Fibre Channel switch

[Adam Winebaugh]

Anyone,
I have a Prod SAN that i need to attach a SECONDARY 2800 silkworm 16 pt fibre switch to, to create a redundant connection. Would this install affect the connections of the fibre switch already in place? This will be on an separate fabric, so........ The original connections from the already existing switch should stay "up" while installing the new one correct?

[Torsten.]

Will this "new" switch be a "standalone" or directly connected to existing switches?

[Tim Nelson · Accepted solution]

If you are creating a secondary / dual fabric (no ISLs) then the initial installation of the switch with nothing connected to it will have not effect.

Once you start creating the redundancy then YES HW addresses/paths will change.

You need to map this out on paper before you start moving connections. Once you start moving things it will depend on how you confirgured your system devices and if you have any multi-path software.

List of items that you will do ( very high level ):
1) move your redundant connections from the array to the new switch.
2) move your redundant connections from the servers
3) cleanup the zones on the old switch, create the new zones on the new switch.

You WILL loose the old path connectivity while moving and configuring.

4) discover new paths on array, update masking, discover new paths on server(s), update server configs.

As I said, draw things out, and create your list of what needs to be done. Use a test server to practice your methods.

[Adam Winebaugh]

Tim,

Thanks for the info. I will get started on this immediately. Thanks again.