.SAN design reference guide Vol. 1-5 785350-001

An NP_Port is an NPIV uplink from the NPV device to the core switch. Switches in NPV mode use
NPIV to log in multiple end devices that share a link to the core switch. The Cisco MDS 9124e
Fabric Switch is transparent to the hosts and fabric—they no longer function as standard switches.
NOTE: This section describes HP c-Class BladeSystems. NPV mode is also supported on the Cisco
MDS 9124 and MDS 9134 Fabric Switches. For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000
Configuration Guide.
The Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch in NPV mode supports a maximum of 24 ports:
• Up to 16 ports for back-end connections to the BladeSystems
• Up to 8 external ports used as uplink ports (NP_Ports)
NPV mode features include:
• Eight external ports used as NP_Ports, supporting NPIV. These ports connect to standard
switches (including vendor switches) that support NPIV-compliant F_Ports.
• Does not use domain IDs, removing any domain-count limitations in large fabrics.
• Port mapping between the host-facing ports (virtual F_Ports) and the external uplink ports
(NP_Ports).
Figure 61 (page 173) shows an HP c-Class BladeSystem in NPV mode.
Figure 61 Cisco MDS 9124e Fabric Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem in NPV mode
25345a
Blade enclosure
with 16 servers
Server Bay 16, fc1/21
Server Bay 15, fc1/7
Server Bay 14, fc1/6
Server Bay 13, fc1/3
Server Bay 12, fc1/13
Server Bay 11, fc1/12
Server Bay 10, fc1/17
Server Bay 9, fc1/19
Server Bay 8, fc1/22
Server Bay 7, fc1/8
Server Bay 6, fc1/2
Server Bay 5, fc1/4
Server Bay 4, fc1/9
Server Bay 3, fc1/11
Server Bay 2, fc1/15
Server Bay 1, fc1/16
N_Port (host)
NPV Core Switch
FLOGI/FDISC on all
available NP links is
load balanced using
round-robin.
c-Class BladeSystem
N_Port Virtualization
(NPV)
F_Port (virtual)
Server HBA ports, N_Ports
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
F_Port (NPIV)
NP_Port
NP_Port
ext2, fc1/14
NP_Port
ext3, fc1/18
NP_Port
ext4, fc1/20
NP_Port
ext5, fc1/24
NP_Port
ext6, fc1/23
NP_Port
ext7, fc1/5
NP_Port
ext8, fc1/1
ext1, fc1/10
c-Class BladeSystem N_Port Virtualization
If there are multiple
uplinks, then the
server logins are
distributed equally
among them.
NOTE: The NP_Ports in Figure 61 (page 173) are on the NPV devices, not the hosts.
Failover policy
The failover policy enables automatic remapping of hosts if NP_Ports go offline. It evenly distributes
the hosts among the available NP_Ports. This policy ensures a smooth transition with minimal traffic
BladeSystem with Cisco N_Port Virtualization mode 173