Dell PowerEdge M420 8/4 Gbps FC SAN Module Administrator's Guide - Page 15

In this NPIV overview

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NPIV Basic Concepts Chapter 1 In this chapter •NPIV overview 1 •FC SAN Module port types 2 •FC SAN Module limitations 2 NPIV overview With the FC SAN Module, your Enterprise fabric can handle additional external ports (N_Ports) instead of domains. You do this by configuring internal ports (F_Ports) to connect to the fabric as external ports, which increases the number of device ports you can connect to a single fabric. Because the Dell (Fibre Channel) FC SAN Module functions as an NPIV port aggregator, it is compatible with Brocade Fabric OS, M-EOS v9.1 or v9.6 and later, and Cisco-based fabrics v3.0 (1) or later and v3.1 (1) and later. This document describes configurations using the CLI commands. Since the FC SAN Module operates using NPIV it is logically transparent to the host and the fabric. You can increase the number of blade servers that have access to the fabric without increasing the number of switches. This simplifies configuration and management in a large fabric by reducing the number of domain IDs and ports. Figure 1 shows how the FC SAN Module connects to blade servers (Hosts) and fabrics. FIGURE 1 FC SAN Module connection Dell 8/4Gbps FC SAN Module Administrator's Guide 1 53-1001345-01

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Dell 8/4Gbps FC SAN Module Administrator’s Guide
1
53-1001345-01
Chapter
1
NPIV Basic Concepts
In this chapter
•
NPIV overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
•
FC SAN Module port types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
•
FC SAN Module limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
NPIV overview
With the FC SAN Module, your Enterprise fabric can handle additional external ports (N_Ports)
instead of domains. You do this by configuring internal ports (F_Ports) to connect to the fabric as
external ports, which increases the number of device ports you can connect to a single fabric.
Because the Dell (Fibre Channel) FC SAN Module functions as an NPIV port aggregator, it is
compatible with Brocade Fabric OS, M-EOS v9.1 or v9.6 and later, and Cisco-based fabrics v3.0 (1)
or later and v3.1 (1) and later. This document describes configurations using the CLI commands.
Since the FC SAN Module operates using NPIV it is logically transparent to the host and the fabric.
You can increase the number of blade servers that have access to the fabric without increasing the
number of switches. This simplifies configuration and management in a large fabric by reducing the
number of domain IDs and ports.
Figure 1
shows how the FC SAN Module connects to blade
servers (Hosts) and fabrics.
FIGURE 1
FC SAN Module connection