HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.0.0 Features Overview (AA-RW1NA-TE, May 2005)

Standard features16
Distributed Management Server
The HP Fabric OS Distributed Management Server allows a SAN management application to
retrieve information and administer interconnected switches, servers, and storage devices. The
management server assists in the autodiscovery of switch-based fabrics and their associated
topologies.
A client of the management server can find basic information about the switches in the fabric
and use this information to construct topology relationships. The management server also
allows you to obtain certain switch attributes and, in some cases, modify them. For example,
you can register logical names identifying switches with the management server.
The management server provides several advantages for managing a Fibre Channel fabric:
• Applications can access the management server through an external Fibre Channel node
at the well-known address FFFFFAh. As a result, applications have access to information
about the entire fabric with minimal knowledge of the existing configuration.
• The system replicates the management server on every HP StorageWorks switch within a
fabric (Fabric OS 2.3.0 and later).
• The management server provides an unzoned view of the overall fabric configuration.
This view exposes the internal configuration of a fabric for management purposes; the
view contains interconnect information about switches and devices connected to the
fabric. Under normal circumstances, a device (typically an FCP initiator) queries the Name
Server for storage devices within its member zones. Because this limited view is not always
sufficient, the management server provides the application with a list of the entire Name
Server database.
NOTE: The management server includes a platform service, which you must enable (see the
HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 4.x procedures user guide for more information.) The platform
service is available only with Fabric OS 2.3.0 and later. If you start the management server
platform service on a fabric that contains any switches running earlier Fabric OS versions, the
management services will not be enabled.