Document revision date: 30 March 2001

A major benefit of OpenVMS is its support of a wide range of interconnects and protocols for network configurations and for OpenVMS Cluster System configurations. This chapter describes OpenVMS Alpha support for Fibre Channel as a storage interconnect for single systems and as a shared storage interconnect for multihost OpenVMS Cluster systems.

The following topics are discussed:

• Overview of Fibre Channel ( Section 7.1)
• Fibre Channel configuration requirements and restrictions ( Section 7.2)
• Example configurations ( Section 7.3)
• Fibre Channel addresses, WWIDs, and device names ( Section 7.4)
• Fibre Channel tape support ( Section 7.5)
• Using the AlphaServer console for configuring Fibre Channel ( Section 7.6)
• Setting up an HSG for use with OpenVMS ( Section 7.7)
• Creating a cluster with a shared Fibre Channel system disk ( Section 7.8)
• Online reconfiguration ( Section 7.9)

For information about multipath support for Fibre Channel configurations, see Chapter 6.

Fibre Channel is an ANSI standard network and storage interconnect that offers many advantages over other interconnects. Its most important features are described in Table 7-1.

Table 7-1 Fibre Channel Features

Feature	Description
High-speed transmission	1.06 gigabits per second, full duplex, serial interconnect (can simultaneously transmit and receive 100 megabytes of data per second)
Choice of media	OpenVMS support for fiber-optic media.
Long interconnect distances	OpenVMS support for multimode fiber at 500 meters per link and for single-mode fiber up to 100 kilometers per link.
Multiple protocols	OpenVMS support for SCSI--3. Possible future support for IP, 802.3, HIPPI, ATM, IPI, and others.
Numerous topologies	OpenVMS support for switched FC (highly scalable, multiple concurrent communications) and for multiple switches. Possible future support for mixed arbitrated loop and switches.

Currently, the OpenVMS implementation supports:

• Single FC switch topology
• Multiple FC switches (fabric)
• Multimode fiber-optic media, at distances of up to 500 meters per link
• Single-mode fiber-optic media for interswitch links (ISLs) at distances up to 100 kilometers

Figure 7-1 shows a logical view of a switched topology. The FC nodes are either Alpha hosts, or storage subsystems. Each link from a node to the switch is a dedicated FC connection. The switch provides store-and-forward packet delivery between pairs of nodes. Concurrent communication between disjoint pairs of nodes is supported by the switch.

Figure 7-1 Switched Topology (Logical View)

Figure 7-2 shows a physical view of a Fibre Channel switched topology. The configuration in Figure 7-2 is simplified for clarity. Typical configurations will have multiple Fibre Channel interconnects for high availability, as shown in Section 7.3.4.

Figure 7-2 Switched Topology (Physical View)

OpenVMS Alpha supports the Fibre Channel devices listed in Table 7-2. Note that Fibre Channel hardware names typically use the letter G to designate hardware that is specific to Fibre Channel. Fibre Channel configurations with other Fibre Channel equipment are not supported. To determine the required minimum versions of the operating system and firmware, see the release notes.

Compaq recommends that all OpenVMS Fibre Channel configurations use the latest update kit for the OpenVMS version they are running:

The root name of these kits is FIBRE_SCSI, a change from the earlier naming convention of FIBRECHAN. The kits are available from the following web site:

http://www.compaq.com/support/

Table 7-2 Fibre Channel Hardware Components

Component Name	Description
AlphaServer 800, 1 1000A, 2 1200, 4000, 4100, 8200, 8400, DS10, DS20, DS20E, ES40, GS60, GS60E, GS80, GS140, GS160, and GS320	Alpha host.
HSG80	Fibre Channel controller module with two Fibre Channel host ports and support for six SCSI drive buses.
HSG60	Fibre Channel controller module with two Fibre Channel host ports and support for two SCSI buses.
MDR	Fibre Channel Modular Data Router, a bridge to a SCSI tape or a SCSI tape library. The MDR must be connected to a Fibre Channel switch. It cannot be connected directly to an Alpha system.
KGPSA-BC, KGPSA-CA	OpenVMS Alpha PCI to multimode Fibre Channel host adapters.
DSGGA-AA or -AB and DSGGB-AA or -AB	8-port or 16-port Fibre Channel switch.
VLGBICs	Very long Gigabit interface converters (GBICs), which are used in long-distance configurations with single-mode fibre-optic cables. The order number is 169887-B21 for a pair of VLGBICs.
Single-mode, fiber-optic cable	Single-mode fibre-optic cable up to 100 kilometers can be used.
BNGBX- nn	Multimode fiber-optic cable ( nn denotes length in meters).

OpenVMS supports the Fibre Channel SAN configurations described in the latest Compaq StorageWorks Heterogeneous Open SAN Design Reference Guide (order number: AA-RMPNA-TE) and the Data Replication Manager (DRM) user documentation. This includes support for:

• Multiswitch FC fabrics.
• Support for up to 500 meters of multimode fiber, and support for up to 100-kilometer interswitch links (ISLs) using single-mode fiber. In addition, DRM configurations provide longer-distance ISLs through the use of the Open Systems Gateway and Wave Division Multiplexors.
• Sharing of the fabric and the HSG storage with non-OpenVMS systems.

The StorageWorks documentation is available from their web site. First locate the product; then you can access the documentation. The WWW address is:

http://www.compaq.com/storage

Within the configurations described in the StorageWorks documentation, OpenVMS provides the following capabilities and restrictions:

• All OpenVMS disk functions are supported: system disk, dump disks, shadow set member, quorum disk, and MSCP served disk. Each virtual disk must be assigned an identifier that is unique clusterwide.
• OpenVMS provides support for the number of hosts, switches, and storage controllers specified in the StorageWorks documentation. In general, the number of hosts and storage controllers is limited only by the number of available fabric connections.
• The number of Fibre Channel host bus adapters per platform depends on the platform type. Currently, the largest platforms support up to 26 adapters (independent of the number of OpenVMS instances running on the platform).
• OpenVMS requires that the HSG operate in SCSI-3 mode, and if the HSG is in a dual redundant configuration, then the HSG must be in multibus failover mode. The HSG can only be shared with other systems that operate in these modes.
• The OpenVMS Fibre Channel host bus adapter must be connected directly to the FC switch. The host bus adapter is not supported on a Fibre Channel loop, nor in a point-to-point connection to another Fibre Channel end node. Other ports on the Fibre Channel switch can be connected to Fibre Channel loops or to QuickLoops. (The Compaq StorageWorks SAN Switch QuickLoop is a Fibre Channel topology that combines the services of fabric and Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) management.)
• Neither the KGPSA-BC nor the KGPSA-CA can be connected to the same PCI bus as the S3 Trio 64V+ Video Card (PB2GA-JC/JD). On the AlphaServer 800, the integral S3 Trio must be disabled when the KGPSA is installed.
• Hosts on the fabric can be configured as a single cluster or as multiple clusters and/or nonclustered nodes. It is critical to ensure that each cluster and each non-clustered system has exclusive access to its storage devices. HSG access IDs and/or FC switch zoning can be used to ensure that each HSG storage device is accessible to only one cluster or one non-clustered system.
• The HSG supports a limited number of connections. A connection is a non-volatile record of a particular host bus adapter communicating with a particular port on the HSG. (Refer to the HSG CLI command SHOW CONNECTIONS.) The HSG ACS V8.5 allows a maximum of 64 connections and ACS V8.4 allows a maximum of 32 connections. The connection limit is the same for both single and dual redundant controllers.
  If your FC fabric is large, and the number of active connections exceeds the HSG limit, then you must reconfigure the fabric, or use FC switch zoning to "hide" some of the adapters from some of the HSG ports, in order to reduce the number of connections.
  The HSG does not delete connection information from the connection table when a host bus adapter is disconnected. Instead, the user must prevent the table from becoming full by explicitly deleting the connection information using a CLI command.

This configuration support is in effect as of the revision date of this document. OpenVMS plans to increase these limits in future releases.

In addition to the configurations already described, OpenVMS also supports the SANworks Data Replication Manager. This is a remote data vaulting solution that enables the use of Fibre Channel over longer distances. For more information, see the Compaq StorageWorks web site at:

http://www.compaq.com/products/storageworks

7.2.1 Fibre Channel Remedial Kits

Qualification of new Fibre Channel hardware and larger configurations is ongoing. New hardware and larger configurations may necessitate enhancements to the Fibre Channel support in OpenVMS. Between releases of OpenVMS, enhancements and corrections to Fibre Channel software are made available by means of remedial kits. Compaq recommends that you monitor the Fibre Channel web site ( http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/fibre/ ) and the Compaq support web site ( http://www.compaq.com/support/ ) for updates for the operating system version you are running.

The latest version of each kit is always posted to the Compaq support web site.

7.2.2 Mixed-Version and Mixed-Architecture Cluster Support

Shared Fibre Channel OpenVMS Cluster storage is supported in both mixed-version and mixed-architecture OpenVMS Cluster systems. The following configuration requirements must be observed:

• All hosts configured for shared access to the same storage devices must be in the same OpenVMS Cluster.
• All hosts in the cluster require a common cluster communication interconnect, such as a LAN, CI, or DSSI.
• All hosts with a direct connection to the FC must be running one of the following versions of OpenVMS Alpha:

  7.3
  7.2-1H1
  7.2-1
  7.2 with the DEC-AXPVMS-VMS72_HARDWARE-V0100--4.PCSI remedial kit and console revision 5.4 or higher, depending on the AlphaServer model (see the release notes)

• All hosts that receive MSCP service of FC disks must have one of the following update kits (or later) installed:
  • Alpha systems
    • Version 6.2: ALPDRIV20_062
    • Version 7.1: ALPDRIV11_071
    • Version 7.1-2: DEC-AXPVMS-VMS712_DRIVER-V0300--4.PCSI
  • VAX systems
    • Version 6.2: VAXDRIV07_062
    • Version 7.1: VAXDRIV05_071
    • Version 7.2: VAXDRIV01_072
• DECevent Version 2.9 or later must be used for error tracing. Earlier versions of DECevent do not support Fibre Channel.

Since Fibre Channel support was introduced in OpenVMS Alpha, shadowing of directly connected Fibre Channel storage using Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS, has been available. OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2-1 extended this support to the shadowing of Fibre Channel multipath devices.

7.2.4 Fibre Channel and OpenVMS Galaxy Configurations

Fibre Channel is supported in all OpenVMS Galaxy configurations. For more information about Galaxy configurations, see the OpenVMS Alpha Partitioning and Galaxy Guide.

7.3 Example Configurations

This section presents example Fibre Channel configurations. The configurations build on each other, starting with the smallest valid configuration and adding redundant components for increasing levels of availability, performance, and scalability.

7.3.1 Single Host with Dual-Ported Storage

Figure 7-3 shows a single system using Fibre Channel as a storage interconnect.

Figure 7-3 Single Host With One Dual-Ported Storage Controller

Note the following about this configuration:

• Dual ports of the HSG storage controller increase the availability and performance of the storage subsystem.
• Extra ports on the switch enable system growth.
• To maximize performance, logical units can be spread over the two HSG ports.
• The switch and the HSG are single points of failure. To provide higher availability, Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS can be used to replicate the data to another Fibre Channel switch and HSG controller.

Figure 7-4 shows multiple hosts connected to a dual-ported storage subsystem.

Figure 7-4 Multiple Hosts With One Dual-Ported Storage Controller

Note the following about this configuration:

• Multiple hosts increase availability of the entire system.
• Extra ports on the switch enable system growth.
• The switch and the HSG are single points of failure. To provide higher availability, Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS can be used to replicate the data to another Fibre Channel switch and HSG controller.

7.3.3 Multiple Hosts With Storage Controller Redundancy

Figure 7-5 Multiple Hosts With Storage Controller Redundancy

This configuration offers the following advantages:

• Logical units can be spread over the four HSG ports, offering higher performance.
• HSGs can be configured in multibus failover mode, even though there is just one Fibre Channel "bus."
• The switch is still a single point of failure. To provide higher availability, Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS can be used to replicate the data to another Fibre Channel switch and HSG controller.

7.3.4 Multiple Hosts With Multiple Independent Switches

Figure 7-6 Multiple Hosts With Multiple Independent Switches

This two-switch configuration offers the advantages of the previous configurations plus the following:

• Higher level of availability afforded by two switches. There is no single point of failure.
• Better performance because of the additional host bus adapter.
• Each host has multiple independent paths to a storage subsystem. The two switches are not connected to each other to ensure that the paths are completely independent.

7.3.5 Multiple Hosts With Dual Fabrics

Figure 7-7 Multiple Hosts With Dual Fabrics

This dual-fabric configuration offers the advantages of the previous configurations plus the following advantages:

• More ports are available per fabric for connecting to additional hosts and storage subsystems.
• Each host has four host bus adapters, one for each switch. Only two adapters are required, one per fabric. The additional adapters increase availability and performance.

7.3.6 Multiple Hosts With Larger Fabrics

Figure 7-8 shows multiple hosts connected to two fabrics. Each fabric has four switches.

Figure 7-8 Multiple Hosts With Larger Dual Fabrics

Figure 7-9 shows multiple hosts connected to four fabrics. Each fabric has four switches.

Figure 7-9 Multiple Hosts With Four Fabrics

Fibre Channel devices for disk and tape storage come with factory-assigned worldwide IDs (WWIDs). These WWIDs are used by the system for automatic FC address assignment. The FC WWIDs and addresses also provide the means for the system manager to identify and locate devices in the FC configuration. The FC WWIDs and adresses are displayed, for example, by the Alpha console and by the HSG console. It is necessary, therefore, for the system manager to understand the meaning of these identifiers and how they relate to OpenVMS device names.

7.4.1 Fibre Channel Addresses and WWIDs

In most situations, Fibre Channel devices are configured to have temporary addresses. The device's address is assigned automatically each time the interconnect initializes. The device may receive a new address each time a Fibre Channel is reconfigured and reinitialized. This is done so that Fibre Channel devices do not require the use of address jumpers. There is one Fibre Channel address per port, as shown in Figure 7-10.

Figure 7-10 Fibre Channel Host and Port Addresses

In order to provide more permanent identification, each port on each device has a WWID, which is assigned at the factory. Every Fibre Channel WWID is unique. Fibre Channel also has node WWIDs to identify multiported devices. WWIDs are used by the system to detect and recover from automatic address changes. They are useful to system managers for identifying and locating physical devices.

Figure 7-11 shows Fibre Channel components with their factory-assigned WWIDs and their Fibre Channel addresses.

Figure 7-11 Fibre Channel Host and Port WWIDs and Addresses

Note the following about this figure:

• Node name and port name of the host adapter are identical.
  (This is true in the current implementation.)
• Host adapter's port and node name is a 64-bit, factory-assigned WWID.
• Host adapter's address is a 24-bit automatic, transient assignment.
• Each HSG storage port has a 64-bit, factory-assigned WWID, and a 24-bit transient address that is automatically assigned.
• HSG controller pair share a node name that is a 64-bit, factory-assigned WWID.

There is an OpenVMS name for each Fibre Channel storage adapter, for each path from the storage adapter to the storage subsystem, and for each storage device. These sections apply to both disk devices and tape devices, except for Section 7.4.2.3, which is specific to disk devices. Tape device names are described in Section 7.5.

7.4.2.1 Fibre Channel Storage Adapter Names

Fibre Channel storage adapter names, which are automatically assigned by OpenVMS, take the form FGx0 :

• FG represents Fibre Channel.
• x represents the unit letter, from A to Z.
• 0 is a constant.

The naming design places a limit of 26 adapters per system. This naming may be modified in future releases to support a larger number of adapters.

Fibre Channel adapters can run multiple protocols, such as SCSI and LAN. Each protocol is a pseudodevice associated with the adapter. For the initial implementation, just the SCSI protocol is supported. The SCSI pseudodevice name is PGx0 , where x represents the same unit letter as the associated FGx0 adapter.

These names are illustrated in Figure 7-12.

Figure 7-12 Fibre Channel Initiator and Target Names

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