Node configuration details
Apply these configuration details to Storwize® V3700 nodes to ensure that you have a valid configuration.
SAN fabric function is available only if a Fibre Channel option is installed. Otherwise, this information does not apply.
Host bus adapters and nodes
- Four ports for Fibre Channel connection
- Two ports for 1 Gbps Ethernet connection
- Four ports for Fibre Channel connection
- Two ports for 1 Gbps Ethernet connection
- An HBA that provides two ports for 10 Gbps Ethernet connection
Storwize V3700 dual control enclosures contain four 1 Gbps iSCSI ports and support for two host interface adapters. Host interface adapter options include four port 8 Gbps adapter for Fibre Channel connections and four port 1 Gbps iSCSI adapter for Ethernet connections.
Volumes
Each node presents a volume to the SAN through Fibre Channel ports, FCoE ports, iSCSI ports, or SAS ports. Each volume is accessible from the two nodes in an I/O group. Each HBA port can recognize up to eight paths to each logical unit (LU) that is presented by the clustered system. The hosts must run a multi-pathing device driver before the multiple paths can resolve to a single device. You can use fabric zoning to reduce the number of paths to a volume that are visible by the host.
The number of paths through the network from an I/O group to a host must not exceed eight; configurations that exceed eight paths are not supported. Each node has four 8 Gbps Fibre Channel ports and each I/O group has two nodes. Therefore, without any zoning, the number of paths to a volume is eight multiplied by the number of host ports.
Optical connections
- Host to a switch
- Back end to a switch
- Inter-switch links (ISLs)
Optical fiber connections can be used between a node and its switches.
Ethernet connection
- When a 1 Gbps Ethernet adapter is installed, Ethernet port 1 on all nodes must be connected to the same set of subnets. If used, Ethernet port 2 on all nodes must also be connected to the same set of subnets. However, the subnets for Ethernet port 1 do not have to be the same as Ethernet port 2.
Fibre Channel connection
Storwize V3700 supports shortwave Fibre Channel connections between its nodes and the switches to which they connect.
Avoid communication between nodes and storage systems that are being routed across ISLs. To do so, connect all storage systems to the same Fibre Channel or FCF switches as the Storwize V3700 nodes. One ISL hop between the Storwize V3700 nodes and the storage systems is permitted. If your configuration requires more than one ISL, contact your IBM® service representative.
In larger configurations, it is common to have ISLs between host systems and the Storwize V3700 nodes.
Port speed
Fibre Channel ports on node canisters can operate at 2 Gbps, 4 Gbps, or 8 Gbps.