.Part 2 Fabric Infrastructure Rules HP SAN Design Reference Guide 785352-001

Table 34 MP Router fabric rules (continued)

DescriptionRule number

The MP Router is not supported for use as a Fibre Channel switch. Direct device connectivity to MP

Router ports (F_Port) is only supported with iSCSI. See “iSCSI storage” (page 318). You can configure

a Fibre Channel port as an E_Port, EX_Port (Fibre Channel Routing), GbE iSCSI, or GbE FCIP. Traffic

switching is supported between the following port types:

• Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel routing (E_Port, EX_Port)

• Fibre Channel and iSCSI (E_Port, F_Port, GbE iSCSI)

• Fibre Channel and FCIP (E_Port, GbE FCIP)

• Fibre Channel routing and FCIP (EX_Port, GbE FCIP)

Traffic switching between other port combinations is not supported. This applies to port combinations

on the same platform or independent platforms. For example, traffic from an iSCSI initiator connected

to an MP Router cannot be routed to an EX_Port on the same router or independent router.

Fibre Channel SAN boot or iSCSI server boot through the MP Router is not supported.5

For redundancy, HP recommends using a minimum of two EX_Ports (MP Router ISLs) for each fabric

connected to the MP Router. The number of EX_Ports required is based on the performance requirements

for all devices shared by fabrics through the MP Router.

• For initial settings, calculate the number of EX_Ports using a 5:1 ratio of standard ISLs or switch

device ports to MP Router EX_Port ISLs. Monitor port performance to determine if this ratio is

acceptable based on usage. Use the portperfshow command to monitor MP Router port

performance.

• For very high bandwidth requirements and applications, use a ratio of 3:1 or 1:1.

Supports routing between B-series secured and nonsecured edge fabrics using Secure Fabric OS. This

requires MP Router firmware 7.4 (or later).

Fibre Channel switch fabric rules 115