HP Mainframe Connectivity Design Guide

6 FICON SAN fabric connectivity and director
interoperability rules
This chapter describes FICON SAN fabric connectivity and director interoperability rules.
FICON SAN fabric connectivity rules
This section describes FICON SAN fabric connectivity rules.
FICON director port interfaces
The FICON director port interfaces are as follows:
• E_Port—Provides switch-to-switch connectivity for ISLs
• F_Port—Provides fabric-attached connectivity for CHPIDs and CUs (storage ports)
• VE_Port—Virtual E_Port used with a GbE port for FCIP tunneling
The following Fibre Channel port types are not used by FICON:
• EX_Port—Connects a Fibre Channel router to an edge fabric
• FL_Port—Provides fabric-aware public loop connectivity with 24-bit Fibre Channel addressing
capability
• FCAL_Port—Provides private loop connectivity for 8-bit Fibre Channel addressable devices
• VEX_Port—Virtual EX_Port used for Fibre Channel routing over a VE_Port
FICON device port interfaces
CHPIDs and CUs use N_Ports to connect to the fabric or to connect directly to each other.
Fiber optic cables
All 16 Gb/s, 8 Gb/s, 4 Gb/s, and 2 Gb/s components use industry-standard LC connectors for
fiber optic cable connections; all 1 Gb/s components use industry-standard SC connectors. Adapter
cables are available with SC connectors on one end and LC connectors on the other end.
Some fiber optic cable installations require SC or LC duplex couplers to couple the cable connector
ends (for example, if you use wall jacks or connect to existing installed cables). HP supports the
use of duplex couplers, provided that you do not exceed the overall cable loss budget for that
cable segment.
For cable part numbers, see the director QuickSpecs at http://www.hp.com/go/QuickSpecs.
Table 32 (page 72) describes the rules for fiber optic cable connections.
FICON SAN fabric connectivity rules 71