AIX - Fibre Adapter and IBM Storage


 
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Operating Systems AIX AIX - Fibre Adapter and IBM Storage
# 1  
Old 02-13-2016
AIX - Fibre Adapter and IBM Storage

Hello,

Just a quick question

Usually from a PSERIES if you want to connect to IBM SAN Storage
you connect the IBM SAN Storage through a SAN Switch

something like this
---

however my question

Can you connect
from Pseries directly to San Storage without SAN Switch

what would be needed?



Thanks in advance.
# 2  
Old 02-18-2016
it depends on FC HBA. afair newer FC HBAs doesn't support this option.
# 3  
Old 02-18-2016
Even if it is possible it is perhaps not desirable anyway. Notice that the SAN switch is where you do the "zoning" - that is, in short: setting rules about which system gets to see which disks.

If you have exactly one SAN system and exactly one Managed System with one LPAR (where you wouldn't need zoning) the question arises why you would use a SAN instead of a simpler (and perhaps much cheaper) ordinary disk rack.

I hope this helps.

bakunin
This User Gave Thanks to bakunin For This Post:
# 4  
Old 02-19-2016
bakunin,

I have in my testlab several old IBM SAN storages directly connected to several different LPARs, using my own ODM and drivers ;-)
# 5  
Old 02-19-2016
Hi,

Most HBA's will support the common standards that you would expect, IP over FC, Switched Fabric and Direct Connect. Where the issue tends to lie is the storage devices and the management tools, The IBM Shark or ESS products supported all the standards, the DS range does not support Direct Connect - but I think you may also have to implement a SVC with the DS range for IP over FC which is really a pretty dead standard now.

Regards

Gull04

Last edited by gull04; 02-19-2016 at 10:20 AM.. Reason: Corrections.
# 6  
Old 02-19-2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by agent.kgb
bakunin,

I have in my testlab several old IBM SAN storages directly connected to several different LPARs, using my own ODM and drivers ;-)
Yes - but that is, as you say yourself, test equipment. My feeling is that filosophizer doesn't want to construct his own private playground. If he indeed does - you are right, why not?

bakunin
# 7  
Old 02-19-2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakunin
Even if it is possible it is perhaps not desirable anyway. Notice that the SAN switch is where you do the "zoning" - that is, in short: setting rules about which system gets to see which disks.

If you have exactly one SAN system and exactly one Managed System with one LPAR (where you wouldn't need zoning) the question arises why you would use a SAN instead of a simpler (and perhaps much cheaper) ordinary disk rack.

I hope this helps.

bakunin
Thanks, the reason of not using ordinary disk rack, is the speed.

SAN Storage speed is much higher compared to ordinary disk speed

Example
making a tar backup on SAN Storage of 120GB takes 4 hours
making the same tar backup of regular disk take 16 hours

Then SAN Storage, has more data protection in case of power outage because of cache. So SAN Storage has more advantage.


So back to the question

Single Pseries with Two Fibre Card,
connect directly one HBA fibre card to Controller A
connect directly the other HBA fibre card to Controller B

I have not tried this yet, because I don't want Data correction, perhaps someone who has tried this can help me if it will work or not
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