Adaptec 9110G Instruction Manual

1. What is Fibre Channel?
Fibre Channel is a high-performance connection
standard designed for bi-directional, serial data
communication between servers, mass storage subsys-
tems, and peripherals through hubs, switches, and
point-to-point connections. Fibre Channel provides
long-distance connectivity and the high bandwidth need-
ed to move large data files between server and storage. It
is ideal for storage area networks, computer clusters, and
other data intensive computing configurations.
2. What are the primary features and
benefits of Fibre Channel?
a. Data Rate
Feature:
9110G: 1 Gb/sec throughput = 100 Mbytes/sec, (200
Mbytes/sec full duplex)
9210LP: 2 Gb/sec throughput = 200 Mbytes/sec,
(400 Mbytes/sec full duplex)
Benefit: Ability to provide the necessary bandwidth for
today’s data update and data throughput intensive
applications.
b. Cabling Distances Between Nodes
Feature:
Long Wave Optical: 10 kilometers
Short Wave Optical: 550 meters
Copper with Active GBICs: 30 meters
Copper with Passive GBICs: 13 meters
Benefit: Placement of servers and storage devices is not
bound by short, inflexible cables. Optical cables allow for
remote high speed back up to protect critical data and
disaster recovery.
c. Maximum Device Support
Feature:
Arbitrated Loop: 126 devices
Switch Fabric: approximately 16 million devices
Benefit: Storage can be easily expanded without adding
host adapters. Terabyte capability on a single host adapter.
d. Hot Pluggable Hard Drives
Feature:
Removal and insertion of drives on the fly
Benefit: Simple and reliable maintenance.
e. Automatic ID Assignment
Feature:
No configuration utilities, dip switches or jumpers
needed.
Benefit: Simple configuration and centralized ID
assignment.
f. Dual Ported Hard Drives
Feature:
Redundant data paths.
Benefit: High availability of data and recovery.
3. Is Fibre Channel a defined standard?
It is an open standard defined by ANSI and it operates
over both copper and fiber optic cable and is capable
of supporting multiple protocols besides SCSI. The
high-speed data transfer rate of Fibre Channel makes
it ideal for storage.
4. What kind of industry support is there
for Fibre Channel?
The technology is supported by major system and
component manufacturers such as Adaptec, Compaq,
Dell, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Seagate.
5. What are the features of the Adaptec
Fibre Card 9110G and the Adaptec Fibre
Card 9210LP?
Feature 9110G 9210LP
Availability September 2000 Early 2001
Form Factor Standard Size Low Profile
PCI connector 64-bit/ 64-bit/
33 & 66 MHz PCI 33 & 66 MHz PCI
Internal Copper No
Connection
External Copper or Copper
Connection Optical or Optical
Flash BIOS No Yes
Channels 1 1
Operating Windows NT®,WindowsNT,
Systems Windows 2000 Windows 2000,
NetWare,UnixWare,
Linux, Solaris x86
Fibre Channel Host Adapters
Adaptec®Fibre Card 9110G and Adaptec Fibre Card 9210LP

6. What is Fibre Channel Class support?
FC Class-1: Dedicated connection, full
bandwidth, and confirmed delivery
FC Class-2: Confirmed delivery
FC Class-3: “Data Gram” delivery NOT confirmed
FC Class-4: Virtual Connection, fractional
bandwidth, confirmed delivery
Fibre Channel Class Note
FC Class-1 & Class-4: Fixed routing, circuit switched,
setup and tear down required
FC Class-2 & Class-3: Adaptive routing, frame switched,
may encounter routing delay, and potential Out-of-Order
delivery
The Adaptec Fibre Card 9110G supports FC Class 3 and the
9210LP will support FC Class 2 and FC Class 3.
7. What are some of the typical applications
for Fibre Channel?
Some common Fibre Channel applications include
LAN-Free Backup, Clustering, and Shared Storage. As
the storage requirements and information needs
of companies continue to expand, these applications
are becoming increasingly common and of higher
importance.
8. What is LAN-Free backup?
LAN Free backup is one of the target market applica-
tions of Fibre Channel and for the Adaptec Fibre Card
9110G.
This solution removes backup traffic from the LAN,
relieving network congestion of storage requirements
and allowing the LAN to perform mission critical func-
tions. In addition, a LAN-Free backup solution reduces
the number of dedicated tape libraries needed for stor-
age, thereby lowering the total cost of ownership.
LAN-Free backup is also a fster and more efficient stor-
age backup method and will reduce IT resource time
and employee workloads, another cost benefit. Adaptec
is promoting a complete LAN-Free Backup solution,
with a recipe book, installation guide and technical sup-
port representatives specializing in this solution.
9. Do the 9110G and 9210LP connect
directly to copper or to optical cabling?
Using an optical or a copper GBIC, Adaptec’s Fibre
Channel cards have the flexibility of either optical or
copper external cabling, depending on the preference or
specific application needs of the customer.
10. Can standard 9-pin serial cabling be
used with the Adaptec Fibre Card 9110G
and the Adaptec Fibre Card 9210LP?
No, only special cable designed for Fibre Channel should
be used with any Fibre Channel HBA, including the
9110G and the 9210LP.
11. Can the 9110G be connected to optical
cabling for increased distances?
Yes, this adapter can be connected to short wave and
long wave optical cables via an optical GBIC.
12. What is Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop?
The FC-AL (Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop) topology
provides a low cost solution to attach up to 126 nodes
with hubs. FC-AL is a shared bandwidth, loop topology.
Servers can be connected to the disk loop with either
optical fiber or copper media depending on the distance
requirement.
Opportunity A1 is for a PCI host adapter connecting a
server to a mass storage subsystem in an Arbitrated Loop
topology. This opportunity requires the availability of
disk drives, A2, with a FC-AL interface. These FC-AL
drives are now available from Seagate and IBM.
2
Tape
Library
FC
Switch
Servers
with
Adaptec FC HBAs

3
13. If Fibre Channel is a serial interface, what
maintains the integrity of the loop in case of
a device failure?
All Fibre Channel storage modules are built with loop
resiliency circuits (LRC) in the drive backplanes. These
LRC’s automatically sense a failed or removed device,
and bypass it from the loop, thereby maintaining loop
integrity. A hub is used in configurations that employ
multiple servers on the same loop. The hub manages the
loop, and bypasses any failed nodes. Nodes can be added or
removed from a hub without impacting loop performance.
14. Is Fibre Channel a replacement for SCSI?
No. However, there will likely be a migration to Fibre
Channel for some SCSI applications. We believe that
SCSI will remain the best method for internal storage
but many external storage applications will benefit from
Fibre Channel.
15. Is interoperability an issue for Adaptec’s
Fibre Channel products?
As with any new technology, there are some legitimate
industry concerns regarding interoperability. Adaptec is
diligently testing its HBAs to assure interoperability and
complete functionality. Adaptec products must com-
plete three (3) levels of rigorous testing before product
release: Product testing, functionality testing, and
solutions testing. Adaptec is known worldwide as a
leader in I/O compatibility and interoperability for SCSI
and RAID and will take a similar leadership role with
Fibre Channel. In addition to being an active member of
the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) and the
Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA), Adaptec
is partnering with Fibre Channel industry leaders and
Adaptec has joined the EMC Fibre Alliance, the Brocade
Fabric Aware Program, and participated in University of
New Hampshire SanMark Testing.
For more information on Adaptec Fibre
Channel products please visit our web site at
www.adaptec.com.
Copyright 2000 Adaptec, Inc. All rights reserved. Adaptec and the Adaptec logo are trademarks of
Adaptec, Inc. which may be registered in some jurisdictions. Windows, Windows NT, and Windows
2000 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, used under license. All other trademarks
are owned by their respective owners.
P/N 000000-011 Rev. A Printed in USA 10/00
Information supplied by Adaptec, Inc. is believed to be accurate and reliable at the time of printing,
but Adaptec, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.
Adaptec, Inc. reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifica-
tions. Information is subject to change without notice.
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