HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.2 administrator guide (5697-0016, May 2009)

368 Using the FC-FC routing service
• FC router connected to a B-Series secured edge fabric
• FC router connected to a McDATA Open Mode 1 edge fabric
• FC router connected to a McDATA Fabric Mode edge fabric
• FC router connected to B-Series secured and nonsecured fabrics with EX_Port trunking enabled
• FC router interoperating with older FC routers (XPath 7.4.x and Fabric OS 5.1)
McDATA Enterprise OS switches cannot exist in the backbone fabric.
Integrated Routing
Integrated Routing is a licensed feature that allows 8-Gb/s ports to be configured as EX_Ports supporting
Fibre Channel routing. This license eliminates the need to add a B-Series Multi-Protocol Router Blade to the
HP StorageWorks DC SAN Backbone Director and HP StorageWorks DC04 SAN Director Switch, or use
the HP StorageWorks 400 Multi-Protocol Router for FCR purposes. Using 8-Gb/s ports for Fibre Channel
routing provides double the bandwidth for each FCR connection (when connected to another
8-Gb/s-capable port).
You need an Integrated Routing license for the following:
• HP StorageWorks DC SAN Backbone Director and HP StorageWorks DC04 SAN Director Switch
(8-Gb/s port blades)
• HP StorageWorks 8/40 SAN Switch
• HP StorageWorks 8/80 SAN Switch
You do not need a license for EX_Ports on the HP StorageWorks 400 Multi-Protocol Router or B-Series
Multi-Protocol Router Blade.
Enabling the Integrated Routing license and capability does not require a switch reboot.
For the HP StorageWorks DC SAN Backbone Director and HP StorageWorks DC04 SAN Director Switch,
if you do not have an Integrated Routing license, you cannot use EX_Ports on the 8-Gb/s port blades; you
can, however, use EX_Ports on the B-Series Multi-Protocol Router Blade without a license.
NOTE: You cannot use EX_Ports on the B-Series Multi-Protocol Router Blade and Integrated Routing in the
same chassis.
Fibre Channel routing concepts
Fibre Channel routing introduces the following concepts:
• Fibre Channel router (FC router)
A switch running the FC-FC routing service. See ”Supported platforms for Fibre Channel routing” on
page 367 for a list of platforms that can be FC routers.
• EX_Port, VEX_Port
An EX_Port and VEX_Port function similarly to an E_Port and VE_Port respectively, but terminate at the
switch and do not propagate fabric services or routing topology information from one edge fabric to
another. See Chapter 21, ”Configuring and monitoring FCIP extension services” on page 457 for
details about VE_Ports.
• Edge fabric
An edge fabric is a Fibre Channel fabric with targets and initiators connected through the supported
platforms by using an EX_Port or VEX_Port.
• Backbone fabric
A backbone fabric is an intermediate network that connects one or more edge fabrics. In a SAN, the
backbone fabric consists of at least one FC router and possibly a number of Fabric OS-based Fibre
Channel switches (see Figure 61 on page 371).
• Interfabric link (IFL)
The link between an E_Port and EX_Port, or VE_Port and VEX_Port, is called an interfabric link (IFL). You
can configure multiple IFLs from an FC router to an edge fabric.