HP Mainframe Connectivity Design Guide

7 Mainframe rules
This chapter describes the mainframe configuration rules for FICON SANs.
The platform configuration rules in this chapter apply to FICON SANs that comply with the following
fabric guidelines:
• “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)
Before implementation, contact an HP storage representative for support information for specific
configurations, including the following:
• Mainframe model
• Storage system firmware
• FICON SAN attachment
• Third-party storage products
NOTE: Shared mainframes in FICON SAN fabric environments can include HP storage
products and third-party storage products. For an explanation of support services for third-party
products, see “Heterogeneous storage system support” (page 118).
This guide describes FICON SANs. Mainframes also support other types of channels included in
the same Sysplex with FICON SANs. Information about FCP CHPIDs is included with each channel
card and system type in this section. For more information about mainframe FCP connectivity, see
“zLinux connectivity overview” (page 91) and “zLinux FCP support rules for HP storage” (page
93). Details about other channel types are not provided in this guide.
Channel cards
The channel card is the hardware device that connects the mainframe server to the fabric.
S/390 channel cards
The IBM S/390 9672 G5 processor and IBM S/390 9672 G6 processor use the 9672 FICON
channel card, which includes a single port with an SC connector and supports a link speed of 1
Gb/s.
zSeries channel cards
There are five types of zSeries channel cards, each of which occupies a slot in the zSeries I/O
cage:
• FICON—Includes two PCI cards, each of which has a single port with an SC duplex connector
(two ports total). Supports a link speed of 1 Gb/s and a maximum of 32 concurrent I/O
operations per port. FCP mode is not supported.
• FICON Express—Includes two PCI cards, each of which has a single port with an LC duplex
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connector (two ports total). Supports a link speed of 1 Gb/s or 2 Gb/s and a maximum of
32 concurrent I/O operations per port. FCP mode is not supported.
• FICON Express 2—Includes two PCI cards, each of which has two ports with an LC duplex
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connector (four ports total). Supports a link speed of 1 Gb/s or 2 Gb/s and a maximum of
64 concurrent I/O operations per port. FCV mode is not supported.
• FICON Express 4—Includes two PCI cards, each of which has one or two ports with an LC
duplex connector (two or four ports total, depending on the model number). Supports a link
86 Mainframe rules