-
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Fabric Manager Configuration Guide, Release 3.x
-
Index
-
New and Changed Information
-
Preface
- Getting Started
- Installation and Switch Management
- Switch Configuration
-
Fabric Configuration
-
Configuring and Managing VSANs
-
SAN Device Virtualization
-
Creating Dynamic VSANs
-
Configuring Inter-VSAN Routing
-
Distributing Device Alias Services
-
Configuring and Managing Zones
-
Configuring Fibre Channel Routing Services and Protocols
-
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
-
Managing FLOGI, Name Server, FDMI, and RSCN Databases
-
Discovering SCSI Targets
-
Configuring FICON
-
Advanced Features and Concepts
-
-
Security
-
Configuring FIPS
-
Configuring Users and Common Roles
-
Configuring SNMP
-
Configuring RADIUS and TACACS+
-
Configuring IPv4 Access Control Lists
-
Configuring Certificate Authorities and Digital Certificates
-
Configuring IPsec Network Security
-
Configuring FC-SP and DHCHAP
-
Configuring Port Security
-
Configuring Fabric Binding
-
- IP Services
- Intelligent Storage Services
- Network and Switch Monitoring
- Traffic Management
- Troubleshooting
-
Launching Fabric Manager in Cisco SAN-OS Releases Prior to 3.2(1)
-
Cisco Fabric Manager Unsupported Feature List
-
Interface Nonoperational Reason Codes
-
Managing Cisco FabricWare
-
Configuration Limits for Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.1(x) and 3.2(x)
-
Feedback
Table Of Contents
Fabric Optimization with VSANs
VSANs for FICON and FCP Mixing
Cisco MDS-Supported FICON Features
Default FICON Port Numbering Scheme
Implemented and Unimplemented Port Addresses
About the Reserved FICON Port Numbering Scheme
Installed and Uninstalled Ports
FICON Port Numbering Guidelines
Assigning FICON Port Numbers to Slots
About Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel
Reserving FICON Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel Interfaces
About Enabling FICON on a VSAN
Setting Up a Basic FICON Configuration
Manually Enabling FICON on a VSAN
Configuring the code-page Option
Allowing the Host to Move the Switch Offline
Allowing the Host to Change FICON Port Parameters
Allowing the Host to Control the Timestamp
Configuring SNMP Control of FICON Parameters
FICON Information Refresh Note
Automatically Saving the Running Configuration
About FICON Configuration Files
Applying the Saved Configuration Files to the Running Configuration
Editing FICON Configuration Files
Displaying FICON Configuration Files
Copying FICON Configuration Files
Configuring FICON Tape Acceleration
Calculating FICON Flow Load Balance
Displaying FICON Port Address Information
Displaying IPL File Information
Configuring FICON
Fibre Connection (FICON) interface capabilities enhance the Cisco MDS 9000 Family by supporting both open systems and mainframe storage network environments. Inclusion of Control Unit Port (CUP) support further enhances the MDS offering by allowing in-band management of the switch from FICON processors.
The fabric binding feature helps prevent unauthorized switches from joining the fabric or disrupting current fabric operations (see Chapter 38, "Configuring Fabric Binding"). The Registered Link Incident Report (RLIR) application provides a method for a switch port to send an LIR to a registered Nx port.
Note
Cisco Fabric Manager release 3.x does not support FICON management of Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches running SAN-OS release 2.(x).
This chapter includes the following sections:
•
About FICON
The FICON feature is not supported on:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Cisco MDS 9000 Family supports the Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP), FICON, iSCSI, and FCIP capabilities within a single, high availability platform. This solution simplifies purchasing, reduces deployment and management costs, and reduces the complex evolution to shared mainframe and open systems storage networks (see Figure 28-1).
Figure 28-1 Shared System Storage Network
FCP and FICON are different FC4 protocols and their traffic is independent of each other. Devices using these protocols should be isolated using VSANs.
This section includes the following topics:
•
FICON Requirements
The FICON feature has the following requirements:
•
–
–
–
–
•
MDS-Specific FICON Advantages
This section explains the additional FICON advantages in Cisco MDS switches and includes the following topics:
•
•
•
Fabric Optimization with VSANs
Generally, separate physical fabrics have a high level of switch management and have a higher implementation cost. Further, the ports in each island may be over-provisioned depending on the fabric configuration.
By using the Cisco MDS-specific VSAN technology, you can introduce greater efficiency between these physical fabrics by lowering the cost of over-provisioning and reducing the number of switches to be managed. VSANs also help you to move unused ports nondisruptively and provide a common redundant physical infrastructure (see Figure 28-2).
Figure 28-2 VSAN-Specific Fabric Optimization
VSANs enable global SAN consolidation by allowing you to convert existing SAN islands into virtual SAN islands on a single physical network. It provides hardware-enforced security and separation between applications or departments to allow coexistence on a single network. It also allows virtual rewiring to consolidate your storage infrastructure. You can move assets between departments or applications without the expense and disruption of physical relocation of equipment.
Note
Note
FICON LPARs can span line cards and are dynamic in size. For example, one FICON LPAR with 10 ports can span 10 different line cards. FICON LPARs can also include ports on more than one switch in a cascaded configuration. The consistent fairness of the Cisco MDS 9000 switching architecture means that "all ports are created equal", simplifying provisioning by eliminating the "local switching" issues seen on other vendors' platforms.
Addition of ports to a FICON LPAR is a non-disruptive process. The maximum number of ports for a FICON LPAR is 255 due to FICON addressing limitations.
FCIP Support
The multilayer architecture of the Cisco MDS 9000 Family enables a consistent feature set over a protocol-agnostic switch fabric. Cisco MDS 9500 Series and 9200 Series switches transparently integrate Fibre Channel, FICON, and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) in one system. The FICON over FCIP feature enables cost-effective access to remotely located mainframe resources. With the Cisco MDS 9000 Family platform, storage replication services such as IBM PPRC and XRC can be extended over metro to global distances using ubiquitous IP infrastructure and thus simplifies business continuance strategies.
See Chapter 48, "Configuring FCIP."
PortChannel Support
The Cisco MDS implementation of FICON provides support for efficient utilization and increased availability of Inter- switch Links (ISLs) necessary to build stable large-scale SAN environments. PortChannels ensure an enhanced ISL availability and performance in Cisco MDS switches.
See Chapter 23, "Configuring PortChannels" for more information on PortChannels.
VSANs for FICON and FCP Mixing
Cisco MDS 9000 Family FICON-enabled switches simplify deployment of even the most complex mixed environments. Multiple logical FICON, Z-Series Linux/FCP, and Open-Systems Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) fabrics can be overlaid onto a single physical fabric by simply creating VSANs as required for each service. VSANs provide both hardware isolation and protocol specific fabric services, eliminating the complexity and potential instability of zone-based mixed schemes.
By default, the FICON feature is disabled in all switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. When the FICON feature is disabled, FC IDs can be allocated seamlessly. Mixed environments are addressed by the Cisco SAN-OS software. The challenge of mixing FCP and FICON protocols are addressed by Cisco MDS switches when implementing VSANs.
Switches and directors in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family support FCP and FICON protocol mixing at the port level. If these protocols are mixed in the same switch, you can use VSANs to isolate FCP and FICON ports.
Tip
Cisco MDS-Supported FICON Features
The Cisco MDS 9000 Family FICON features include:
•
Refer to the Cisco MDS 9500 Series Hardware Installation Guide and the Cisco MDS 9200 Series Hardware Installation Guide.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
–
–
–
See the "Calculating FICON Flow Load Balance" section.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
FICON Cascading
The Cisco MDS SAN-OS software allows multiple switches in a FICON network. To configure multiple switches, you must enable and configure fabric binding in that switch (see the "Calculating FICON Flow Load Balance" section).
FICON VSAN Prerequisites
To ensure that a FICON VSAN is operationally up, be sure to verify the following requirements:
•
•
•
•
•
•
If any of these requirements are not met, the FICON feature cannot be enabled.
FICON Port Numbering
With reference to the FICON feature, ports in Cisco MDS switches are identified by a statically defined 8-bit value known as the port number. A maximum of 255 port numbers are available. You can use the following port numbering schemes:
•
•
This section includes the following topics:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Note
Default FICON Port Numbering Scheme
Default FICON port numbers are assigned by the Cisco MDS SAN-OS software based on the module and the slot in the chassis. The first port in a switch always starts with a zero (0) (see Figure 28-3).
Figure 28-3 Default FICON Port Number in Numbering on the Cisco MDS 9000 Family9509 Switch
The default FICON port number is assigned based on the front panel location of the port and is specific to the slot in which the module resides. Thirty-two (32) port numbers are assigned to each slot on all Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches except for the Cisco MDS 9513 Director, which has 16 port numbers assigned for each slot. These default numbers are assigned regardless of the module's physical presence in the chassis, the port status (up or down), or the number of ports on the module (4, 12, 16, 24, or 48). If a module has fewer ports than the number of port numbers assigned to the slot, then the excess port numbers are unused. If a module has more ports than the number of port numbers assigned to the slot, the excess ports cannot be used for FICON traffic unless you manually assign the port numbers.
Note
Note
Table 28-3 lists the default port number assignment for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family of switches and directors.
Port Addresses
By default, port numbers are the same as port addresses. You can swap the port addresses (see the "Port Swapping" section).
Implemented and Unimplemented Port Addresses
An implemented port refers to any port address that is assigned by default to a slot in the chassis (see Table 28-3). An unimplemented port refers to any port address that is not assigned by default to a slot in the chassis (see Table 28-3).
About the Reserved FICON Port Numbering Scheme
A range of 250 port numbers are available for you to assign to all the ports on a switch. Table 28-3 shows that you can have more than 250 physical ports on a switch and the excess ports do not have port numbers in the default numbering scheme. When you have more than 250 physical ports on your switch, you can have ports without a port number assigned if they are not in a FICON VSAN, or you can assign duplicate port numbers if they are not used in the same FICON VSAN. For example, you can configure port number 1 on interface fc1/1 in FICON VSAN 10 and fc10/1 in FICON VSAN 20.
Note
Note
Note
Installed and Uninstalled Ports
An installed port refers to a port for which all required hardware is present. A specified port number in a VSAN can be implemented, and yet not installed, if any of the following conditions apply:
•
•
•
Another scenario is if VSANs 1 through 5 are FICON-enabled, and trunking-enabled interface fc1/1 has VSANs 3 through 10, then port address 0 is uninstalled in VSAN 1 and 2.
•
FICON Port Numbering Guidelines
The following guidelines apply to FICON port numbers:
•
•
•
•
•
See the "About Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel" section.
Assigning FICON Port Numbers to Slots
Caution
To assign FICON port numbers to slots using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON port numbers (see Figure 28-4).
Figure 28-4 FICON Port Numbers
Step 2
Step 3
About Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel
FCIP and PortChannels cannot be used in a FICON-enabled VSAN unless they are explicitly bound to a port number.
See the "Configuring FICON Ports" section and the "Reserving FICON Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel Interfaces" section.
You can use the default port numbers if they are available (see Table 28-1) or if you reserve port numbers from the pool of port numbers that are not reserved for Fibre Channel interfaces (see the "FICON Port Numbering" section).
Reserving FICON Port Numbers for FCIP and PortChannel Interfaces
You must reserve port numbers for logical interfaces, such as FCIP and PortChannels, if you plan to use them.
To reserve FICON port numbers for FCIP and PortChannel interfaces using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON port numbers dialog box (see Figure 28-4).
Step 2
Figure 28-5 Reserved Port Numbers for the Selected Slot
Step 3
Step 4
FC ID Allocation
FICON requires a predictable and static FC ID allocation scheme. When FICON is enabled, the FC ID allocated to a device is based on the port address of the port to which it is attached. The port address forms the middle byte of the fabric address. Additionally, the last byte of the fabric address should be the same for all devices in the fabric. By default, the last byte value is 0 and can be configured (see the "Assigning FC ID Last Byte" section).
Note
Cisco MDS switches have a dynamic FC ID allocation scheme. When FICON is enabled or disabled on a VSAN, all the ports are shut down and restarted to switch from the dynamic to static FC IDs and vice versa (see Figure 28-6).
Figure 28-6 Static FC ID Allocation for FICON
Configuring FICON
By default FICON is disabled in all switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. You can enable FICON on a per VSAN basis by using the Device Manager.
This section includes the following topics:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
About Enabling FICON on a VSAN
By default FICON is disabled in all VSANs on the switch.
You can enable FICON on a per VSAN basis in one of the following ways:
•
See the "About FICON" section.
•
When you enable the FICON feature in Cisco MDS switches, the following apply:
•
•
•
•
See the "About FICON Configuration Files" section.
Tip
Setting Up a Basic FICON Configuration
This section steps you through the procedure to set up FICON on a specified VSAN in a Cisco MDS 9000 Family switch.
To create a FICON-enabled VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Figure 28-7 Create VSAN Icon
You see the Create VSAN dialog box (see Figure 28-8).
Figure 28-8 Create VSAN Dialog Box
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Note
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Step 11
You see the VSAN dialog box (see Figure 28-9).
Figure 28-9 VSAN Dialog Box in Device Manager
Step 12
Step 13
Step 14
Manually Enabling FICON on a VSAN
Note
To manually enable FICON on a VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Deleting FICON VSANs
To delete a FICON VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the VSAN table in the Information pane (see Figure 28-10).
Figure 28-10 All VSANs Table
Step 2
Step 3
Note
Suspending a FICON VSAN
To suspend a FICON VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see all the VSANs listed in the Information pane.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Note
Configuring the code-page Option
FICON strings are coded in Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) format. Refer to your mainframe documentation for details on the code page options.
Cisco MDS switches support international-5, france, brazil, germany, italy, japan, spain-latinamerica, uk, and us-canada (default) EBCDIC format options.
Tip
To modify the code-page option using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON VSAN configuration dialog box (see Figure 28-11). The VSANs tab is the default tab.
Figure 28-11 FICON VSANs Tab in Device Manager
Step 2
Step 3
Assigning FC ID Last Byte
Caution
To assign the last byte for the FC ID using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the Persistent FcIds tab (see Figure 28-12).
Figure 28-12 Persistent FcIds Tab
Step 3
Step 4
Allowing the Host to Move the Switch Offline
By default, hosts are allowed to move the switch to an offline state. To do this, the host sends "Set offline" command (x'FD') to CUP (Control Unit Port).
To allow the host (mainframe) to move the switch to an offline state using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see a list of switches under the Control tab in the Information pane.
Step 2
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane (see Figure 28-13).
Figure 28-13 FICON VSANs in Fabric Manager
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Allowing the Host to Change FICON Port Parameters
By default, mainframe users are not allowed to configure FICON parameters on Cisco MDS switches—they can only query the switch.
To allow the host (mainframe) to configure FICON parameters on the Cisco MDS switch using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see a list of switches under the Control tab in the Information pane.
Step 2
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane (see Figure 28-13).
Step 3
Step 4
Allowing the Host to Control the Timestamp
By default, the clock in each VSAN is the same as the switch hardware clock. Each VSAN in a Cisco MDS 9000 Family switch represents a virtual director. The clock and time present in each virtual director can be different.To maintain separate clocks for each VSAN, the Cisco SAN-OS software maintains the difference of the VSAN-specific clock and the hardware-based director clock. When a host (mainframe) sets the time, the Cisco SAN-OS software updates this difference between the clocks. When a host reads the clock, it computes the difference between the VSAN-clock and the current director hardware clock and presents a value to the mainframe.
To configure host (mainframe) control for the VSAN time stamp using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see a list of switches under the Control tab in the Information pane.
Step 2
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane (see Figure 28-13).
Step 3
Step 4
Configuring SNMP Control of FICON Parameters
By default, SNMP users can configure FICON parameters through the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Fabric Manager.
Note
To configure SNMP control of FICON parameters using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see a list of switches under the Control tab in the Information pane.
Step 2
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane (see Figure 28-13).
Step 3
Step 4
FICON Information Refresh Note
When viewing FICON information through the Device Manager dialog boxes, you must manually refresh the display by clicking the Refresh button to see the latest updates. This is true whether you configure FICON through the CLI or through the Device Manager.
There is no automatic refresh of FICON information. This information would be refreshed so often that it would affect performance.
About FICON Device Allegiance
FICON requires serialization of access among multiple mainframes, CLI, and SNMP sessions be maintained on Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches by controlling device allegiance for the currently executing session. Any other session is denied permission to perform configuration changes unless the required allegiance is available.
Caution
Automatically Saving the Running Configuration
Cisco MDS SAN-OS provides an option to automatically save any configuration changes to the startup configuration. This ensures that the new configuration is present after a switch reboot. The Active=Saved option can be enable on any FICON VSAN.
Table 28-2 displays the results of the Active = Saved option and the implicit copy from the running configuration to the startup configuration (copy running start) in various scenarios.
If the Active=Saved option is enabled in any FICON-enabled VSAN in the fabric, then the following apply (see Number 1 and 2 in Table 28-2):
•
•
If the Active=Saved option is not enabled in any FICON-enabled VSAN in the fabric, then FICON-specific configuration changes are not saved in the IPL file and an implicit copy running startup is not issued—you must explicitly save the running configuration to the startup configuration (see number 3 in Table 28-2).
Step 1
You see a list of switches under the Control tab in the Information pane.
Step 2
You see the FICON VSAN configuration information in the Information pane (see Figure 28-13).
Step 3
Step 4
Configuring FICON Ports
You can perform FICON configurations on a per-port address basis in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family of switches.
Even if a port is uninstalled, the port address-based configuration is accepted by the Cisco MDS switch. This configuration is applied to the port when the port becomes installed.
This section includes the following topics:
•
Configuring Port Blocking
If you block a port, the port is retained in the operationally down state. If you unblock a port, a port initialization is attempted. When a port is blocked, data and control traffic are not allowed on that port.
Physical Fibre Channel port blocks will continue to transmit an Off-line state (OLS) primitive sequence on a blocked port.
Caution
If a port is shut down, unblocking that port does not initialize the port.
Note
To block or unblock port addresses in a VSAN using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON Port Configuration dialog box for the selected VSAN (see Figure 28-14).
Figure 28-14 FICON Port Configuration Dialog Box
Step 3
Step 4
Viewing ESCON Style Ports
To view the available and prohibited ESCON style ports using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
In Figure 28-15, A stands for available and P stands for prohibited.
When the port address is highlighted red, it represents the E/TE port or multiple interfaces.
Figure 28-15 ESCON Style
Step 2
Port Prohibiting
To prevent implemented ports from talking to each other, configure prohibits between two or more ports. If you prohibit ports, the specified ports are prevented from communicating with each other.
Tip
Unimplemented ports are always prohibited. In addition, prohibit configurations are always symmetrically applied—if you prohibit port 0 from talking to port 15, port 15 is automatically prohibited from talking to port 0.
Note
Configuring Port Prohibiting
To prohibit port addresses in a VSAN using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON Port Configuration dialog box (see Figure 28-14).
Step 3
Step 4
Assigning a Port Address Name
Note
To assign a port address name in Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON Port Configuration dialog box (see Figure 28-14).
Step 3
Step 4
About RLIR
The Registered Link Incident Report (RLIR) application provides a method for a switch port to send an Link Incident Record (LIR) to a registered Nx port. It is a highly available application.
When an LIR is detected in FICON-enabled switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family from a RLIR Extended Link Service (ELS), the switch sends that record to the members in its Established Registration List (ERL).
In case of multi-switch topology, a Distribute Registered Link Incident Record (DRLIR) Inter-Link Service (ILS) is sent to all reachable remote domains along with the RLIR ELS. On receiving the DRLIR ILS, the switch extracts the RLIR ELS and sends it to the members of the ERL.
The Nx ports interested in receiving the RLIR ELS send the Link Incident Record Registration (LIRR) ELS request to the management server on the switch. The RLIRs are processed on a per-VSAN basis.
The RLIR data is written to persistent storage when you copy the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Displaying RLIR Information
To view RLIR information using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the Show RLIR ERL dialog box (see Figure 28-16).
Figure 28-16 Show RLIR ELR Dialog Box
Step 2
FICON Configuration Files
You can save up to 16 FICON configuration files on each FICON-enabled VSAN (in persistent storage). The file format is proprietary to IBM. These files can be read and written by IBM hosts using the in-band CUP protocol. Additionally, you can use the Cisco MDS CLI or Fabric Manager applications to operate on these FICON configuration files.
Note
When you enable the FICON feature in a VSAN, the switches always use the startup FICON configuration file, called IPL. This file is created with a default configuration as soon as FICON is enabled in a VSAN.
Caution
FICON configuration files contain the following configuration for each implemented port address:
•
•
•
Note
See the Chapter 12, "Initial Configuration," for details on the normal configuration files used by Cisco MDS switches.
This section includes the following topics:
•
•
•
•
•
About FICON Configuration Files
Only one user can access the configuration file at any given time:
•
•
•
FICON configuration files can be accessed by any host, SNMP, or CLI user who is permitted to access the switch. The locking mechanism in the Cisco SAN-OS software restricts access to one user at a time per file. This lock applies to newly created files and previously saved files. Before accessing any file, you must lock the file and obtain the file key. A new file key is used by the locking mechanism for each lock request. The key is discarded when the lock timeout of 15 seconds expires. The lock timeout value cannot be changed.
Applying the Saved Configuration Files to the Running Configuration
To apply the saved configuration files to the running configuration using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON Files dialog box (see Figure 28-17).
Figure 28-17 FICON VSANs Dialog Box
Step 3
Editing FICON Configuration Files
The configuration file submode allows you to create and edit FICON configuration files. If a specified file does not exist, it is created. Up to 16 files can be saved. Each file name is restricted to eight alphanumeric characters.
Note
To edit the contents of a specified FICON configuration file using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box (see Figure 28-17).
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Displaying FICON Configuration Files
To open and view configuration files in Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON configuration table in the Information pane.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Copying FICON Configuration Files
To copy an existing FICON configuration file using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box (see Figure 28-17).
Step 3
You see the Create FICON VSANs Files dialog box shown in Figure 28-18.
Figure 28-18 Create FICON VSANs Files Dialog Box in Device Manager
a.
b.
c.
Step 4
Step 5
Port Swapping
The FICON port swapping feature is only provided for maintenance purposes.
The FICON port swapping feature causes all configuration associated with old-port-number and new port-number to be swapped, including VSAN configurations.
Cisco MDS switches allow port swapping for nonexistent ports as follows:
•
•
•
•
Tip
Once you swap ports, the switch automatically performs the following actions:
•
•
If you attempt to bring the port up, you must explicitly shut down the port to resume traffic.
Note
This section includes the following topics:
About Port Swapping
Be sure to follow these guidelines when using the FICON port swapping feature:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Note
Swapping Ports
To swap ports using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
Figure 28-19 FICON Swap Selected Ports
FICON Tape Acceleration
The sequential nature of tape devices causes each I/O operation to the tape device over an FCIP link to incur the latency of the FCIP link. Throughput drastically decreases as the round-trip time through the FCIP link increases, leading to longer backup windows. Also, after each I/O operation, the tape device is idle until the next I/O arrives. Starting and stopping of the tape head reduces the lifespan of the tape, except when I/O operations are directed to a virtual tape.
Cisco MDS SAN-OS software provides acceleration for the following FICON tape write operations:
•
•
FICON tape acceleration over FCIP provides the following advantages:
•
•
•
Note
Figure 28-20 through Figure 28-23 show supported configurations:
Figure 28-20 Host Directly Accessing IBM/STK (StorageTek) Library
Figure 28-21 Host Accessing Standalone IBM-VTS (Virtual Tape Server) /STK-VSM (Virtual Shared Memory)
Figure 28-22 Host Accessing Peer-to-Peer VTS (Virtual Tape Server)
Figure 28-23 Host Accessing Peer-to-Peer VTS (Virtual Tape Server)
Note
Configuring FICON Tape Acceleration
FICON tape acceleration has the following configuration considerations:
•
•
•
•
•
To configure FICON tape acceleration over FCIP in Fabric Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see a list of available switches (Figure 28-24).
Figure 28-24 FCIP Tunnels Tab in Fabric Manager
Step 3
You see the Create FCIP Tunnel dialog box shown in Figure 28-25.
Figure 28-25 Create FCIP Tunnel Dialog Box
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
CUP In-Band Management
The Control Unit Port (CUP) protocol configures access control and provides unified storage management capabilities from a mainframe computer. Cisco MDS 9000 FICON-enabled switches are fully IBM CUP standard compliant for in-band management using the IBM S/A OS/390 I/O operations console.
Note
CUP is supported by switches and directors in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. The CUP function allows the mainframe to manage the Cisco MDS switches.
Host communication includes control functions such as blocking and unblocking ports, as well as monitoring and error reporting functions.
Step 1
Figure 28-26 Setting the Default Zone Policy
Step 2
Figure 28-27 Finding pWWN for FICON:CUP
Note
FICON:CUP WWNexists in this fabric, be sure to add all theFICON:CUPpWWNs to the required zone.Step 3
Figure 28-28 Adding FICON:CUP WWN to Zone
Calculating FICON Flow Load Balance
The FICON Flow Load Balance Calculator allows you to get the best load balancing configuration for your FICON flows. The calculator does not rely on any switch or flow discovery in the fabric. It is available from the Fabric Manager Tools menu.
To use the FICON Flow Load Balance Calculator from Fabric Manager follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the Flow Load Balance Calculator (see Figure 28-29).
Figure 28-29 Flow Load Balance Calculator
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Note
Displaying FICON Information
This section includes the following topics:
•
•
Receiving FICON Alerts
To receive an alert to indicate any changes in the FICON configuration using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box.
Step 2
Step 3
Displaying FICON Port Address Information
To display FICON port address information using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box.
Step 2
You see the FICON Port Configuration dialog box.
Step 3
Displaying IPL File Information
To display the IPL file information using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
Step 2
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box.
Step 3
Viewing the History Buffer
In the directory history buffer, the
Key Countercolumn displays the 32-bit value maintained by Cisco MDS switches. This value is incremented when any port changes state in that VSAN. The key counter (a 32-bit value) is incremented when a FICON-related configuration is changed. Host programs can increment this value at the start of the channel program and then perform operations on multiple ports. The director history buffer keeps a log of which port address configuration was changed for each key-counter value.The director history buffer provides a mechanism to determine the change in the port state from the previous time when a value was contained in the key counter.
To view the directory history buffer using Device Manager, follow these steps:
Step 1
You see the FICON VSANs dialog box.
Step 2
You see the history buffer dialog box.
Step 3
Default Settings
Table 28-3 lists the default settings for FICON features.
