Specifications

22 Getting Started with the McDATA Intrepid FICON Director
3.1 Planning recommendations
The following items should be considered during the installation planning phase of the
McDATA Intrepid FICON Directors:
򐂰 Which topology will be implemented?
– Switched point-to-point topology. For a more detailed explanation of this topology refer
to 1.3.1, “Switched point-to-point configuration” on page 6.
– Cascaded FICON Directors topology. For a more detailed explanation of this topology
refer to 1.3.2, “Cascaded FICON Director configuration” on page 8.
– Mix of both switched point-to-point and cascaded FICON Directors
򐂰 How many channels and control unit (CU) ports will be connected to each FICON
Director?
– The number of channels and CU ports to be connected to each Director depends on
the number of FICON channels on the server(s) and CU ports on the devices, as well
as the individual performance, availability, and growth requirements.
򐂰 How should the channels, CU ports, and/or Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) be distributed among
the FPM/UPM cards in the Director(s)?
– Each FICON Director layout should satisfy all availability, performance, and growth
requirements. Refer to 3.3, “IP addressing and connectivity” on page 23.
򐂰 Should the Switch IDs in the IOCP definitions and switch addresses in the FICON
Directors match?
– We recommend using the same IDs/addresses in both places to avoid any potential
errors that could be caused by having two different values.
򐂰 Should zoning be used to separate specific channels and CU ports from other connected
channels and CU ports?
– Zoning is recommended if there is a requirement to prevent random access to
confidential data (see 3.6, “Zoning” on page 30).
򐂰 Should the FICON Director(s) and the Enterprise Fabric Connectivity (EFC) Sever be
connected to a separate LAN or to the corporate network?
– The Director(s) and EFC Manage workstation should always be interconnected on a
separate LAN, known as the service LAN to isolate Director management traffic from
other IP traffic. However, if remote access is required to operate and maintain the
FICON Director(s), then we recommend that the EFC Sever be connected to the
corporate network via a second LAN adapter. Refer to 3.3, “IP addressing and
connectivity” on page 23.
򐂰 What are my fiber optic cabling requirements?
– Can the existing fiber optic cables, patch panels, and trunk cables be reused?
– Are Mode Conditioning Patch (MCP) cables and/or conversion kits required?
– Is there a link distance constraint?
Refer to 3.7, “Cables and connectors” on page 31, and 3.8, “FICON channel support for
zSeries and 9672 G5/G6 servers” on page 32 for more information.
Important: Zoning is highly recommended in a mixed environment with FICON and
FCP devices connected to the same Director. Protocol intermix is expected to be
available for zSeries servers during the first half of 2003.