EVA iSCSI add or FC4-16IP blade for Silkworm 48000

[T Downing]

We are looking at the possibility of adding iSCSI to our environment for some lower priority boxes that need access to the SAN. Since we have 6 8100's and growing I have been looking at a pair of FC4-16IP blades for our Silkworm 48000's. One thing I am not found the answer to yes it if we bought these blades would we still need the EVA iSCSI kits or would the systems that are on iSCSI still have access to the EVA even if they are only connected via FC. I have dealt with iSCSI very little so how it and FC work together is a little of a mystery to me at this point.

[IBaltay]

Hi, the q15/a15 is on EVA iSCSI solution offering:
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/eva8100/qa.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#15

there is a link to the HP StorageWorks EVA iSCSI Connectivity Option - Overview & Features there:
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/evaiscsiconnect/index.html

[IBaltay]

in the link above there is a very usefull instuctive iSCSI video covering all the aspects from the design, HW up to the SW components

[T Downing]

Thanks, I have watched it in the past and agree it does a good job of explaining how it integrates with the EVA. It does not really answer the question if it is needed if you have access to a iSCSI FC switch. I found another Qlogic document that talks about it when compared to a standalone switch or director blade, which pretty much said you can use one or the other.

[IBaltay · Accepted solution]

Hi,
here are the Brocade
General iSCSI and Brocade FC4-16IP iSCSI Blade FAQs:
http://www.brocade.com/products/extension/FAQ1.jsp

Q: What type of iSCSI functionality is supported by the Brocade FC4-16IP iSCSI Blade?
A: This product adds iSCSI-FC gateway functionality to the Brocade 48000 Director, translating iSCSI traffic to Fibre Channel traffic. Using the Brocade FC4-16IP Blade, an iSCSI initiator (server) can access a Fibre Channel storage device. The iSCSI initiators can either be directly connected to the Ethernet ports on the iSCSI Blade or across an IP network. The Fibre Channel targets can be connected directly to the Fibre Channel ports on the Brocade FC4-16IP Blade, to the Fibre Channel ports on the Brocade 48000 Director, or across the Fibre Channel fabric.

Resume:
it seems to be 2 separate options:
a)Brocade FC4-16IP Blade with EVA being fabric connected
b)LAN switches and EVA mpx 100/100b iSCSI/FC gateways
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01376198/c01376198.pdf