HP StorageWorks 8/80 HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 6.1.x administrator guide (5697 - Page 445

A Configuring the PID format Port identifiers (called PIDs) are used by the routing and zoning services in Fibre Channel fabrics to identify ports in the network. All devices in a fabric must use the same PID format, so when you add new equipment to the SAN, you might need to change the PID format on legacy equipment. NOTE: Any switch running Fabric OS 6.1.x uses the Core PID format and cannot be modified. About PIDs and PID binding The PID is a 24-bit address built from the following three 8-bit fields: • domain • area_ID • AL_PA Many scenarios cause a device to receive a new PID; for example, unplugging the device from one port and plugging it into a different port as part of fabric maintenance, or changing the Domain ID of a switch, which might be necessary when merging fabrics, or changing compatibility mode settings. Some device drivers use the PID to map logical disk drives to physical Fibre Channel counterparts. Most drivers can either change PID mappings dynamically, also called dynamic PID binding, or use the WWN of the Fibre Channel disk for mapping, also called WWN binding. Some older device drivers behave as if a PID uniquely identifies a device, they use static PID binding. These device drivers should be updated, if possible, to use WWN or dynamic PID binding instead, because static PID binding creates problems in many routine maintenance scenarios. Fortunately, very few device drivers still behave this way. Many current device drivers enable you to select static PID binding as well as WWN binding. You should only select static binding if there is a compelling reason, and only after you have evaluated the impact of doing so. Summary of PID formats HP switches employ the following types of PID formats: • VC encoded-The format defined by the HP StorageWorks 1Gb series switches. Connections to these switches are not supported in Fabric OS 4.0.0 and later. • Native-Introduced with the HP StorageWorks 2Gb series switches, supports up to 16 ports per switch. • Core-Default for the HP StorageWorks 4/8 SAN Switch, 4/16 SAN Switch, SAN Switch 2/8V, SAN Switch 2/16V, SAN Switch 2/32, SAN Switch 4/32, SAN Switch 4/32B, 4/64 SAN Switch, 8/8 SAN Switch, 8/24 SAN Switch, 8/40 SAN Switch, 8/80 SAN Switch, 400 Multi-protocol Router, Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for HP p-Class BladeSystem, Brocade 4Gb SAN Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem, SAN Director 2/128, 4/256 SAN Director, and DC SAN Backbone Director (short name, DC Director). This is the recommended format for HP switches and fabrics. It uses the entire 8-bit address space and directly uses the port number as the area_ID. • Extended edge-A format that generates the same PID for a port on switches with 16 ports or less as would native PID format, but also supports up to 256 ports per domain. It should be used only in cases where you cannot upgrade devices to dynamic PID binding and you absolutely cannot reboot your servers. Extended edge PID is supported in Fabric OS 3.1.2 and later, and 4.2.0 through 5.3.0. NOTE: Extended Edge is not supported on any switch with Fabric OS 6.0 or later. In addition to the PID formats list here, Interoperability mode supports additional PID formats that are not discussed in this guide. Fabric OS 6.1.x administrator guide 445