Virtual Connect FlexFabric to SAN - migrating SAN data

[chuckk281]

Terri had a SAN update question:

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Customer has 2-enclosure VC domain 3.18 attaching to a single 4GB Brocade switch which attaches to an old SAN. They’d like to have VC FlexFabric attaching to both the existing Brocade switch and a new DCX  with a new SAN attached.

Note: The customer is aware he should have dual SAN fabrics. But for now it’s a single SAN switch per fabric. And there is only the embedded CNA for the G7 blades and 2 x VC FlexFabric modules in icbay 1 & 2.

Each VC FlexFabric can use x1 & x2 uplink ports. Currently only the x1 uplinks are being used.

My proposal is to create a SAN_A_old for icbay 1 x1 and SAN_A_new for icbay 1 x2 and repeat for icbay 2. Or because path redundancy is not an issue it could be both icbay 1 x1 & 2 going to SAN_Old, and icbay 2 x1&2 going to SAN_new.

The old SAN switch and new SAN switch are not connected – not in the same fabric. So if one physical FlexFabric is going to connect to both switches, each will need to have their own logical VC SAN fabric configured

The goal is to get the data migrated.

Pros and cons of the two options?

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Input from Dan:

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As long as you are not overly concerned about redundancy of the Fabrics at the enclosure level, I would do the second option you mentioned.

Have the left side of VC connect to only the OLD SAN and then have the right side connect to only the NEW SAN.

Then you can easily wire both SANs to any host in order to migrate the data.

When you are done you simply move the left side connections to the new SAN and you don’t need to change the VC config.

Aside from perhaps renaming the SAN Fabric so it makes more sense.

The main Con here is redundancy.

The Pro is path selection is easier because you are doing less pinning by having all the connections to a particular SAN on the same side.

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Any other comments or suggestions?