HP 3PAR X9000 File Serving Software (IBRIX) Implementation Guide (QL226-96987, June 2013)

also work correctly for lower-speed HBAs, such as 4 Gb/2 Gb HBAs. For more information,
see the Fabric OS command Reference Manual supporting FOS 6.3.1a and the FOS release
notes.
In addition, some HP switches, such as the HP SN8000B 8-slot SAN backbone director switch,
the HP SN8000B 4-slot SAN director switch, the HP SN6000B 16 Gb FC switch, or the HP
SN3000B 16 Gb FC switch automatically select the proper fill-word mode 3 as the default
setting.
• McDATA switch or director ports should be in their default modes as G or GX-port (depending
on the switch model), with their speed setting permitting them to autonegotiate.
• Cisco switch ports that connect to HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage ports or host HBA ports should
be set to AdminMode = FX and AdminSpeed = auto port, with the speed set to auto negotiate.
Target Port Limits and Specifications
To avoid overwhelming a target port and ensure continuous I/O operations, observe the following
limitations on a target port:
• Maximum of 64 host server ports per HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage port, with a maximum total
of 1,024 host server ports per HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage.
• I/O queue depth on each HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage HBA model, as follows:
QLogic 2G: 497◦
◦ LSI 2G: 510
◦ Emulex 4G: 959
◦ HP 3PAR HBA 4G: 1638
◦ HP 3PAR HBA 8G: 3276 (HP 3PAR StoreServ 10000 and HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000
systems only)
• The I/O queues are shared among the connected host server HBA ports on a first-come,
first-served basis.
• When all queues are in use and a host HBA port tries to initiate I/O, it receives a target queue
full response from the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage port. This condition can result in erratic I/O
performance on each host server. If this condition occurs, each host server should be throttled
so that it cannot overrun the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage port's queues when all host servers
are delivering their maximum number of I/O requests.
NOTE: When host server ports can access multiple targets on fabric zones, the assigned
target number assigned by the host driver for each discovered target can change when the
host server is booted and some targets are not present in the zone. This situation may change
the device node access point for devices during a host server reboot. This issue can occur
with any fabric-connected storage, and is not specific to the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage.
Persistent Ports
NOTE: The Persistent Ports feature is supported only on HP 3PAR OS 3.1.2.
The Persistent Ports (or virtual ports) feature minimizes I/O disruption during an HP 3PAR Storage
online upgrade or node-down event. Currently, persistent ports are supported only with Fibre
Channel connections. Persistent Ports allows a Fibre Channel HP 3PAR Storage port to assume the
identity (port WWN) of a failed port while retaining its own identity. The solution uses the NPIV
feature for Fibre Channel. This feature does not work in direct-connect mode and is supported only
10 Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for Fibre Channel