Adding Fibre Channel external storage

The system supports Fibre Channel-attached storage within a storage area network (SAN).

If connections are correct, the system automatically discovers the attached storage and displays the storage systems on External Storage page in the management GUI. For storage that is connected through iSCSI connections, manual configuration of system to external storage is necessary. See Adding iSCSI external storage.

In a Fibre Channel environment, the system conforms to supported configuration and zoning rules. If a single failure causes one or more of these rules to be invalidated, the configuration is still supported until the failure is corrected and the configuration is brought back into a normal supported mode. These rules apply to system-to-system connections, hosts, and external storage system. The following general rules apply to external storage systems.

Connections between the system and storage system require the best available bandwidth. For optimal performance and reliability, ensure that paths between the system and storage systems do not cross ISLs. If you use interswitch links (ISLs) on these paths, make sure that sufficient bandwidth is available. SAN monitoring is required to identify faulty ISLs.
Each node must have a path to the same set of worldwide port names (WWPNs) for each storage system.
Where multiple paths exist between the system and storage systems and some of those paths cross ISLs, use zoning to prevent the system from using the paths that cross the ISLs.
The system supports SAN routing technologies between the system and storage systems when the routing stays entirely within Fibre Channel connectivity and does not use other transport technologies such as Internet Protocol (IP).
All external storage systems must always be connected to SAN switches only. Multiple connections are permitted from redundant storage systems to improve data bandwidth performance. A connection between each redundant storage system and each counterpart SAN is not required. Any configuration that uses a direct physical connection between the system and the storage system is not supported.

The system can manage a combination of internal and external storage and represents all the detected storage as MDisks. For certain models of the system, only migration of data that is stored on external storage to internal storage is supported. Other models of the system support external storage virtualization through an required license. Each enclosure on any external storage systems that are being virtualized requires a license. For example, if the system is made up of one control enclosure, one expansion enclosure, and one virtualized storage system that is itself made up of two enclosures, two licenses are required.

For more information on Fibre Channel-attached storage, zoning, and configuration details, click More Information and view the Configuring topics.