FW 05.01.00 and SW 07.01.00 HP StorageWorks SAN High Availability Planning Guide (AA-RS2DC-TE, June 2003)

Introduction to HP Fibre Channel Products
32 SAN High Availability Planning Guide
Product Features
In addition to the characteristics and performance features described in this
chapter, HP-managed directors and switches also provide a variety of:
■ Connectivity features.
■ Security features.
■ Serviceability features.
Connectivity Features
Directors, switches, and the associated HAFM and Product Manager applications
support the following Fibre Channel connectivity features:
■ Any-to-any connectivity — Director and switch software configures
hardware routing tables for each source port to provide any-to-any port
connectivity. Subject to user-defined restrictions such as port blocking and
zoning, directors and switches define the destination port with which a source
port is allowed to communicate, and provide any-to-any port connectivity. In
addition, directors and switches provide connectivity for both FCP and IBM
FICON devices.
■ Extended distance support — Through the use of repeaters, any director or
switch port can be configured for extended distance operation. By setting a
port’s buffer-to-buffer credit (BB_Credit) value to 60, the port can transmit
data up to 100 kilometers at 1 Gbps or 50 kilometers at 2 Gbps.
■ Port blocking — System administrators can block or unblock any director or
switch port through the HAFM application. Blocking a port prevents an
attached device from logging in to the product or communicating with any
attached device. A blocked port continuously transmits an offline sequence
(OLS).
■ Zoning — System administrators can partition attached devices into
restricted-access zones. Devices in the same zone can recognize and
communicate with each other through switched port-to-port connections.
Devices in separate zones cannot recognize and communicate with each other.
■ Broadcast and multicast support — Directors and switches support
transmission of a Fibre Channel frame to all attached N_Ports (broadcast), or
transmission of a Fibre Channel frame to a user-specified group of attached
N_Ports (multi-cast).