Looking for a step by step checklist to change fibre switches

[Steve Post]

First off. I post it here at HP because honestly I like these forums a lot. I should put this in at EMC's if I could figure out how to get into it.


I have two rp4440 boxes running hpux11.23 hooked to an EMC CX300 disk array with Navisphere and PowerPath. They are hooked together via two fibre switches. I need to replace the two fibre switches with later, more supported switches. I am looking for a step by step process to slowly put the new switches in.


The rest of this is just more of my rambling.

There used to be a nice program that would make the checklist for you at the PowerEMC website. But it was removed in 2010. It was replace with NOTHING?

The old switch: brocade silkworm 3250, EMC name DS-8B3.
the new switch: brocade 300, EMC name Brocade 300.

I have 3 plans that will all fail.

Plan 1: Put in one of the new switches as a third switch. Hook up only the test-rp4440 computer to it. Have EMC CX300 see it.....somehow???

Plan 2: The instructions in the box say to plug it all in and run a special program that does stuff. The program will read my mind and magically set it up properly???? I'm pretty sure this program will burp on something.

Plan 3: The instructions from the manuals are too detailed. WAY too detailed. As a result it covers stuff that has no affect on what I am doing. It will take too long to weed out the additional data. I'm worried that I would weed out some tiny piece that will be a big gotcha.

So back to my question: looking for step by step process to replace fibre switches.

[Steve Post]

A bit more information:
1. The new switch is Brocade EMC DS300B.
2. The quick start guide is only ONE PAGE?!
3. The main EMC site powerlink.emc.com is DEAD with a nice old, 404 error? I hope that gets fixed soon.

I think I need to find the "Web Tools Administrator's Guide" from EMC, when it is alive again.

I found an EZSwitchSEtup Administrator's Guide 53-1001344-03. But I don't know if it applies to the switch I have. THAT guide is over 60 pages. THAT guide has steps to walk through. I sure hope it applies.

I see I have 2 fabrics with one switch in each fabric. I would probably set up one of the two new switches as a third fabric. I would unplug parts of the old switches to send a zone-path-whatever through this third switch. But I don't know if the EMC would freak out by seeing 3 switches and 3 fabrics, when it expects 2. I also would lose some of the paths from the hosts to the LUNS because to wire up a new switch, I have to unplug fibre cable from the older, PRODUCTION switches.

[Steve Post]

OK. still no answer from anyone. I will continue to try to answer my own question. Somebody feel like adding notes? Well this is a forum. That is fine by me.

Here my plan so far.
altunix - my test rp4440 box for developers running hpux11.23
prdunix - my production rp4440 box running hpux11.23

Run through the Brocade EZsetup to give the switches ip addresses. This will let me start to configure them from my PC. I will have to use a laptop with a network connection and a serial port. I will have NO fibre hooked in yet. Start planning for the downday change. If it is possible, setup the zones in anticipation of the downday.

On my downday, my maintenance day.
- shutdown applications on my two unix boxes.
- vgchange -a n all of the EMC volume groups
- pull spB-port0 fibre from port 0, bottom switch
- pull altunix-HBA from port 1, bottom switch
- run powermt commands to have the system properly see that connection gone on RP4440 boxes.
- this is where I am worried about the impact
- reboot to make sure it all is still fine with less connections.
Yes. At this point I no longer have 4 fibre paths between RPboxes and EMC CX300 LUNs.

- run through configuring newbox with the altunix-HBA and spBport0 fibre
- run through configuring the new connections in Navisphere
- run through powermt command on altunix to see the new connections
- reboot altunix and produnix with the new setup

One month later.
Reconfigure it all to use just the new switches. Make it look like the original configuration.

I have a set of Questions:
---Can I have CX300 see and use THREE fabrics instead of two? how about 4 fabrics?
---Impact of Powerpath when the number of fibre paths change from 4 to 3 for each LUN?
---Will CX300 start to fault because because one of the 4 paths went away?
---Will CX300 start to fault because it sees a different brocade switch?

I found that the EMC site is fine by the way. I was my browser of course.
I wrote a lot of stuff here. I'm sure SOME of my plans must be bad. Any response??? hello??

[Mohammed Faiz]

I don't think anyone's intentionally ignoring you :)
It's just SAN switching and "normal" networking are usually different areas. But keep posting it's an interesting read :)

[Steve Post]

done.