HP StorageWorks 2/24 FW 07.00.00/HAFM SW 08.06.00 McDATA Products in a SAN Env - Page 141

Planning Considerations for Fibre Channel Topologies 3 FICON Cascading Best Practices A successful FICON-cascaded SAN environment requires a set of best practice conventions as follows: 1. Connect fabric elements - Establish one or more ISLs between cascaded directors of fabric switches as follows: a. Ensure fabric elements are defined to the SAN management application. If the elements must be defined, refer to the appropriate switch or director installation manual for instructions. b. Ensure the preferred Domain_ID for each director or switch is unique and does not conflict with the ID of another fabric element. c. Ensure the R_A_TOV and E_D_TOV values for fabric elements are identical. d. Route multimode or singlemode fiber-optic cables (depending on the type of transceiver installed) between customer-specified E_Ports at each fabric element. 2. Verify operation of local FICON applications - Ensure the ISL connection(s) do not disrupt fabric element operation nor disrupt local FICON (non-cascaded) traffic. Perform this step at each director or switch. a. At the SAN management application's physical map, right-click the director or switch product icon, then select Element Manager from the pop-up menu. The Element Manager application opens. b. If required, click the Hardware tab. The Hardware View (Figure 2-7) displays. Verify the status bar at the bottom left corner of the window displays a green circle, indicating director or switch status is operational. If a problem is indicated, go to MAP 0000: Start MAP in the product- specific Installation and Service Manual. c. Have the customer verify operation of non-cascaded FICON applications at each director or switch. 3. Verify ISL operation - Ensure ISL connectivity between fabric elements. Perform this step at each director or switch. a. At the Element Manager application's Hardware View, doubleclick the graphical E_Port connector used for the ISL. The Port Properties dialog box displays. Planning Considerations for Fibre Channel Topologies 3-55