HP ProLiant BL620c G7 Installation and operating instructions

HP StorageWorks Fibre Channel Over
Ethernet Application Note
Abstract
This document describes support for HP FCoE products. It provides an overview of the product features, functionality,
and configuration rules.
Part Number: AA-RWQ5J-TE
Eleventh edition: January 2011

Legal and notice information
© Copyright 2009-2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Intel® is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Microsoft® and Windows® are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Description
HP offers multiple FCoE solutions, from fabric-edge solutions using FCoE CNAs and CN switches
integrated with existing FC target environments, to full FCoE end-to-end solutions using CNAs, CN
switches and FCoE storage targets.
The HP FCoE fabric-edge solution deploys FCoE technology in existing Ethernet and FC environments
with the benefit of convergence at the server and fabric edge using CNAs and CN switches. This
solution provides this benefit in addition to investment protection by allowing FCoE to be integrated
with existing HP Fibre Channel SANs.
The HP end-to-end FCoE solution for EVA storage systems provides an FCoE technology implementation
from server to storage. This solution consists of FCoE CNAs, CN switches, and FCoE storage targets
using the MPX200 Multifunction Router integrated with the EVA family of storage systems. Two FCoE
end-to-end configurations are supported:
•Direct-connect—Provides 10-GbE FCoE and optionally, iSCSI connectivity for up to two EVA storage
systems without requiring any Fibre Channel switches.
•Fabric-connect—Provides additional connectivity, allowing for up to four EVA storage systems using
a fabric connection between the MPX200 and EVAs.
The FCoE product set consists of the following:
•HP B-series and C-series CN switches—Provide a bridge function from the CN to separate Ethernet
and FC fabrics, or support end-to-end FCoE when used with CNAs and the MPX200 with FCoE
target functionality
•HP CN1000E and CN1000Q CNAs—Converge Ethernet and FC technologies in the server over
10-GbE links to converged network switches
•HP MPX200 Multifunction Router FCoE—Provides FCoE target functionality when integrated with
EVA storage systems (for more information, see the HP StorageWorks SAN Design Reference
Guide and the HP StorageWorks MPX200 Multifunction Router User Guide).
Benefits
This section describes some of the benefits of FCoE technology. The convergence of Ethernet and FC
provides the same level of connectivity as previous technologies, but requires:
•50% fewer switches in each server rack—Only two CN ToR switches, compared with four (two
network and two FC) switches per rack with separate Ethernet and FC switches
•50% fewer adapters per server
•75% fewer cable connections
HP StorageWorks Fibre Channel Over Ethernet Application Note 3

Figure 1 illustrates a rack with 16 servers using FCoE technology compared to a rack using separate
FC and Ethernet with the same level of connectivity. Similarly, Table 1 provides a comparison of cable
requirements for these same racks.
Figure 1 Rack cable comparison
.
Table 1 Rack cable requirements comparison
Converged FCoE network1
Separate FC and Ethernet networks
(2) 10-GbE cables
nl
(2) cables at 20 Gb per server
(4) 4-Gb FC cables
nl
(4) 1-GbE NIC cables
nl
(8) cables at 20 Gb per server
Total of 32 cables for 320 Gb of connectivityTotal of 128 cables for 320 Gb of connectivity
1Using copper cables for FCoE connections further reduces the per-port connection cost versus the cost of optical SFP+
nl
transceivers.
4

Converged network switches
The first generation of FCoE CN switches enable Ethernet and FC to coexist in a fabric and are
designed as edge switches or ToR switches. Edge/ToR switches are typically deployed in redundant
pairs installed at the top of a server rack (see Figure 1). By using FCoE CN switches, you reduce the
number of required switches by replacing separate Ethernet and FC switches with a converged
edge/ToR switch. From the edge/ToR switch, ISL connections to the EoR FC and EoR Ethernet/IP
switches provide access to the separate core layers of the FC fabric and Ethernet/IP network.
An FCoE blade that resides in a DC or DC04 SAN Director can also be used to integrate FCoE
solutions with existing or new FC fabrics.
The following HP FCoE CN switches and blades are available:
•HP StorageWorks 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch
•HP StorageWorks DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade
•HP C-series Nexus 5010 Converged Network Switch
•HP C-series Nexus 5020 Converged Network Switch
Converged network switch ports
HP FCoE CN switches have two types of physical ports:
•10-GbE ports
•4-Gb or 8-Gb FC ports
FC ports can be used for either ISL connections to an existing FC fabric, or connection directly to an
HP storage array.
Table 2 lists the number of ports for each HP FCoE CN switch.
Table 2 Number of ports per switch
Number of FC portsNumber of 10-GbE portsHP switch
8 (8 Gb/s)242408 FCoE Converged Network Switch
0 external ports
nl
32 (8 Gb/s) backplane ports
24DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade
0 to 8 (4 Gb/s)
nl
0 to 6 (8 Gb/s)
20 to 26
C-series Nexus 5010 Converged Network
Switch
0 to 16 (4 Gb/s)
nl
0 to 12 (8 Gb/s)
40 to 52
C-series Nexus 5020 Converged Network
Switch
NOTE:
All FCoE CN switch models are by design CEE/IEEE DCB switches and are enabled for Ethernet by
default. In order to be used for FCoE they must be enabled to forward FC frames to the FC ports.
HP StorageWorks Fibre Channel Over Ethernet Application Note 5

HP does not support interoperability between different vendors' CN and FC switches:
•2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch operate with B-series FC switches only.
•C-series Nexus 5010/5020 Converged Network Switches operate with other C-series MDS FC
switches only.
NOTE:
The FCoE CN switch firmware update process will result in momentary loss of Ethernet and Fibre
Channel port connectivity. HP recommends implementing a dual path configuration with redundant
FCoE CN switches to minimize disruption during firmware updates.
HP StorageWorks 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch
The 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch is a rebranded version of the Brocade 8000 FCoE Switch
(Figure 2).
Figure 2 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch
.
Features
•Next-generation Ethernet L2/L3 switch and next-generation FC switch merged into one product
•CEE support
•Full industry-standard implementation
•Supports FCoE and FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP)
•24 10-GbE and 8 8-Gb/s FC ports
•Uses 1 RU of space
•Leverages existing Brocade fabric operating system (FOS)
•Supports link aggregation (LAG) on DCB ports
•Supports Brocade ISL trunking on FC ports
Considerations
•The port types are fixed. You cannot use 10-GbE ports for FC connections, and you cannot use
FC ports for 10-GbE connections.
•L3 routing features are not currently supported.
•10-GbE ports support virtual F_Ports only (virtual E_Ports are not supported).
6

HP StorageWorks DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade
The HP DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade is a rebranded version of the Brocade FCOE10-24
blade (Figure 3).
26608b
10-GbE ports
Figure 3 HP DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade
.
Features
•24 10-GbE ports
•32 8-Gb/s FC ports on the backplane (DC and DC04 SAN Directors only)
•Hot pluggable
•Blade power and status LEDs
•Link status LEDs for each port
•FCoE switching
•CEE switching
•L2 Ethernet protocols STP/MSTP/RSTP, VLAN tagging, and link aggregation
•Standard Ethernet encapsulation
Considerations
•The DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade has 24 FCoE ports and can be installed in either
a DC or DC04 SAN director.
•The DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade enables server edge connectivity by connecting
CNAs directly to any of its 24 Ethernet ports.
•Storage can be connected to:
•Any other Fibre Channel blade in the same director
•Any Fibre Channel switch that is in the same fabric as the DC or DC04 SAN Director that
contains the DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade
•The DC SAN Director Switch 10/24 FCoE Blade supports optical cabling and SFP+ transceivers
only.
•There are no licensing requirements for this blade.
HP StorageWorks Fibre Channel Over Ethernet Application Note 7

HP C-series Nexus 5010/5020 Converged Network Switches
HP resells the Cisco Nexus 5010 and 5020 Switches (Figure 4).
10-GbE ports
FC ports 2 6 6 51 a
Figure 4 C-series Nexus 5010 and 5020 Converged Network Switches
.
Features
•L2 access:
•IEEE DCB and FCoE support
IEEE DCB is a Cisco unified fabric product with additional proprietary features.
•NX-OS with combined features from Cisco IOS and Cisco MDS 9000 SAN-OS/NX-OS
•Cisco 5020 (2 RU):
•40 10-GbE ports
•Two optional expansion module slots
•Up to 52 10-GbE ports, or a combination of 40 10-GbE ports and 16 FC ports
•Cisco 5010 (1 RU):
•20 10-GbE ports
•One optional expansion module slot
•Up to 26 10-GbE ports, or a combination of 20 10-GbE ports and 8 FC ports
•Optional expansion modules:
•6-port 10-GbE expansion module
•6-port 8-Gb/s FC expansion module
•8-port 4-Gb/s FC expansion module
•4-port 4-Gb/s FC and 4-port 10-GbE expansion module
Converged network adapters
Servers with CNAs require fewer adapters per server and, therefore, 75% fewer cable connections
for network and FC attachments.
HP offers the HP CN1000E CNA (Figure 5) and the HP CN1000Q CNA (Figure 7). For information
about servers that support CNAs, see Server support on page 19.
8

Table 3 lists the supported HP CNAs.
Table 3 HP CNA part numbers
DescriptionHP model numberHP part number
Dual port converged network adapter
nl
(no cable or transceiver is included)
CN1000EAW520A
Dual port converged network adapter
nl
(no cable or transceiver is included)
CN1000QBS668A
HP CN1000E
Figure 5 shows an HP CN1000E CNA.
Figure 5 HP CN1000E CNA
.
HP StorageWorks Fibre Channel Over Ethernet Application Note 9

Figure 6 shows a diagram of the internal components of an HP CN1000E CNA.
Figure 6 HP CN1000E internal components
.
Features
The HP CN1000E CNA has the following features:
•Ships with half-height and full-height brackets
•Dual ports for redundancy
•Full 10-Gb/s bandwidth on both ports
•Each port can operate as a NIC and/or FCoE port
•2 SFP+ connectors
•Supports optical or copper cables
Considerations
•x8 PCI Express Gen2 card
•Requires 14.5 W of power
•1 GbE is not supported
10