VC FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module - Maximum Device Bay/Server Connections (Ports X1-4)

[sgunelius]

I've got a fully populated c7000 G3 enclosure (OA 4.97) with (2) VC FlexFabric-20/40 F8 modules (4.85) in Interconnect Bays 1 & 2.  Each VCFF module has (1) 40GbE QSFP Network uplink (Q1.1) and (1) 8Gb SFP FC/FCoE uplink (X1) to a Cisco Nexus ToR switch.

We recently increased the number of BL460c Gen8-10 requiring FC/FCoE connectivity from 11 to 13 in this enclosure.  The 12th server's profile shows Linked status for network and Logged In status for FC connection on both VCFF modules, but while the 13th server's profile shows Linked status for network, it shows Not Logged In for FC connection.

Is anyone aware of a 12-server max limit for communicating via the FC uplink on the VCFF-20/40 F8 module?  Could this be specific to the X1-4 SFP ports on the module?

We're using the HPE B-series 8Gb Shortwave Fibre Channel 1 Pack SFP+ Transceiver (AJ716B) in Port X1, connected via OM3 LC/LC patch cords to Cisco 8-Gbps Fibre Channel shortwave SFP+, LC connector (DS-SFP-FC8G-SW) in the Nexus switches.

I forgot to add that we've had a case open with HPE's Virtual Connect support team and they're adamant there's no concurrent connection limitation for FC/FCoE, though I can shutdown another "Logged In" server and the 12th server will change status to "Logged In".

Thank you.

[support_s]

System recommended content:

1. HPE Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module

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[AmRa]

The Virtual Connect FlexFabric module works by first converting FCoE traffic from multiple Flex Fabric Adapter ports to native Fibre Channel and then aggregating it over a single N-port uplink through the use of N_port_ID virtualization (NPIV). NPIV allows multiple distinguishable identities (multiple port WWNs or port IDs) over a single N-port connection. All Fibre Channel SAN switch vendors have support for NPIV in their latest firmware release. By conforming to the NPIV standard, SAN equipment interoperability simplified. The Virtual Connect FlexFabric Module can aggregate traffic from up to 255 physical and virtual servers per Fibre Channel uplink port and up to 255 virtual server connections per single downlink port.

The 5900AF-to-Nexus subscriptionis limited by the current Cisco NX software limitations, the ratio can go upto:

1.25:1 with the Nexus 5500 series (can support a maximum of 8ports per port-channel when carrying FCoE traffic)

2.5:1with Nexus 5000 series(can support a maximum of 4ports per port-channel when carrying FCoE traffic).

The server-to-VC uplink ratio is adjustable and can go up to:

1.6:1 with the VC Flex-10/10D Module (10 FCoE ports max)

4:1withthe VC FlexFabric Module (4 FCoE ports max)

2:1 with the VC FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module (8 FCoE ports max)

For more information please refer FCoE Cookbook for HP Virtual Connect

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=c03808925

[Mark-S]

Sounds like this issue is occurring with 12 Steering entries. 

Effects FlexFabric 10/24, FlexFabric 20/40, VC-FC 8/20 and VC-FC 4/20 modules

Review this Customer Notice.  Customer Notice 

Regards-