Product data

26 PowerVM Migration from Physical to Virtual Storage
2.4 Virtual Fibre Channel and N_Port ID virtualization
N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) is a technology that allows multiple logical
partitions to access independent physical storage through the same physical
Fibre Channel adapter. Each partition is identified by a pair of unique worldwide
port names, enabling you to connect each partition to independent physical
storage on a SAN. Unlike virtual SCSI, only the client partitions see the disk. The
Virtual I/O Server acts only as a pass-through managing the data transfer
through the POWER Hypervisor™.
NPIV is supported at certain minimum hardware configurations and software
levels. Refer to the requirements that follow; the publication IBM PowerVM
Virtualization Managing and Monitoring, SG24-7590; and the latest Virtual I/O
Server documentation for more information.
NPIV is supported in PowerVM Express, Standard, and Enterprise Editions.
POWER6 processor-based servers require a minimum of one of the following
items:
򐂰 8 GB Fibre Channel adapter Feature Code 5735
򐂰 An NPIV capable SAN switch:
– A Brocade SAN switch at firmware level 5.3.0 or later
– A CISCO MDS 9000 SAN with the optional NPIV licensed feature installed
POWER6 Blade systems require a minimum of one of the following I/O cards:
򐂰 Emulex 8 Gigabit Fibre Card Feature Code 8240
򐂰 QLogic 8 Gigabit Fibre Card Feature Code 8271
򐂰 QLogic 8 Gigabit Fibre Card + 1 Gigabit Ethernet Feature Code 8242
JS12 and JS22 Blades support only the CFFh adapter, and JS23 and JS43
support the CIOv adapters.
In addition, there are some restrictions on SAN switches and firmware levels.
Check with your IBM support representative for the currently supported levels.
To enable NPIV, assign the physical NPIV-capable Fibre Channel adapter to a
Virtual I/O Server and connect virtual Fibre Channel adapters on the client
partition to virtual Fibre Channel adapters on the Virtual I/O Server.