Specifications

Chapter 5. Planning 127
5.3 SAN connectivity
SAN connectivity in the Power Systems compute nodes is provided by the
expansion cards. The list of SAN Fibre Channel (FC) adapters currently
supported by the Power Systems compute nodes is listed in Table 5-4. For more
details about the supported expansion cards, see 4.9, “I/O adapters” on page 99.
Table 5-4 Supported FC adapters
The SAN and Fibre Channel I/O modules are installed in the IBM Flex System
chassis. This installation includes SAN switch modules that provide integrated
switching capabilities and pass-through modules that make internal compute
node ports available to the outside.
Use SAN switches whenever possible, because you can use this configuration to
mix complex configuration and zoning settings inside the chassis or to integrate
with your existing SAN configuration.
Ensure that the external interface ports of the switches or pass-through modules
selected are compatible with the physical cabling used or planned to be used in
your data center. Also, ensure that the features and functions required in the
SAN are supported by the proposed switch modules or pass-through modules.
Detailed information about these modules is in Chapter 3, “Systems
management”, in IBM PureFlex System and IBM Flex System Products &
Technology, SG24-7984. The available switch and pass-through options are
listed in Table 5-5.
Table 5-5 SAN switch options for the chassis
Feature Code Description
1764 IBM Flex System FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter
Important: At the time of writing, the FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter and
FC5022 2-port 16Gb FC Adapter were not supported by the Power Systems
compute nodes.
Feature Code Description
3770 IBM Flex System FC5022 16Gb SAN Scalable Switch
3595 IBM Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch
3591 IBM Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru