HP StorageWorks HSG80 ACS Solution Software V8.8 for Sun Solaris Installation and Configuration Guide (AA-RV1RA-TE, March 2005)

FC Configuration Procedures
161HSG80 ACS Solution Software V8.8 for Sun Solaris Installation and Configuration Guide
As indicated earlier, the complexity of a configuration can increase in direct
proportion to the number of components added to the Fibre Channel storage
network. While switches provide a great deal of flexibility and scalability of
storage access and sharing, they also tend to make transparent the path from
server to storage.
Note: Take the time to plan your configuration, test the portions of it and record the
various connections and paths.
You can extend the fabric’s capability by adding more subsystems, more
switches, or more servers. Adding switches is probably the easiest way to extend
the fabric’s capability. To add a switch, connect it to the existing fabric.
In a fabric configuration of cascaded switches, there is only one principal switch.
If there are two separate switch configurations there will be two principal switches
and care must be taken when integrating the two switch configurations.
The most common problem encountered when adding a switch to the fabric is
domain overlap, especially when interconnecting old (StorageWorks Fibre
Channel) switches and new (StorageWorks SAN) switches. Every switch in a
domain must have a unique domain ID. Refer to the documentation that came
with your switch for more information on changing domain IDs and cascading
switches.
To connect a server or a switch to another switch, insert the Fibre Channel cables
into the gigabit interface converters (GBICs) that reside in each port of the switch.
In summary, connections between switches are similar to connections between
server and switch, with the added ability of adding more switching capability
and/or more storage.
Fibre Channel Access/Transport Paths
In a fibre loop, a server’s target is specified by the controller’s ports. These ports
have Physical Addresses (PA) and in a loop that is arbitrated, the ports are called
Arbitrated Loop, Physical Addresses (ALPAs). Since all servers and storage
systems connected to a loop share the PA, it is important that every port on the
loop have a unique ALPA.