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

HBA N_Port ID Virtualization
HBA NPIV is a Fibre Channel standard that allows multiple N_Ports to connect to a switch F_Port.
HBA NPIV is used on servers running a VOS. You can assign a unique virtual port name to each
VM that shares the HBA. NPIV is supported on all 8 Gb and 4 Gb Emulex and QLogic HBAs when
using the vendor-supplied VOS drivers.
HBA NPIV considerations
Consider the following points when implementing a SAN with VOS servers using HBA NPIV:
• You can assign and manage the virtual WWPN through the VOS. WWPN provides increased
security and integrity because you can create discreet zones based on the port name.
• You must verify that the WWPNs in the SAN are unique. This is especially important for
complex SANs with heterogeneous VOSs.
• You may need to enable HBA NPIV for some HBA and VOS combinations.
• F_Port NPIV support differs for B-series, C-series, and H-series switches. For information about
setting up switches for use with HBA NPIV, see the switch documentation.
• VMware ESX 3.5 and 4.0 are the only VOSes with native support for HBA NPIV. The supplied
Emulex and QLogic drivers are NPIV enabled by default.
• Each VOS may have restrictions or requirements for HBA NPIV. For information about setting
it up for use with HBA NPIV, see the operating system documentation.
• If a VOS supports VM migration, the virtual WWPNs associated with the VM will migrate.
HBA NPIV connectivity guidelines
Figure 64 (page 178) shows the logical relationship between virtual WWPNs and a VOS with HBA
NPIV enabled. A server running a VOS has three instances of VMs. The server has an HBA with
a manufacturing-assigned WWPN (20:00:00:00:c9:56:31:ba), and is connected to port 8 of a
switch whose domain ID is 37. The VOS generates three virtual WWPNs and maps them to the
VMs. The VOS uses an operating system-specific algorithm to create the WWPNs, which can
include a registered vendor unique ID.
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