HP-UX vPars 6.0 N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) - A brief overview

Introduction

The mission-critical converged infrastructure is the foundation for the next decade of computing. The newest line of

HP Integrity systems combines years of trusted HP Integrity resiliency with HP BladeSystem efficiencies. The

HP mission-critical Converged Infrastructure creates an ecosystem with four key objectives:

• Simplify and unify IT: with a common, modular architecture from x86 to Superdome 2

• Always-on resiliency: a secure and reliable infrastructure from CPU to solution

• Dynamic optimization: integrated management and virtualization to optimally scale resources

• Investment protection and stability: sustained innovation, decades of support life, and compelling value

Specifically, this document provides an introduction and description of the N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) feature

supported by HP-UX Virtual Partitions (vPars). A feature description, benefits and limitations, steps necessary to use the

feature, and some configuration recommendations are provided.

It is recommended that the HP-UX vPars version 6.0 Administrator Guide and Release Notes be read before

configuring vPars with NPIV.

Intended audience

This document is intended for system and storage administrators responsible for setting up and provisioning storage

for HP-UX vPars. Administrators should be familiar with HP-UX vPars and how to install operating systems and

applications on them.