HP Mainframe Connectivity Design Guide

NOTE: Some 1 Gb/s CUs may not be able to autonegotiate with the 4 Gb/s or 2 Gb/s director
ports. If this occurs, you must configure the director ports to run at 1 Gb/s.
B-series 16 Gb/s and 8 Gb/s SFP+ transceivers do not support a speed of 1 Gb/s.
Model naming
The B-series FICON directors are typically called HP SAN, SAN Backbone, Core, or Director
switches. SAN Backbone, Core, and Director switches are core (enterprise-class) switches. SAN
switches are edge (entry-level or midrange) switches. The suffix -EL, V, or N identifies entry-level
switches.
The B-series Fibre Channel routers that support FICON are called HP 400 Multi-protocol Router
(400 MPR) and Multi-protocol Router Blade (MPR Blade). The 8 Gb SAN extension products are
called HP StorageWorks 1606 Extension SAN Switch and HP StorageWorks DC SAN Director
Multi-protocol Extension Blade.
The current HP model naming convention uses SNxxxxB for B-series Storage Networking switches
(SN indicates Storage Networking switch and B indicates B-series). The xxxx numbering is 8000
(Director Class) or 6000 (Fabric Class).
Director models
Table 3 (page 31) describes the B-series FICON directors supported by HP (8 Gb/s and 4 Gb/s
B-series FICON directors). Table 4 (page 31) describes the legacy B-series FICON directors.
HP supports all B-series FICON directors in a fabric if you:
• Use the firmware versions listed in Table 3 (page 31) and Table 4 (page 31). All FICON
directors in the same fabric or SAN must use the same firmware version. When updating
director firmware, you can use two successive director firmware versions temporarily in the
SAN.
• Follow the fabric rules. See “Fabric rules” (page 39).
For the latest information on supported B-series FICON directors and firmware versions, see the
HP SPOCK website at http://www.hp.com/storage/spock. You must sign up for an HP Passport
to enable access. On the left side of the home page, under Other Hardware, click Switches to
access the switch streams. The FICON switch streams are located at the bottom of the web page.
30 B-series FICON directors and fabric rules