HP Surestore 6164 QuickLoop User's Guide - Page 11

1 INTRODUCING QUICKLOOP QuickLoop allows arbitrated loops to be attached to a fabric. Without modifying their drivers, private storage devices on the arbitrated loops can be accessed by public or private hosts elsewhere on the fabric. Zoning enables the set of storage devices visible to specific hosts to be carefully administered. The QuickLoop and Zoning combination allows a private host to fully participate in a Storage Area Network (SAN). QuickLoop Basics QuickLoop is a unique Fibre Channel topology that combines arbitrated loop and fabric topologies. QuickLoop runs on switches with Fabric OS version a2.4.1 or later and allows a switch to emulate a hub environment, while offering the additional benefit of connectivity to a fabric. An arbitrated loop supports communication between devices that are not fabric-aware. Such devices are called private devices, and arbitrated loops are sometimes called private loops. A QuickLoop consists of multiple private arbitrated looplets (a set of devices connected to a single port) that are connected by a fabric. All devices in a QuickLoop share a single AL_PA space and behave as if they are in one loop. This allows private devices to communicate with other devices over the fabric, provided they are in the same QuickLoop. 11