HP Mainframe Connectivity Design Guide

For the HP-supported directors and port count fabric maximums, see the following:
◦ “B-series FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 29)
◦ “C-series FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 46)
◦ “McDATA FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 63)
• Supported hop counts
FICON supports a maximum of one hop between the mainframe and the CU. One hop is one
ISL path between two directors. For more information, see “Cascaded FICON fabric” (page
16).
• Supported configurations
Each FICON director series specifies the maximum number of ISLs and user ports, as well as
link distances and other configuration limitations. The supported configurations determine the
practical size of a SAN.
• Fabric services
Fabric services are distributed throughout the SAN to coordinate functions among all directors
in the fabric. A large SAN requires the management functions provided by high-end directors.
Some low-end directors have a limited capacity for expansion.
• FICON CUP
All HP FICON directors support CUP, which enable the mainframe to monitor and control the
FICON directors. HP recommends that CUP be configured on all FICON directors and switches.
NOTE: FICON director port statistics are gathered through CUP and recorded in the
mainframe SMF database (SMF Record Type 74 Subtype 7). If asked to perform Root Cause
Analysis on a FICON SAN, HP support will ask for RMF reports that include FICON director
records.
• Director interoperability
FICON fabrics must contain directors of the same series only. With rare exceptions, you cannot
mix director series in a fabric. For more information, see the following:
◦ “B-series FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 29)
◦ “C-series FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 46)
◦ “McDATA FICON directors and fabric rules” (page 63)
FICON directors
A director is identified by the number of ports and built-in redundancy.
• FICON director—A director-class switch with a high port count and a redundant architecture
with NSPOF. Individual components are hot swappable.
• FICON switch—An entry-level (or edge) switch with a low port count and limited or no
redundancy. This switch typically connects to peripheral devices in a location that does not
require a director-class switch. ISLs connect the FICON edge switch to a FICON director, and
the director connects to the mainframe.
NOTE: FICON directors and switches are generally referred to as directors, but the mainframe
configuration tools and files refer to them as switches.
FICON directors and switches must support the following:
12 FICON SAN design overview