NPIV on StorageWorks 8/8 SAN Switch

[George Denyer_1]

Hi,

I have lately come upon several people who insist on what I believe to be a myth: that the Storage Works 8/8 SAN Switch does not support NPIV, and because of that a Virtual Connect FC module cant be connected to it.

The source of this seems to be the fact that the 8/8 switch doesnt support Access Gateway mode (which uses NPIV) unless all 24 ports are enabled, and the wording used by HP to say so.

On the FAQ for the 8/8 (http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/sanswitch88/qa.html) question 6 says "Q6. Does the HP StorageWorks 8/8 SAN Switch support N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)?
A6. Yes, a HP StorageWorks 8/8 SAN Switch with 24 enabled ports supports N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)." and then it goes on about Access Gateway mode.

As I understand it, the limitation applies when the 8/8 is the one doing the virtualization, as in Access Gateway Mode, not when another device connected to it is doing the virtualization, as in VC-FC.

Can anybody please tell me whether I'm right or wrong here? Can a Virtual Connect FC module be connected to a StorageWorks 8/8 SAN Switch?

Thanks,

George

[Stephen Kebbell · Accepted solution]

Hi,

just looked through my Brocade training notes. You're correct.
NPIV is enabled by default on all ports of the Brocade 300 switch (which is the HP 8/8 switch).
Just enter the command portcfgshow and it should show you the "NPIV Capability" status for each port. It should be set to ON.

For access gateway mode you would need all Ports enabled (as AG-mode sets the last 8 ports as N-Ports) But that's not what you need, so you can ignore that requirement.
Connecting your VC-FC module should be OK, as long as the port has NPIV enabled

Regards,
Stephen

[Uwe Zessin]

When you connect a VC-FC module to an FC switch, the VC-FC module is the "client" and the FC switch is the "server".

When you put an FC switch in AG mode, it becomes a "client" (with N_Ports) that is connect to other "server" switches.

[George Denyer_1]

Thanks Stephen and Uwe for your responses.

So, Uwe, would you say that the NPIV "server" functionality is always available on the StorageWorks 8/8 SAN Switch, and it's the "client" functionality that is restricted to 24 active ports configurations? Or would you say the "server" functionality is restricted?

[Uwe Zessin]

As long as the switch does not operate in AG mode, it acts as a "server" on all ports that have NPIV enabled. You can connect "end-nodes" (N_Ports) or other FC switches (E_Ports) or switches in AG mode (N_Ports) to it.


When the switch is put into AG mode it turns some of its ports into N_ports (that'll be the "client ports") which will be connected to other FC switches. The remaining ports will still work as "server ports" for the true end-nodes. I'm not sure if those ports still support NPIV so that you can "stack" that feature today.

[Stephen Kebbell]

AG Cascading is supported from FOS 6.1
You can have only one level of cascading, but can attach several "Edge-AGs" to one "Core-AG"
There are some other restrictions, but it is possible.
(zero points for this answer, please)

[George Denyer_1]

Thanks to everybody for your answers. I also got confirmation from a Brocade engineer that the limitation only applies to Access Gateway mode, not when an NPIV devices is connected to the switch.

[George Denyer_1]

NPIV is available no matter how many ports are active. It's only the Access Gateway mode that is restricted to 24 active port configurations.