Silkworm module types

[Ben Dehner]

We have an rp4400 connected to a Clariion disk array via Silkworm 2800. We are going to replace the Silkworms with 3800. In the 2800, if I do a "switchshow", all of my modules are listed as "sw", short-wave laser. In the 3800, the modules are listed as "id", which is "serial ID". I'm not sure what these module types are, how they are different from what we have, and (most important) if they will work with the existing FC adapters in the host.

[Stevan Beara]

hey ben,
if i understand it right you're looking for a difference between the GBICs that your 2800 uses, and the new 3800...basically the old modules are GBICs that are 1Gb/s speed...they are larger and slower than the SFP's (small form factor pluggables)that your 3800 will use...they are not physically nor operationally similar and are not interchangeable...

the listing you mentioned (id vs. sw) depends on your fabric OS version (OS of your switch)...even 2800 will report ports as 'id' with the newer releases (i'm running 2.6.1 in my lab and that's what they show up as)...

your hba's will be fine...only thing you will need to change are the cables as their connectors are either SC (that fit into GBIC type modules), or LC (that fit into the SFPs)...you will have to reference both your HBA and your switch to see the cable type you require (SC-SC, SC-LC, LC-LC)...as you're plugging them into 3800's it will be one of the last two (if the HBA is 1Gb than SC-LC, if it's 2Gb than LC-LC)...

hope this helps

stevan

[Uwe Zessin]

Ben, does this work on your switch?

fcswa2:admin> sfpshow
port 0: id (sw) Vendor: IBM Serial No: 53P147xxxxxxx

[Ben Dehner]

Thanks for the info. I'm aware of the difference between the older GBIC modules and the newer SFP modules. (And yes, we need to replace all of the SC-LC cables with LC-LC cables.) My confusion resulted from the "switchshow" display, because the core of the module -- GBIC or SFP -- is either an SW multi-mode laser or an LW single-mode laser. When I saw the "id" module type, this didn't tell me which of the two it was, and I wondered if it meant that the module was something different.

I wasn't familiar with "sfpshow", we didn't have it on the older switches. It shows the following:

Area 0: id (sw) Vendor: FINISAR CORP. ....

I assume this identifies the SFP as a "sw" module, which is what I wanted to confirm.