HP StoreEver MSL6480 Tape Library User and Service Guide Addendum (QU625-96016, October 2013)

Technology for data path port failover
The HP LTO-5 and LTO-6 Fibre Channel tape drives configure both ports with identical worldwide
names but only one port will connect to the fabric. By default the port that completes speed
negotiation first will become the active port. If the ports on the drive are connected to different
speed fabric the port connected to the highest speed fabric will typically complete speed negotiation
first. The MSL6480 uses the default behavior and does not allow selection of a preferred port.
Technology for control path failover
The HP LTO-5 and LTO-6 Fibre Channel tape drives use a technology called N-Port Identifier
Virtualization (NPIV), which is defined as part of the Fibre Channel standards maintained by the
INCITS/T11 working group (see clause 6) in the FC-LS-2 specification. NPIV allows a single physical
port to connect to a Fibre Channel switch multiple times using multiple node and port names.
Traditional bridged library control path
A typical connection for a Fibre Channel tape library using the drive to bridge commands to the
library controller in a two drive tape library is shown in Figure 7 (page 15).
Figure 7 Typical bridged library controller connection
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1. Internal connection
Technology for drive-assisted failover 15