This chapter explains the different operating system environments and configurations that you can use in your storage area network (SAN). It also introduces the SAN components and provides examples of SANs with high-level installation guidelines.
Dell supports Windows NT storage consolidation, Windows NT clustering, and Novell NetWare Storage Consolidation. Each of these operating system environments are supported on independent SANs or in separate zones on the same SAN.
Table 2-1 lists the maximum Windows NT configurations that are supported by SAN 2.0.
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Maximum of 10 servers running Net- |
See the Release Notes on the Dell |
Ware; a maximum of 12 servers are |
PowerVault Fibre Channel Utilities Ver- |
supported if it is a backup only SAN. |
sion 2.0 CD or the Dell PowerVault |
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Fibre Channel Update Version 2.0 CD |
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for a list of supported servers. |
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Maximum of four storage nodes |
A maximum total of four of the follow- |
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ing nodes: PowerVault 35F bridge, Pow- |
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erVault 650F disk processor enclosure |
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(DPE), or PowerVault 651F DPE. |
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Maximum of four PowerVault 120T |
Allows a maximum of 16 PowerVault |
autoloaders per PowerVault 35F |
120T autoloaders per SAN. |
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Maximum of two PowerVault 130T tape |
Allows a maximum of eight PowerVault |
libraries per PowerVault 35F |
130T tape libraries per SAN. |
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DELL CONFIDENTIAL - Preliminary 3/16/00
support.dell.com |
SAN Configurations 2-1 |
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Maximum of four Microsoft Cluster |
Each MSCS pair with its PowerVault |
Server (MSCS) clusters |
650F/651F must be in its own zone, |
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see the latest clustering documenta- |
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tion for your systems. |
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Maximum of four PowerVault Fibre |
Four is the maximum number of |
Channel switches per SAN |
switches |
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for redundant configurations; two is the |
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maximum number for non-redundant |
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configurations. |
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NetWare 4.2 and 5.x with the appropriate service pack (see the Release Notes on the
Dell PowerVault Fiber Channels Utilities Version 2.0 CD for the correct service pack) are supported. See http://support.dell.com for the latest information about supported operating systems. Dell does not support redundant fabrics and path failover for NetWare.
The Dell OpenManage Storage Consolidation software does not support NetWare volumes. SAN requires that the administrator manually control the mounting of SAN volumes on each NetWare server.
Table 2-2 lists the maximum NetWare configurations that are supported by SAN 2.0.
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Maximum of 10 servers running Net- |
See the release notes on the Dell Power- |
Ware; a maximum of 12 servers are |
Vault Fibre Channel Utilities Version 2.0 |
supported if it is a backup only SAN. |
CD or the Dell PowerVault Fibre Channel |
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Update Version 2.0 CD for the latest list of |
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servers and revision levels required. |
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One Windows NT system is required |
The Windows NT system must be in a |
for managing storage |
LAN with a NetWare server. At least one |
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of the SAN attached NetWare servers |
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must run the Data Managed Node for |
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NetWare. |
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2-2 Dell PowerVault Systems Storage Area Network (SAN) Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
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Maximum of four storage nodes |
A maximum of four of the following |
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nodes: PowerVault 35F, PowerVault 650F, |
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and PowerVault 651F. Because NetWare |
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SANs are nonredundant, a PowerVault |
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650F and PowerVault 651F with two stor- |
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age processors count as two nodes (for |
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NetWare only). |
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Maximum of four PowerVault 120Ts |
Allows a maximum of 16 PowerVault |
per PowerVault 35F |
120Ts per SAN. |
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Maximum of two PowerVault 130Ts |
Allows a maximum of eight PowerVault |
per PowerVault 35F |
130Ts per SAN with a maximum of four |
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drives per bridge type. |
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Maximum of two PowerVault Fibre |
Both the PowerVault 50F and the Power- |
Channel switches per SAN |
Vault 51F switches are supported. |
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Heterogeneous SANs are SANs with multiple operating system environments. Each operating system environment must be a separate zone.
Table 2-3 lists the maximum Windows NT configurations that are supported by SAN 2.0
NOTE: Windows NT, MSCS, and NetWare servers must all be in separate fabric zones and cannot share the same storage.
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Maximum of 10 servers; a maximum |
Each MSCS pair with its PowerVault 650F/ |
of 12 servers are supported if it is a |
651F must be in its own zone. All Win- |
backup only SAN. |
dows NT servers running storage consoli- |
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dation must be in their own zone along |
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with their storage nodes. All NetWare |
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servers must be in their own zone along |
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with their associated storage nodes. Net- |
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Ware 4.2 and 5.x may exist in the same |
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zone. See the release notes located on |
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the Dell PowerVault Fibre Channel Utilities |
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Version 2.0 CD or the Dell PowerVault |
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Fibre Channel Update Version 2.0 CD for |
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the latest list of servers and revision levels |
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required. |
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support.dell.com |
SAN Configurations 2-3 |
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One Windows NT system is required |
The Windows NT system must be in a |
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for managing storage |
LAN with a NetWare Server, and at least |
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one of the SAN attached NetWare Servers |
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must run Data Managed Node for |
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NetWare. |
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Each PowerVault 650F/651F requires |
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one of the following: |
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A SAN attached Windows NT |
This system is attached to the SAN via |
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management station within its |
Fibre Channel. |
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zone |
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A server running Data Managed |
Windows NT zones: Windows NT man- |
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Node within its zone and LAN |
agement station must be LAN-attached |
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attached Windows NT manage- |
to a SAN-attached Windows NT server |
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ment station |
running Data Managed Node for |
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Windows NT. |
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NetWare zones: Windows NT manage- |
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ment station must be LAN-attached to a |
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SAN-attached NetWare server running |
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Data Managed Node for NetWare. |
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Note: The Windows NT management sta- |
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tion may be used to manage storage in |
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both Windows NT zones and NetWare |
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zones concurrently. |
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Maximum of four storage nodes |
A maximum of four of the following |
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nodes: PowerVault 35F bridge, PowerVault |
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650F, and PowerVault 651F. Because Net- |
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Ware SANs are nonredundant, a Power- |
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Vault 650F and PowerVault 651F with two |
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storage processors count as two nodes |
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(for NetWare only). |
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Maximum of four PowerVault 120Ts |
Allows a maximum of 16 PowerVault |
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per PowerVault 35F |
120Ts per SAN. |
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Maximum of two PowerVault 130Ts |
Allows a maximum of eight PowerVault |
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per PowerVault 35F |
130Ts per SAN. |
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Maximum of four PowerVault Fibre |
Two switches per fabric allowing four |
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Channel switches per SAN |
switches for redundant configurations and |
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two for nonredundant configurations. At |
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least one PowerVault 51F per fabric is |
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strongly recommended for its support of a |
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zoning graphical user interface (GUI) (firm- |
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ware version 2.1.x ), see the Dell |
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PowerVault Systems Storage Area Net- |
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work Revision Compatibility Guide. |
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2-4 Dell PowerVault Systems Storage Area Network (SAN) Installation and Troubleshooting Guide
The following sections describe the various SAN components.
Within a SAN, a host bus adapter (HBA) provides the connectivity from the host computer system to the external Fibre Channel device.
The QLA2100 HBA is a high-performance, direct memory access (DMA) bus master Fibre Channel HBA designed for high-end systems. The card includes a 64-bit Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) 2.1 interface (fully backward compatible with 32bit PCI systems), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, and a Fibre protocol module (FPM) with gigabit transceivers. This adapter supports copper media through a High Speed Serial Data Connector (HSSDC). For additional information, see Appendix A, “Cable Types.”
The QLA2100F is a short wave optical version of the QLA2100 and provides fiber-optic connectivity from the host computer system to external storage or switches.
The QLA2200 and QLA2200F HBA supports a 33-megahertz (MHz), 64-bit PCI host interface (fully backward compatible with 32-bit PCI systems), a RISC processor, a Fibre Channel protocol engine, dedicated transmit and receive frame buffers, integrated 106.25-megabytes per second (MB/sec) Fibre Channel serial transceivers, an F- port fabric login, and full-duplex operation.
The QLA2200F is an SW optical version of the QLA2200 and provides fiber optic connectivity from the host computer system to external storage or switches.
The Dell PowerVault Fibre Channel switches (currently the PowerVault 50F and PowerVault 51F) are 8-port Fibre Channel switches for building and managing a SAN. The switch is the key component of a SAN whose primary function enables true Fibre Channel fabric configurations. The PowerVault Fibre Channel switches are necessary for PowerVault 600 family configurations that include more than two servers.
The PowerVault Fibre Channel switches allow multiple servers to access a single PowerVault Fibre Channel drive array. The Fibre Channel switch functions much like an Ethernet switch. The devices (a server, a drive array, or another switch) that are attached to the switch can all communicate with each other. Without the switch, no more than two servers can attach to the same PowerVault array, due to the number of connections on each storage processor (SP) in the Dell 650F/651F disk processor enclosure (DPE).
In a fully redundant SAN configuration, at least two switches are required. Each switch connects to one SP in the PowerVault 650F/651F DPE, and, in turn, provides access to all logical unit numbers (LUNs) bound on that SP to all servers connected to
support.dell.com |
SAN Configurations 2-5 |
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