HP Surestore 64 FW 05.01.00 and SW 07.01.00 HP StorageWorks SAN High Availabil - Page 20
The Fibre Channel signaling protocol, Multiple topology support, Multiple service class support
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Introduction to HP Fibre Channel Products ■ Multiple topology support - Directors support both point-to-point and multi-switch fabric topologies, and indirectly support arbitrated loop topology. - Point-to-point topology provides a single direct connection between two device N_Ports. This topology supports bidirectional transmission between source and destination ports. Through dynamic switching, directors configure different point-to-point transmission paths. In all cases, connected N_Ports use 100% of the available bandwidth. - A multi-switch fabric topology provides the ability to connect directors and edge switches through expansion ports (E_Ports) and interswitch links (ISLs) to form a Fibre Channel fabric. Directors receive data from a device, and based on the destination N_Port address, route the data through the fabric (and possibly through multiple switch elements) to the destination device. - An arbitrated loop topology connects multiple device node loop ports (NL_Ports) in a loop (or hub) configuration without benefit of a multi-switch fabric. Although directors do not support direct connection of arbitrated loop devices, such devices can communicate with directors through loop switches supplied by HP. ■ Multiple service class support - The Fibre Channel signaling protocol provides several classes of transmission service that support framing protocol and flow control between ports. Directors support: - Class 2 transmission service that provides connectionless multiplexed frame delivery service with acknowledgment. Class 2 Service is best suited for mainstream computing applications. - Class 3 transmission service that provides connectionless, best-effort multiplexed datagram frame delivery with no acknowledgment. Class 3 service is best suited for mass storage or video applications. - Class F transmission service that is used by multiple directors to communicate across ISLs to configure, control, and coordinate the behavior of a multi-switch fabric. 20 SAN High Availability Planning Guide