HP StorageWorks Fabric Interoperability: Merging Fabrics Based on M-series and B-series Fibre Channel Switches Application Notes (AA-RUQQL-TE, November 2009)

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).

Fabric Binding lets you configure a fabric binding membership list that each switch in a fabric can

use to validate between itself and its neighbor. M-series SANtegrity Fabric Binding uses a list made

domain ID and WWN pairs and implies insistent domain IDs. When Fabric Binding is enabled, a

fabric binding check is performed each time a link is enabled to ensure that the switches are allowed

to connect. If the binding check fails, the M-series port goes to an invalid attachment state and the

FCR EX_Port disables itself.

NOTE:

After a fabric binding check failure between an M-series E_Port and FCR EX_Port, the current M-series

implementation requires you to disable the M-series port and then re-enable it before the link can

come up again. Enabling only the FCR EX_Port does not allow the link to come up again.

B-series FCR implements a simplified version of fabric binding that is passive and only checks whether

its own front port domain ID and WWN pair is present in the fabric binding list that is sent from an

M-series switch.

Translate domains behind the front port domain must be handled as follows:

• Translate domains that are present before fabric binding is enabled must be included in the fabric

binding list created using DCFM or EFCM.

• Translate domains that are created after fabric binding is enabled do not have to be added to

the fabric binding list and do not cause any fabric binding checks to fail. If fabric binding is sub-

sequently disabled, these translate domains must be added to the fabric binding list before fabric

binding can be enabled again.

Translate domains do not have preferred or insistent domain ID behavior.

Enabling FCR fabric binding

Fabric binding is always enabled or disabled on the entire fabric. DCFM or EFCM allows enabling

fabric binding either separately or as part of the Enterprise Fabric Mode feature. Enterprise Fabric

Mode is used primarily for FICON environments and turns on several features, including Fabric

Binding.

NOTE:

Turning off M-series Enterprise Fabric Mode does not turn off any of the features that it turned on.

Unlike L2 SANtegrity, FCR requires additional configuration using B-series CLI before DCFM or EFCM

is used to configure and enable fabric binding.

The M-series fabric binding uses a list made up of domain ID and WWN pairs. Because the FCR

front port WWN cannot be predetermined, you must connect the FCR to the M-series edge switch

before the fabric binding list can be filled in with the FCR front port domain ID and WWN entry.