) Allows you to perform standalone and fabric-wide tasks such as basic switch and port configuration Note: DCFM earlier than V10.3.0 requires at least one B-series switch in the fabric.
M-series-unaware features Table 2 describes features that are unaware of M-series switches or fabrics and cannot be used fabric-wide. These unsupported features must not be enabled. Do not attempt to use them when the M-series and B-series fabrics are merged.
Table 3 Feature compatibility matrix Feature Access Control: Strict Mode Support No Tolerant Mode Yes1 Absent Mode Yes1 Admin Domains No Advanced Performance Monitoring No Audit Yes Beaconing Yes Config Download/Upload Yes DHCP Yes Email Alert Yes Environmental Monitor Yes Error Event Management Yes Extended Fabrics Yes2 FCoE No3 FDMI Yes Fabric Watch Yes FICON (includes CUP) No High Availability Yes4 Interoperability: Fabric OS Native Mode No McDATA Open Fabric Mode Y
Feature Support NTP No Open E_Port Yes8 Phone Home Yes Port Mirroring Yes QoS No Secure Fabric OS No SNMP Yes Speed Negotiation Yes Trunking: Frame-level ISL trunking from B-series to B-series Yes—McDATA Fabric mode only Frame-level ISL trunking from B-series to M-series No Load balancing from B-series to B-series using DLS or DPS Yes Load balancing from B-series to M-series using DLS or DPS Yes ValueLineOptions (Static POD, DPOD) Yes Virtual Fabrics Yes—Requires FOS 6.2.
M-series features supported by Fabric OS 6.x Fabric OS 6.x supports the M-series features described in this section. These features have some limitations. Domain ID offset configuration with Fabric OS 6.3.0 or later This feature applies when you add B-series switches to an existing M-series fabric. This feature allows different fabrics to have different domain ranges and expands the range of domains that B-series switches support in interopmode 2 and interopmode 3.
M-series firmware 9.7.2 feature not supported by Fabric OS earlier than 6.3.0 B-series switches do not support a domain ID offset configuration. They require the default offset value 0x60 (96). M-series switches use the domain ID offset to assign the first byte of the PID for attached end devices. • Homogeneous/McDATA Fabric mode supports a domain ID in the range of 1–31. • McDATA Open Fabric mode supports a domain ID range of 97–127.
Table 5 describes optional licensed features that are not supported by Fabric OS 6.x on B-series switches used in a fabric with M-series switches.
HP DC Director HP DC Director HP DC Director M-series Directors HP DC Director 26413b Figure 1 Typical configuration .
Supported B-series switches Table 6 lists the B-series products with Fabric OS 6.1.0a or later that are interoperable with M-series products.
• Zoning Managed through EFCM and DCFM Supported B-series features in McDATA Open Fabric mode (interopmode 3) The following features are supported in Fabric OS 6.1.
McDATA Fabric mode configuration restrictions The following restrictions apply: • • • • Maximum of 2,048 devices. Extended edge PID format cannot be used (FOS 6.2x or earlier). Maximum 31 switch (domain ID). Domain IDs must be in the range of 1–31 (or domain ID offset value range for FOS 6.3.0 and later) on B-series switches for successful connection to M-series switches. The firmware automatically assigns a valid domain ID, if necessary.
Zoning restrictions Zone activation allows you to create new zone configurations or modify enabled zone configurations, which can then be activated as the enabled zone configuration from B-series switches in McDATA Fabric mode only or from M-series switches. You can save these configurations to the defined database on the local B-series switch. Zone activation allows fabric-wide and standalone activation of zone configuration.
Zone name restrictions The zone name field must contain the ASCII characters that specify the name without including any required fill bytes. Zone names must follow these rules: • • • • The name must be between 1 and 64 characters in length. All characters must be in the 7-bit ASCII format. The first character must be a letter, either uppercase (A–Z) or lowercase (a–z).
Activating zone configurations on a standalone B-series switch To activate zone configurations on a standalone B-series switch: 1. Connect to the switch and log in as admin. 2.
switch:admin cfgshow Default Zone: OFF Safe Zone: OFF Defined configuration: cfg: switch set switch1; switch2; switch3; switch4 zone: switch1 dd:dd:dd:dd:aa:aa:aa:aa; bb:bb:bb:cc:cc:cd:dd:dd zone: switch2 23:34:87:23:50:72:35:07; 12,64 [output truncated] ... Effective configuration: cfg: switch set zone: switch1 dd:dd:dd:dd:aa:aa:aa:aa bb:bb:bb:cc:cc:cd:dd:dd zone: switch2 23:34:87:23:50:72:35:07 12,64 [output truncated] You can save the effective zone configuration to the defined database.
Enabling McDATA Open Fabric mode When configuring McDATA Open Fabric mode, avoid domain ID conflicts before fabric reconfiguration. When configuring multiple switches, HP recommends that you wait for a fabric reconfiguration after adding or removing each switch. Every switch in the fabric must have a unique domain ID. To enable McDATA Open Fabric mode on B-series switches: 1.
4. Use the switchdisable command to disable the switch: switch:admin> switchdisable 5. Enter the configure command to set the domain ID to a number in the range 97–127. switch:admin> configure Configure... Fabric Parameters (yes, y, no, n): [no] y Domain (1...127): [1] 97 6. Enter the interopmode 2 command to enable interoperability. switch:admin> interopmode 2 McDATA Fabric mode is enabled The switch effective configuration will be lost. The system will reboot to allow the change to take effect.
3. Enter the interopmode 0 command to disable interoperability. switch:admin> interopmode 0 Interop mode is disabled The switch effective configuration will be lost. The system will reboot to allow the change to take effect. Do you want to continue? (yes, y, no, n): [no] y A number of parameters are reset, McDATA Open Fabric mode or McDATA Fabric mode is disabled, and the switch performs an automatic reboot. 4.
Traffic Isolation zones in interoperable fabrics The TI feature allows you to control the flow of interswitch traffic by creating a dedicated path for traffic flowing from a specific set of source ports through B-series switches using zones. TI is supported in McDATA Fabric mode on B-series switches only. McDATA Fabric mode is the only mode that supports the Defined Database, which is distributed and synchronized with all B-series switches in a fabric.
Enabling Fabric Binding using DCFM or EFCM automatically enables insistent domain ID on all B-series and M-series switches in the fabric. Disabling Fabric Binding does not turn off insistent domain ID. DCFM or EFCM automates the fabric binding configuration process. E_Port Authentication between B-series and M-series switches E_Port Authentication allows switches to authenticate connections to other switches. You can use E_Port Authentication in McDATA Open Fabric mode and in McDATA Fabric mode.
Table 9 lists M-series support for B-series DH group support. Table 9 B-series DH group types DH group type M-series support 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 Yes 0 (DH Null option) Yes 1 (1,024-bit key) No 2 (1,280-bit key) No 3 (1,536-bit key) No 4 (2,048-bit key) No When B-series device authentication mode is set to Off or Passive, M-series support does not apply because these modes are not used for E-Port authentication.
Table 11 Switch connection when all secrets are correct B-series Authentication Policy setting M-series Authentication Policy setting: On M-series Authentication Policy setting: Off Passive Yes1 Yes2 Active Yes1 Yes3 On Yes1 Yes3 Off No4 Yes2 1 Connected with two-way authentication; both sides of the connection perform Authentication (Fabric builds normally). 2 Connected without authentication (Fabric builds normally).
Table 13 Switch connection when the M-series switch has an incorrect peer secret for the B-series switch B-series Authentication Policy setting M-series Authentication Policy setting: On M-series Authentication Policy setting: Off Passive No1 Yes2 Active No1 Yes3 On No1 Yes3 Off No1 Yes2 1 E_Port does not connect (Authentication Rejected). When the B-series switch generates the reject, it disables the B-series port.
Authentication of EX_Port, VE_Port, and VEX_Port connections VE_Port Authentication is the same as E_Port Authentication. For information on authenticating E_Ports, see “E_Port Authentication between B-series and M-series switches” on page 24. EX_Ports and VEX_Ports both run authentication in Passive mode. This means these ports do not initiate authentication, but they do respond to authentication requests initiated by the connecting switch.
Table 16 lists the switch authentication policy for a VE_Port connected to another VE_Port when the secrets are unknown. In this case, two-way authentication by the B-series switches means that no authenticated connections are going to be made.
FCR SANtegrity The support for FCR SANtegrity is for fabric binding. FCR fabric binding is used with EX_Ports attached to an M-series Edge Switch. HP strongly recommends that you use DCFM or EFCM to configure and enable or disable fabric binding. Downgrading to a Fabric OS version that does not support SANtegrity interoperability without first disabling fabric binding will cause ports to segment upon subsequent initialization (for example, disabling and then enabling or adding a new ISL).
To enable fabric binding: 1. On the FCR, enter the portcfgexport command to configure the preferred domain ID. This preferred domain ID becomes insistent whenever fabric binding is enabled. You can also use this command to set the port to M-series Fabric mode. 2. Enable the EX_Port configured in Step 1. 3. Use DCFM or EFCM to create the fabric binding list and to enable fabric binding. CAUTION: The front port preferred domain ID will behave as insistent while fabric binding is enabled.
Supported configurations All switches in the fabric must support the defined protocol. Nondisruptive hot code is supported on any fabric configuration and mix of switches. HCL is supported on the following platforms: • All M-series-based directors and switches running firmware 9.7.2 or later • All Fabric OS 6.1.0a and later supported platforms HCL does not affect director-class products because of their fast switch-over capability.
2. Enter the command firmwaredownload –o. Firmwaredownload –o does not check whether the switches in the fabric support HCL. If the normal checks are successful, it proceeds and displays the normal message and an additional message. The firmwaredownload –o command upgrades both CPs in the switch. NOTE: If you want to upgrade one CP only, use the -s option. You can use the firmwaredownloadstatus command to get the status of this firmware download.
Supported configuration rules For a list of supported configurations, including firmware and software versions, contact an HP-authorized representative. Fabric rules The following fabric rules apply: • Each fabric can consist of a mix of the switch models listed in Table 21 and Table 22. • Apply fabric rules for B-series and M-series, as defined in the HP StorageWorks SAN Design Reference Guide.
Table 22 HP StorageWorks M-series product line switches Switch Firmware version Number of ports HP StorageWorks Edge Switch 2/16 16 HP StorageWorks Edge Switch 2/24 24 HP StorageWorks Edge Switch 2/32 32 HP StorageWorks Director 2/64 64 HP StorageWorks Director 2/140 McDATA Sphereon 4700 09.07.02 or later (required with B-series firmware 6.
Additional documentation, including white papers and best-practices documents, are available on the HP website http://www.hp.com. Glossary ACL Access Control List. A data protection feature that restricts access to data resources based on defined policies. ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. A customized integrated circuit. B-series Switches manufactured for HP by Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. CP See CPC. CPC Central processor complex.
FCAP Fibre Channel Authentication Protocol FC-GS Fibre Channel generic services. A set of FC commands. FCIP Fibre Channel over Internet Protocol. FCR Fibre Channel routing. FDMI Fabric Device Management Interface. FICON Fibre Connectivity. Hardware that connects the mainframe to the CU. HA High availability. The relative ability of a system to operate continuously, regardless of the type of failure. HAFM High Availability Fabric Manager software. HBA Host bus adapter.
SSH Secure Shell. A software tool used for data encryption. SWRSCN Switch registered state change notification. TI Traffic isolation VE_Port Virtual E_Port. Used with a GbE port for FCIP tunneling. VEX_Port Virtual EX_Port. Used for Fibre Channel routing over a VE_Port. WWN Worldwide name.
