Storage Area Network Configurations for RA8000/ESA12000 on Windows NT-Intel Application Note
SAN Configurations for RA8000/ESA12000 on Windows NT - Intel
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SAN Configuration 4 Server/Storage Connectivity Rules
• Any mix of Windows NT Intel Servers - standalone or clustered, configured for HA or non-HA,
and any mix of Multiple-bus Failover and Transparent Failover storage systems using these
maximums. Assumes all servers configured for HA, 2 FC switches and 2 FC HBA’s per server
for HA, an even storage port count, and no EBS ports.
• 16-port FC Switches, total number of switch ports available for Servers and Storage is 60
Maximum Server Connectivity,
Up to 26 Servers and 2 Storage Systems (8 Active storage ports)
[(64 – 4 ISL ports – 8 storage ports)/2 = 26 servers]
Maximum of 16 servers configured on any one controller pair
Maximum of 8 servers configured on any one active controller host port
Or Maximum Storage Capacity,
Up to 12 Storage Systems (48 Storage Ports) and 6 HA Servers
[64 – 4 ISL ports – 12 server ports = 48 storage ports]
Maximum of 4 active controller host ports per FC HBA
• 8-port FC Switches, total number of switch ports available for Servers and Storage is 28
Maximum Server Connectivity,
Up to 12 Servers and 1 Storage System (4 storage ports)
[(32 – 4 ISL ports – 4 storage ports)/2 = 12 server ports]
Maximum of 8 servers configured on any active controller host port
Or Maximum Storage Capacity,
Up to 6 Storage Systems (22 storage ports) and 3 HA Servers
[32 – 4 ISL ports – 6 server ports = 22 storage ports]
Maximum of 4 active controller host ports per FC HBA
• For dual path high availability, HSG80 controller pairs are configured in Multiple-Bus Failover
Mode, for single path servers (non-HA) controllers are configured in Transparent Failover Mode
• EBS Integration Supported
SAN Configuration 4 Fabric Rules
• Total Switches = 4, 16-port or 8-port
• Maximum Switch Hops (nominal) = 1 in each path
• Maximum Switch Hops (worst case ) = 1 in each path
• Maximum number of ISLs between the two switch in each path = 15
• Maximum Distances:
Up to 500 meters per FC cable segment, 1.5 km total server to storage when using 50 micron
multi-mode fibre optic cable. Refer to general Fabric rules for other cable types
Up to 10 km per inter-switch link, 11 km total server to storage when using 9 micron single
mode fibre optic cable and long wave GBICs
SAN Configuration 4 Notes
• Each FC Switch within a path must have a unique domain number (Domain_ID)
• Uses Compaq Secure Path for Windows NT (minimum version 2.2)
• One instance of the Secure Path Manager is required for each standalone server or each pair of
clustered servers. One instance can control 2 paths on up to 4 storage systems. All instances can
be run from a single Client if desired
• Each server is configured for access to two paths and two controller ports, using either Port 1 of
both controllers or Port 2 of both controllers
• For servers accessing controller host port 1 use LUN number and offset values in the range of 0 –
99, for controller host port 2 use number and offset values in the range 100 -199
• Depending on the specific number of servers and storage systems utilized in this SAN
configuration, it is possible to exceed the available total number of connection name entries in a
storage system. (See Windows NT Server/Storage Rules). This situation can be avoided by using