rx2660 and Fiber Channel HBA

[ItaniumBob]

Hi, I just learned that we need to connect a Fiber Channel device to an HP Integrity rx2660 we have. I am hoping somebody can give me some suggestions/guidance to navigate the maze of hardware terms and requirements. This is the quick spec sheet for the rx2660 server:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12698_na/12698_na.PDF

The only available slot in the server is a PCI-X slot and the only supported PCI-X Fiber Channel HBAs listed are: AB378B (single channel) and AB379B (dual channel).

The server is running Windows Server 2003 Itanium. My concern is the lack of support for Server 2003 for these devices. Support is listed here:

http://www.hp.com/products1/serverconnectivity/storagesnf2/4gbfibre/specifications/index.html

What confuses me is the Server 2003 row. It shows no Server 2003 support for AB378B (single channel) but there is for AB379B (dual channel). Am I reading that correctly? But if I click on drivers, there are only files for HP-UX. Why are there no drivers for Server 2003? If I install it via HP-UX will I see it in Server 2003 and be able to use connected devices in Server 2003?

Also am I limited to only the devices shown on the quick spec sheet for Fiber Channel HBAs? Can I use any QLogic PCI-X device? QLogic.com has several PCI-X devices but I am concerned they won't work on rx2660.

Thanks for any guidance!

[Sameer_Nirmal]

In the QuickSpecs, there is a separate table for Windows 2003 supported I/O cards. I see supported cards are AB429A, AD167A, AD168A besides AB379B. AB378B is not supported on Windows 2003.

[Torsten.]

Does your system have PCIe or PCIX slots?

[ItaniumBob]

Thanks for the responses. I have a combo card-cage but the only available slot is PCI-X.

After reviewing the quick specs I do see that the PCI-X FC HBA cards shown to have Windows Server support are AB429A, AD167A, and AD168A. However when I go to http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html and look for drivers for AB429A, the device is not found. This makes me weary to use AB429A.

However both AD167A and AD168A have a very complete driver listing. But still, the only Itanium driver for these devices is Windows Server 2008 (not 2003 and not 2008 R2). I am unable to find Itanium Server 2003 drivers for these two devices. This makes no sense to me because this page clearly shows that both of these FC HBAs support Windows Server 2003.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c00598189〈=en&cc=us&taskId=101&prodSeriesId=3185350&prodTypeId=12169

Again, I really REALLY appreciate any help. You guys are life savers!

[Sameer_Nirmal]

I could able to get to BSC for AB429A through the download web-link mentioned. The drives are there on BSC.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNameId=3185351〈=en&cc=us&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=3185350

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNameId=1833540〈=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=3185350&taskId=135

[ItaniumBob]

Thanks. The drivers website was not working for AB429A earlier today -- strange.

Anyway, none of those drivers pages have Itanium drivers for Windows Server 2003. Is there another driver on that page that will work for Windows Server 2003 Itanium edition?

Thanks!

[Sameer_Nirmal · Accepted solution]

The driver is called Storport. The release notes are well described and says
"STORport Driver installation with HP Smart Component requires a minimum Windows Server 2003 SP2 with KB932755. Apply the Microsoft STORport update (KB932755) before installing or upgrading to this version of the STORport driver."

There are 2 type of drivers SCSIport and Storport on Windows 2003. But only Storport is supported on Windows Server 2003, IA64 SP2.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=3185350&prodNameId=3185351&swEnvOID=1060&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=co-66896-2

[Sameer_Nirmal]

The attached document is also a useful reference.

[ItaniumBob]

I see, thanks! Basically I was looking for "Itanium" and not "64-bit Edition". This answers my questions!