ISL Configuration

[Amr Mostafa Sadek]

Hello Team,

We have a customer who have got an existing SAN environment. They use 2 HP Storageworks 4/16 san switches for connecting their HP servers, stoage and tape library.
Zoning is configured on these switches because the environment contains hp-ux and windows.
The switches are already fully populated.

Now, they purchased new servers and a new storage, along with 2 HP storageworks 2/8V san switches.

They requested to make both new and old systems in a single fabric, to enable new servers to communicate with the old storage and library, and vice versa.

Therefore, we have the option of connecting the new switches with the old ones to "extend" the switch ports (making it as 2*24 ports switches).

The question is; is it supported to connect a 2Gb port to a 4Gb port to configure ISL? i know that it would slow down the whole system to 2Gb but is it possible to have such configuration?
And what about current zoning configuration? Will it stay on the 16 ports switches or would it be gone and we would re-configure that again?

Thanks a lot in advance for your great support guys and i wish you all the best.

Sadek.

[IBaltay · Accepted solution]

Hi,
yes and the port speed should be hardset to 2Gb on both sides. The zoning configuration will automaticaly replicate after the new switches joining the existing fabrics...

[Amr Mostafa Sadek]

Thanks a lot for your fast reply. Great answer. So now the port speeds should be manually configured to 2Gb on all switches.
Great :)

[AWilliams_1]

Just set the ISL port on the 4Gb switch to 2Gb and leave the other ports as they are. Make sure you clear the config on the 'new' switches before plugging them in so that you dont end up with zoning clashes. Also ensure you set the domain ID to something different to the existing switches.

[Amr Mostafa Sadek]

I want to make something clear.
I will set the whole 16port workign switch to 2Gbps (SwitchCfgSpeed 2)
Connect a FC LC Cable to the new 8 ports switch.
Power up the new switch.
Now, I am assuming the new switch will acquire a new Domain ID and will be joining the fabric. Or should i manualy change it before connecting to the other switch?

I am trying to make this point clear before i do something that will segment the fabric!

Thanks a lot,
Sadek.

[TechHelp24]

--->>> I am assuming the new switch will acquire a new Domain ID and will be joining the fabric.

NO!
--->>> Or should i manualy change it before connecting to the other switch?

correct, you mst set manually the DID before this switch join the Fabric. Each Switch must have a Unique DID.

BTW. You wrote here,
--->>>...HP storageworks 2/8V...

2/8V is the Brocade 3200 Value Line.

See this DOC here

http://community.brocade.com/home/docs/DOC-1643

Please note, FOS 3.x is no longer / or anly with restriction supported with some 6.x Release.

[Steven Clementi]

"I will set the whole 16port workign switch to 2Gbps (SwitchCfgSpeed 2)"

You do not need to set ALL of the ports to 2GB. You probably do not even need to set any ports to 2GB... but as a precaution, we hard set the ISL port(s) to the highest supported speed so that it does not need to negotiate.

So only 1 port per switch needs to be set to 2GB. (or 2 if you have multiple ISL's)


Steven

[Amr Mostafa Sadek]

Thanks a lot guys, it worked perfectly.
Just setting the port in the 4Gbps switch to 2Gbps and changing the Domain ID and enabling the switch.

[Amr Mostafa Sadek]

working as mentioned above.