ISS Technology Update, Volume 7 Number 5 - Newsletter

ISS Technology Update Volume 7, Number 5
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Figure 1-1. Port mapping for each VC-FC module installed in the ProLiant c7000 BladeSystem enclosure
The HP VC-FC module provides the following benefits:
• Server management is separated from LAN and SAN management. The SAN needs to be managed at the core switch only,
separate from BladeSystem enclosure management.
• Changing servers takes minutes instead of days, and servers can be added, replaced, and recovered without affecting SANs
or LANs.
• It is interoperable with multiple vendor fabrics (Brocade, McDATA, and Cisco).
• It does not consume a domain, thereby avoiding switch count scalability limit issues in a fabric and eliminating an additional
hop between switches.
• It reduces the number of cables and small form factor plug-ins (SFPs).
HP StorageWorks Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch using Access Gateway Mode
Access Gateway (AG) Mode is a software feature for p-Class and c-Class enclosures that can be enabled in Brocade
embedded switches. This feature is introduced in Brocade Fabric Operating System (FOS) v5.2.1b, and it does not require the
purchase of additional hardware or software beyond the Brocade-embedded switches themselves. After the AG Mode is
software-enabled, these switches act as simple port aggregators using NPIV technology. They use N_Port protocol to connect to
any vendor’s NPIV-compliant FC switch, and provide similar features as the VC-FC Module, except for the unique VC support
and manageability provided by the HP VC Manager software. Figure 1-2 shows the Brocade 4Gb SAN Switches for the c-
Class BladeSystem for a better comparison with the HP VC-FC Module, which works only in the c-Class enclosure.
The Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for the c-Class enclosure in AG Mode offers a maximum of 24 ports, with a maximum of 16
ports that connect to the blade server HBAs and a maximum of eight external ports that can be used as uplink N_Ports. In AG
Mode, all eight external ports act as N_Ports supporting NPIV protocol and can connect to any standard FC switch that
supports NPIV-compliant F_Ports. AG Mode, like HP VC-FC, does not consume a domain and, therefore, helps to avoid
exceeding domain count limits in large fabrics with multiple blade enclosures.